The men's hockey team entered the weekend expecting tough competition from Harvard and Brown, the Eastern College Athletic Conference's top two teams.
A tough weekend is exactly what the Big Green got.
Harvard squeaked by Dartmouth 2-1 Saturday in Cambridge, while Brown escaped with a 4-3 win over the Big Green Friday night in Providence.
"It was nice to be close with two of the better teams in the league, because no one ever expected us to win this weekend," goalie Mike Bracco '94 said. "Yet, at the same time, it would have been nice to have gained a few conference points."
On Saturday, the Big Green had a strong defensive performance against a talented Harvard offense, but managed to squeeze only one goal out of their 37 shots on goal.
"Saturday against Harvard we played against a team that is number one in the ECAC and number four in the nation, and although we struggled in the first and second period, in the third period, we did a very good job of forechecking and didn't allow them to come out of their end of the ice," Coach Roger Demment said. "We had many chances in the third period to tie the game."
One of those chances included a shot from Tony DelCarmine '94 with five seconds remaining that the Harvard goalie, who had fallen down on the ice, managed to save with his glove.
The only goal scored by the Green Saturday was a milestone for Scott Fraser '94, who had his fiftieth career goal.
In doing so, Fraser became Dartmouth's first 50 goal scorer since 1980.
Dartmouth could have used Fraser's fiftieth on Friday night against Brown, where Dartmouth nearly came back from a two-goal deficit heading into the third period.
"We played a very good game," Demment said. "We actually ended up out-shooting Brown in the end, but things just didn't seem to be falling into place."
Goaltending was a definite strength for the Big Green Friday. Bracco collected 32 saves and was generally solid in the net for Dartmouth.
"We were nervous at the beginning of both games because the tempo of these teams was so fast," Bracco said. "But towards the third period we really started to play well. We applied pressure in the end and that was a little disappointing, because in both cases we had chances to tie the games up, but couldn't"
Despite the losses this weekend, the team is confident traveling to Clarkson and St. Lawrence - two perennially strong teams - this weekend.
"We're looking forward to going up to compete against these two teams who are traditionally powers in the ECAC," Demment said. "It is usually difficult for a team to travel up there and win both games, but that is our goal."
Demment said entering into the second half of the season with a record of 3-10 is disappointing, but does not reflect the quality of play shown by the Green.
"I think right now we are playing some very good hockey," Demment said. "We are a much better team than our record reflects."
