This weekend, unlike the last, the Dartmouth women's hockey team will not enjoy a two-day joke of New York-based, ECAC-North, bottom-feeding competition. Now, the Big Green faces legitimate non-conference opponents in Findlay and No. 9 Ohio State.
The Big Green, No. 6 in the country, is one of only four teams with two losses, and needs to win both games if it is going to break into the Top Three (Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, Northeastern).
In an interesting parallel sequence, conference rival and fifth-ranked St. Lawrence Saints will play Findlay and Ohio State on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
"Going to Ohio this weekend is a great weekend for us to prove ourselves," said Carly Haggard '03.
"We don't really have too much competition in our league, expect for a few teams, so playing out of conference games is really important.
"We all know that these are big games and we want to come home with a pair of wins."
Tomorrow, Dartmouth will face off against the Findlay Oilers (7-13-1, 1-2-1 GLWHL), a team they have never played before from the isolated Great Lakes conference, comprised of only three teams. Findlay is an overwhelmingly young and inexperienced team.
There are 10 freshmen and only two seniors on the roster.
The freshman of greatest importance is Amy Jones, the goaltender who has replaced junior teammate Erin Blair between the pipes.
Jones sports a 4-2-0 record, thanks to a stellar 1.47 GAA and an equally impressive .924 save percentage.
The Big Green should hope the elder Blair gets the nod.
She has performed miserably this season, holding a 3-10-0 record, with a bloated 3.47 GAA.
There is no true offensive threat for the Oilers, as only one player, sophomore Stasia Bakhit, averages more than a point per game.
Findlay is coming off two straight losses to a red-hot Wisconsin Badgers team that recently dethroned No. 1 University of Minnesota-Duluth, earning it a No. 8 ranking and propelling the Golden Gophers of Minnesota to the top of the polls.
Ohio State, on the other hand, is coming off two straight road wins against St. Cloud, and is sporting its first national ranking of the 2001-2002 season. The Buckeyes (12-7-3, 7-6-3 WCHA) are a solid team, led by freshman sensation Jeni Creary. Creary, a winger, leads the WCHA in scoring, with 20 goals and 13 assists so far this season.
The Big Green offensive machine will finally encounter a quality goaltender when it takes its first shots at Junior Melissa Glaser. Glaser sports a 10-4-2 record (4-0-0 out of conference) and has already recorded two shutouts this season.
The Big Green will return to Hanover to face the seventh-ranked Mercyhurst Lakers, who -- unlike their NBA namesake -- mercifully do not wear purple and gold.
