It was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Dartmouth was not supposed to win the Ivy League, nor was it supposed to reach the ECAC tournament.
But the women's hockey team did just that, finishing the season with a 16-8-4 overall record, 7-1-2 Ivy League record, and a banner reading "Ivy League Champions" to remind future spectators of the 1995 season.
What gave the team this success? It was not the work of a team of experienced seniors. On the contrary, the team boasts only one senior, Captain Rachel Rochat. With a solid returning set of five juniors and four sophomores, the team's upperclassmen provided a strong force.
Numberwise, the seven freshmen led the team. While these freshmen were inexperienced, they did not show it and became an integral part of the team.
"Our freshmen group did an outstanding job this year. Every one of them contributed. It was one of the strongest freshmen classes we've had," Coach George Crowe said.
The team's togetherness became a feature that provided the players with continuous support. "We never got down on each other. There was a really good feeling all the time," Rochat said. "Even if someone got bummed out, they were bummed out at themselves not at the team."
The team progressed in many ways throughout the season, including tts level of play.
For the first month of the season, the team went without defeat, going into break with a 5-0-2 record. Ties came against ECAC powerhouses Northeastern and Providence.
"Our record at the beginning of the season was very good, but it was a little deceiving. [Freshman goalie Sarah] Tueting really kept us in a lot of the games," Crowe said. He explained that the team effort did not come until later in the season.
Upon returning from break, the team hit a slump, losing five of its first seven games, one against Ivy League co-champion Princeton, 3-0. During this time, the team also lost to Northeastern, 3-1, a team it had previously tied, 1-1.
"We pulled together really well [at this point]. We really stayed positive," Rochat said. "We fought back against St. Lawrence and brought the score up to 3-2 [for St. Lawrence]." Going into the third period of that game, the team had been down 3-0.
"It was one of the best comebacks I've ever see," Crowe said after the game. The team never gave up, fighting every game until the end.
The second half of the season saw the team losing only two of its 13 games.
Of the remaining 11 games, Dartmouth won nine and tied two. These games defined the rest of the season for the team.
Assistant Coach Judy Parish said "The confidence was totally different. Just watching all the lines talking on the ice."
"At the beginning of the season they were trying not to be scored on. They were playing a defensive game instead of scoring," Crowe said.
Of particular importance were games against Princeton and Brown. From mid-January on, three teams Dartmouth, Princeton and Brown battled for the Ivy League title.
On Jan. 21, Dartmouthblemished the number one nationally-ranked Bear's almost perfect 10-0-1 record, by skating with them to a 1-1 tie. This win pushed Dartmouth closer tothe team's goal, an Ivy League title.
The win against Brown was only the beginning though. On Feb. 5, Dartmouth beat Princeton, who dominated the number one spot in the Ivy League, 5-3, stepping up into the number one position in the Ivy League.
In the next game, Dartmouth faced Brown. Dartmouth tied this game 3-3.
By the end of the season, Dartmouth had performed well enough to go to the ECAC tournament where the team was seeded sixth. In its first game of the tournament, Dartmouth played at Princeton. The co-champions of the Ivy League battled it out. Princeton got the better of Dartmouth, winning 5-3. Princeton advanced to the semifinals and Dartmouth returned home to Hanover.
"Although we had a disappointing ending, our overall success can't be overshadowed by our ability to win the Ivy League which a lot of people didn't think we could do. We established ourselves as a top team," forward Sarah Devens '96 said. "It was a fun season."
"Everybody outside the team thought this would be a down year. We didn't think so. We knew we had pretty good depth and team chemistry," Crowe said. "Every line, all year, would come up if we needed them. And we had strong goal-tending from both [Tueting and Sarah Lenczner '97]."
As for next year, the team should be in good position to do as well or better than this season. Losing only one player to graduation, the team will be in a better shape than most.Both Princeton and Brown will lose five seniors.
"I'm looking forward to next year," Crowe said. "We hope to get four or five more players. I can't wait to get started."
