The men's hockey team will try to put last weekend's tough losses to Brown and Harvard behind as it prepares for ECAC matchups against Clarkson and St. Lawrence this weekend at Thompson Arena.
The Big Green square off against the Clarkson Golden Knights (5-2-1 ECAC, 11-5-2 overall) on Friday night at 7:30 and face the St. Lawrence Saints (2-6-0 ECAC, 7-10-1 overall) Saturday night at 7:00 in Thompson Arena.
Coach Roger Demment said it is time for the squad (2-4-2 ECAC, 4-7-2 overall) to buckle down. "What's most important at this point is that we're playing some good hockey and not getting many points for it," Demment said. "Although we're not pushing any panic buttons, we do need to get some points as the weekend comes up and we start to look at the playoff picture."
Scott Baker '97, who played well in the games last weekend, will get the start in net on Friday night.
Demment also has shaken up two of the team's forward lines to generate more offense. Jeremiah Buckley '98, who scored his first career goal last weekend after he was promoted to the first line, will be on a line with Dion Del Monte '95 and Patrick Turcotte '95. Mike Stacchi '95 and Bill Kelleher '96, who both started the season on a line with Del Monte, will be centered by David Whitworth '98.
In addition, defensemen Scott Dolesh '96 and Alex Dumas '97, who were added to the starting lineup last Saturday, will each play again in the Clarkson game because they played well against Harvard, Demment said.
Clarkson, who was the ECAC coaches' preseason choice to finish first in the conference, will be a tough game. Mark Morris, coach of the Golden Knights, said that Clarkson will be trying hard to play a "solid checking game" to keep Dartmouth's team speed under control.
The Golden Knights have received contributions this year from four talented seniors, led by All-American defenseman Brian Mueller, regarded as one of the top defensemen in the nation. Goalie Dan Murphy has played well for Clarkson, located in Potsdam, N.Y.
Morris said Dartmouth is "a very tough club" and that looking past them would be a mistake.
St. Lawrence, like the Big Green, has had a tough schedule thus far and has ended up on the short end of several close decisions. But they showed how dangerous they can be two weekends ago when they defeated Harvard.
Saints coach Joe Marsh said that the team is looking to play with more consistency and to stay positive despite their tough start.
The top scorer for St. Lawrence is forward Burke Murphy, who is among the ECAC leaders in goal-scoring. The Saints' goal-tending duties are shared by Jon Bracco and Clint Owen, so the Big Green can expect to see either one of them between the pipes.
