The stage was certainly set for one of the most glorious upsets in the history of ECAC tournament history, and the Big Green, playing its preferred role of the underdog, pulled off the biggest victory of its most successful season.
Dartmouth was ranked fourth in the nation, in need of a win in the ECAC title game to secure a spot in the Frozen Four tournament. On their way to the championship contest, the Big Green women safely skated past a physical Colgate squad and squeaked by the ninth-ranked Princeton Tigers with a 4-2 score in the semifinal match up.
In acquiring the ticket to the final game, captain Correne Bredin '02 became the most prolific scorer among defensemen in Dartmouth history, surpassing head coach Judy Oberting '91, whose record of 41 career goals held for over a decade.
On the other side of the tournament bracket stood the formidable Harvard Crimson, who held the number one spot in the nation for a large portion of the season. With a 6.50 scoring average, most Crimson contests were over before they ever got close.
On their way to the ECAC title game, the Harvard women blew past Cornell and Brown by a combined score of 30-4. If that wasn't enough to attest to their dominance, the Crimson also carried a 28-game unbeaten streak into Brown's Meehan Arena, the site for the ECAC championship game.
It seemed like the contest was over before it started. The only thing unusual was that Harvard got the short end of the stick.
A 7-2 stomping at the hands of the Big Green cost the three Olympians on the Crimson squad the chance to gloat about a perfect season in ECAC play; it broke their aura of invincibility; more importantly, it gave Dartmouth its second ECAC championship in three years.
Fitting to the script, captain Carly Haggard '03, who has led the team in scoring for the past three seasons, ignited the scoring fest for the Big Green by notching a breakaway goal halfway through the first period. It was the third time in as many games this season that Dartmouth has scored first against Harvard.
Four more Dartmouth goals and an entire period later, Harvard finally found the back of the net, but by then, the game was all but set in stone. Just for good measure, the Big Green pounded two more goals past the scrambling Jessica Ruddock and thoroughly avenged the pair of regular season losses to the Crimson.
The victory was truly a team effort as 11 different players recorded points for the Big Green. The tournament's most valuable player, Bredin was the only Dartmouth skater to record multiple goals. Her first goal of the game in the second period gave the team a 5-0 lead.
"When we got up early with three quick goals, I think they got frustrated and panicked," Bredin said.
"We just stuck with the basics, and the pucks went our way."
The seven goals were the most allowed by Harvard this season. The previous high was the four goals allowed to Minnesota in the Crimson's only other loss of the season. On the other hand, Harvard also had its lowest offensive output on the season, scoring only twice against Dart-mouth's stingy defense.
The Big Green's phenomenal defense had to call on an unlikely hero to guard the net. Due to the ailment of Amy Ferguson '03, Stephanie Cochran '06 stood between the pipes for the biggest game of her young career which included only two previous starts.
Unfazed by the pressure of facing the No. 1 team in the nation away from home, Cochran stopped 33 of Crimson's 35 shots on goal, showing flashes of brilliance against the firepower of Harvard's attacks. She gave the team the confidence it needed to bring Goliath to its knees.
The victory gave Dartmouth the ECAC Championship and yet another banner on the rafters of Thompson Arena. It also gave the Big Green a secure ticket to the Frozen Four in Minnesota, where the team would conclude its most successful campaign in school history.
Since the Big Green knocked Harvard off its number one pedestal, the team drew host-school Minnesota-Duluth in the first round of the Frozen Four tournament. Dartmouth had lost two regular season matches to the Bulldogs, who were also the two-time defending national champions. However, the Big Green would suffer a losing fate in the semi-final contest, falling to the eventual three-peat champions by the score of 5-2.
Minnesota-Duluth, feeding off its home crowd, recorded 51 shots in the contest against Dartmouth's 30. Ferguson, who ended her career as the winningest goaltender in school history, made 46 saves in the losing effort.
"Amy Ferguson was unbelievable tonight after struggling with the flu all week," Oberting said after the contest.
"I also want to congratulate Minnesota-Duluth. They were extremely tough and really seemed to thrive on the atmosphere."
While UMD went on to defeat Harvard for its third national title in as many years, Dartmouth played in the consolation match against University of Minnesota.
After not having recorded a victory in the state of Minnesota in the past three years, the Big Green finally got into the W-column with a 4-2 decision against the Gophers.
"It's a personal vendetta with me and playing in Minnesota," Ferguson said.
"They have this curse over us. Ever since I came in as a freshman, we haven't won a game in Minnesota. I said before the game, 'We're going to win this, no matter what we have to do.'"
It took three quick scores in a span of 89 seconds for the Big Green to take the lead and stay ahead to capture third place in the Frozen Four tournament.
"This was a great conclusion for us in this tournament," Oberting said.
"We really wanted to play better today -- we weren't happy with the way we played on Friday. We wanted to come out and show a little more what Dartmouth hockey is all about."
The team, with the win over Minnesota, set a school record with 27 wins in a season and also claimed its best finish in Frozen Four history. Two years ago, Dartmouth made it to the Frozen Four but lost two straight games to finish fourth.
"We were excited to play today," said Sarah Clark '04, who scored two goals in the consolation match.
"We were playing for pride. We didn't want to feel the way that we felt two years ago. We were just playing for the seniors and for pride."
With the conclusion of the season, Dartmouth will say goodbye to seven departing seniors who have provided the team with invaluable leadership. They gave Dartmouth four seasons of greatness, and will leave with excellent memories of the Big Green.
