After a pair of crucial victories at home against archrivals Harvard and Brown last weekend, the third-ranked Dartmouth Big Green will travel on the road to finish their regular season schedule in the state of New York.
The Big Green (20-5-2, 12-3-1 ECAC) broke out of its worst slump this season to clinch the Ivy title. After having gone 2-4-0 in the first part of February, Dartmouth upset the No.1-ranked Crimson in Thompson Arena this past Friday 3-2, and beat the Bears on Saturday by an identical score.
Tri-captain Sarah Clark '04 played a huge role in both games, tallying a goal and an assist on Friday before scoring the game winner 24 hours later. With the wins, Dartmouth also clinched home-ice advantage for the first round of the ECAC playoffs.
"It's such a great feeling," said tri-captain Lydia Wheatley '03. "The team's back. We really worked as a team, and that's what we need, and that's what's been our calling card forever, so it's great to get back to that."
Unfortunately, the fifth-year senior will be unavailable for the last games of the regular season. Wheatley fractured her ankle this past week and will be out at least two weeks. In addition, Cherie Piper '06 is still questionable for this weekend due to her second concussion of the season.
The loss of these leaders will hurt the team, but the Big Green has had plenty of experience playing at less than full strength. Sophomores Gillian Apps and Piper missed two weeks in January due to Canadian national team tryouts and Katie Weatherston '06 and Meagan Walton '05 missed the first week of February to play in a tournament in Europe. Without Wheatley and Piper, the Big Green will be down two centers, but the team should adjust well with a reshuffled lineup on Saturday afternoon.
Dartmouth will face off first against the Cornell Big Red (6-18-2, 2-14-0 ECAC) for its last Ivy contest of the season. In the two teams' last meeting, the Big Green got off to a slow start but went on for an easy 5-0 victory in Hanover.
In that game, Kate Lane '06 went the distance for the shut-out, making 11 saves in the effort. Weatherston was responsible for a significant portion of the offense, scoring twice and picking up an assist. Barring a complete breakdown, Dartmouth should leave Ithaca with its 21st win of the season.
The Big Green will conclude its regular season on Sunday afternoon against a Colgate squad that gave a valiant battle earlier this season in Hanover before succumbing in a 4-2 Dartmouth victory. The Raiders (15-14-2, 6-10-0 ECAC) tend to play to the level of their opponents, losing by only one goal to several top teams in the nation, including Harvard. However, Colgate has been on a six-game losing streak and will likely finish seventh in the conference.
If all things fall in order, the Big Green should take the number three seed into the ECAC tournament, translating into a first round match up with Yale. Dartmouth swept both games this season by scores of 6-2 and 4-1.
Should Dartmouth advance and no upsets take place, the Big Green will get a chance for revenge against St. Lawrence, the only team that swept Dartmouth this season. With playoffs starting a week after the conclusion of the regular season, the Frozen Four implications have risen to a feverish pitch. Dartmouth, currently third in the nation, will look to capture is second consecutive ECAC Championship and advance once again to the Frozen Four.
