The men's hockey team hits the road this weekend, where the Big Green will again try to pick up points against two ECAC opponents.
Dartmouth (2-6-2 ECAC, 4-9-2 overall) faces the Union Skating Dutchmen (2-6-2 ECAC, 5-9-2 overall) on Friday night and plays the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers (7-3-0 ECAC, 13-7-0 overall) on Saturday night.
With a 2-6-2 ECAC record and six points in the conference, the Big Green sit in a three way tie with Union and Cornell for tenth place and the final playoff spot.
The Big Green are 0-5-1 since the Aulde Lang Syne tournament to end 1994, and in that span, they have dropped from sixth to 10th. place in the ECAC.
Despite the recent drought, Coach Roger Demment remains optimistic. "This weekend we should go on the road and come back with some points," Demment said.
Ben Heller '97, who played well last Saturday, gets the start in net on Friday night as Scott Baker '97 recovers from a sprained left ankle.
Baker was injured making a save in the first period of last Saturday night's game against St. Lawrence.
Demment said that Baker is doubtful for the weekend series and might not make the trip. Baker practiced on the injured ankle for the first time on Wednesday and said he was still experiencing pain.
For the Big Green offense, Mike Stacchi '95 and Bill Kelleher '96 return to action against Union after missing the St. Lawrence game.
Friday night, Stacchi and Darren Wercinski '97 will be on a new line centered by Jon Sturgis '98. Kelleher will be on another new line, along with Owen Hughes '97, who remains at forward after moving there from his defense position last Saturday, and centered by David Whitworth '98. The other two forward lines will stay intact, Demment said.
The Big Green travel to Schenectady, N.Y., to face Union at Achilles Rink on Friday night.
The Skating Dutchmen are in a tenth-place tie with Dartmouth.
Union coach Bruce Delventhal said that, despite its record, his team has been playing well all year.
Union's leading scorers are Cory Holbrough, with 19 points, and Chris Albert, who has 16 points. The Skating Dutchmen also boast three able goaltenders, in Trevor Koenig, Mike Gallant and Luigi Villa.
Demment said he believes Dartmouth is a "better hockey team" than Union, and that if the Big Green work hard, they can beat the Skating Dutchmen.
Saturday night, the Big Green travel to Troy, N.Y., to face RPI at Houston Field House.The Engineers sit in fourth place in the ECAC with 14 points and are a virtual playoff lock.
First year coach Dan Fridgen said that work ethic will be the key for RPI against the Big Green.
"Dartmouth is a team that consistently works hard every time we've played them," Fridgen said. "They go out there and it doesn't matter what the score is. In order to beat Dartmouth we're going to have to outwork them," he added.
Rensselaer is led by senior forwards Craig Hamelin and Wayne Clarke. Like Union, the Engineers rotate three goalies: Mike Tamburro, Tim Spadafore and freshman Bryan Masotta.
