While most Dartmouth students were just beginning to think about returning to Hanover for the Winter term, the women's ice hockey team was already back and in action.
The team entered the new year with a 5-0-2 record. Early this week, the team traveled to Montreal to play a Quebec provincial team and Concordia. The Big Green lost the games, 8-1 and 7-0.
"They were both just very strong teams. We could skate with them but they would finish it off," said Coach George Crowe.
Captain Rachel Rochat '95 called Quebec and Concordia "the two best teams in Canada ... these teams are better than any we will face this year. We lost because they were good, not because we played poorly."
Crowe agreed. "These are the best two teams Dartmouth has ever, or will ever play. They were exactly what we wanted. We used them to get ready for our league games."
And none to soon, as the Big Green will play two Ivy League games this weekend at Princeton and Yale.
"We set goals and our number one objective is to win the Ivy League. We have to focus on each Ivy League game," Crowe said. The Ivy League championship is based on how each team fairs during the season. There are no playoffs for the championship at the end.
"We want to make it to the ECAC playoffs. If we are at the top of the Ivy League we have a very good chance of getting there," Crowe said.
"Our defense is strong. We just haven't proven that we can score a lot of goals yet. We lost almost two-thirds of our scoring power [to graduation] last year," Crowe said.
The team will need scoring power this weekend. Crowe said he considers Princeton one of the strongest teams in the Ivy League. "The game will depend on a lot of little things," he said.
Forward Michelle Erickson '96 said, "We definitely learned a lot [during the last two games] and are ready to battle Princeton and Yale this weekend."
On Monday, in their first game since winter break, the team played the championship Quebec Senior A's. Quebec clearly outplayed Dartmouth, scoring eight times to Dartmouth's once.
Dartmouth's only goal came part-way through the second period when right-wing Sarah Devens '96 managed to put one past the Canadian goalie.
Not only did Quebec win the Canadian Senior A's title last year but the team also fields six Canadian national team players.
Tuesday's game against Concordia played out much the same way as the last day's game. Dartmouth was unable to score and gave Concordia the 7-0 win.
Concordia, like Quebec, is home to six national team players. Three of these skaters play for the United States national team and three play for the Canadian national team.
Stand-out freshman goalie Sarah Tueting had a total of 44 saves in the two games helping to keep Dartmoutyh in the games.
Dartmouth had to adjust to play with the Canadian teams. The games were played with slightly different rules, forcing Dartmouth to adapt to a new style of play.
Rochat said the team kept up their spirits despite the score. "The team stayed positive and worked hard the entire time," she commented.
