Most preseason polls said that the Dartmouth men's hockey team would finish either last or next to last in the ECAC. But someone forgot to tell the Big Green.
Despite two lopsided losses to high-powered, nationally-ranked teams, the Big Green found themselves with a 2-2-1 ECAC record and an overall mark of 4-4-1 heading into the new year.
Dartmouth is in a sixth-place tie in the ECAC and within reach of a playoff berth.
The Big Green are fresh off of a weekend split at home in the Auld Lang Syne Classic. The team beat Providence 4-2 on Friday night but lost 4-3 to nationally-ranked ECAC nemesis Vermont on Saturday.
Before the Auld Lang Syne Classic, the squad played four exhibition games during a week-long tour of Switzerland. Dartmouth swept the series, with a 10-0 shutout over Grindewald, a 5-4 thriller over Worb, a 10-1 blowout of the Sierre Juniors, and a 7-2 defeat of Star Lausanne.
The brightest spot of the tour was David Whitworth '98, who before the four exhibition games had only a goal and an assist in seven regular-season games.
Whitworth exploded for five goals and five assists in the four games, making him the high scorer of the series. Co-captain Dion Del Monte '95 and winger Bill Kelleher '96 each had nine points during the tour, and Mike Stacchi '95 notched eight.
Following the Switzerland tour, the team returned home to battle Yaroslavl Torpedo, a touring Russian team, in an exhibition game. While Yaroslavl prevailed 7-4, Dartmouth made a good showing against the highly-skilled Russians.
The Big Green's physical play kept the score close and seemed to disrupt the quick-skating, high-flying Russians. The team went 3 for 6 on the power play during the game.
After the Big Green's home-and-home split with UVM in mid-November, the team lost two consecutive road games to highly-ranked Hockey East teams.
The Big Green fell to Northeastern 5-1, and Boston University drubbed Dartmouth 10-2.
The next four games could make or break the Big Green season, since the team will play four of the top six teams in the ECAC.
This weekend the team plays pivotal games on the road against Princeton Friday night and Yale Saturday night. The first matchup looks to be especially tough, since Princeton recently defeated Maine, the country's number-one ranked team.
