While the rest of the school enjoyed a month of winter break, the women's ice hockey team tallied three consecutive victories in the friendly confines of Thompson Arena.
The University of New Hampshire received a rude early Christmas present on Dec. 15 when the Big Green handed the Wildcats a convincing 3-0 shutout. After New Years Day, the ladies continued their dominance at home by scoring a pair of victories over Ohio State and Findlay to improve their overall record to 11-3-0. Rolling with momentum, the team will travel to Minnesota next weekend for a two-game series against the number two ranked Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth -- a true test for the Big Green's national championship potential this year.
Against UNH, Gillian Apps '06 tallied her tenth and eleventh goals of the season in the span of less than a minute in the second period to ice the game for the Big Green. For her efforts, Apps received ECAC rookie of the week honors on Dec. 16. Also receiving recognition for her outstanding performance was goaltender Amy Ferguson '03, whose 20-save shutout was good for ECAC's goalie of the week honors.
The victory against the fifth-ranked Wildcats was a momentum starter for Dartmouth following its Dec. 1 defeat against St. Lawrence, and it gave the ladies a sweet Christmas to enjoy. The team's New Year's resolution -- a national championship.
"It's something every outgoing senior wants on their resume before graduation," Ferguson commented.
"We have to take the season one game at a time and not get ahead of ourselves. Do the small things right and the big things will turn out."
Doing the small things right, the team made two more steps towards its resolution this weekend in Thompson Arena. Against Ohio State on Friday, the Big Green outplayed the Buckeyes early to gain a 5-2 lead in the third period but needed a goal from Correne Bredin '02 with 15 seconds left in the game to capture a 6-5 decision.
"We obviously had a major lapse defensively," Bredin said. "When we got possession [with 40 seconds remaining] and had a rush into the Ohio end, I heard [Carly] Haggard '03 calling for the puck in front."
Her attempted pass deflected fortuitously off of a defender's skate and found the back of the net, giving Dartmouth the victory.
In the game, Haggard notched her second hat trick of the season and moved into sixth place on the Dartmouth career scoring charts.
"Obviously, it's a great honor since there had been some great hockey players to play here at Dartmouth," Haggard said. "Every game I always just try and do everything to help our team win."
Haggard helped the team again on Saturday with two goals when an offensive explosion gave Dartmouth a blowout 8-0 victory over non-conference Findlay Oilers. In addition to Haggard, two freshmen, Kate Weatherston and Tiffany Hagge, each contributed two goals in the rout. The Big Green was successful in every aspect of the game, outshooting the Oilers 48-11 and converting three of their five power-play opportunities.
"Our power play was working very well tonight, so that is something we were very happy about, since we have been working on it in practice quite a bit." Haggard said.
The snowstorm in Hanover delayed the game for over an hour and half but could not stop a record from falling; the potent offense gave the game excitement, but it could not overshadow a notable defensive feat. The Big Green's outstanding goaltender Ferguson, with her second shutout in three games, garnered her 53rd victory and moved into sole possession of second place on Dartmouth's all-time list. Ferguson stopped all 11 Oiler shots and was humbly content with her amazing accomplishment.
"It's nice to break the records and it feels great to be a player that has made some sort of a difference, but it's not just a personal accomplishment," Ferguson said. "It's a team one; they are as responsible for the wins as I am."
It has been a joyous winter break for the Big Green and a wonderful start to a New Year, but the path to a coveted national championship rises in difficulty as the team goes on the road this week. Dartmouth next faces Minnesota-Duluth, the second-ranked team in the nation, and the owner of a 15-1-2 record.
"We are really looking forward to this weekend to have a chance to play a different team that we don't normally play," Haggard said.
If good things continue to happen, the Big Green will have a good chance of seeing the Bulldogs again after this weekend -- in the Frozen Four.
