With the 1995 calendar year now a thing of the past, the Dartmouth men's hockey team is hoping it can recover from a dismal 1-10-1 start to the 1995-96 season, as Eastern College Athletic Conference play begins in earnest this weekend.
Although the team's 1-10-1 record could cause people to believe 1995-96 is already a lost season, the squad has played only five ECAC games thus far -- the Big Green are 0-5-0 within the conference -- and still has plenty of time to make up points in the standings, with 17 league games remaining between now and March.
Since dropping two tough games to league rivals Colgate and Cornell on Nov. 17-18, the squad has gone 1-5-0 in its last six games, though the team's play has steadily improved over the last few games.
Vermont 5, Dartmouth 0
Vermont skated circles around the Big Green on Nov. 29 at Gutterson Fieldhouse, winning an easy 5-0 decision from Dartmouth.
The Catamounts consistently beat Dartmouth to the loose pucks using their superior speed, and Big Green goalie Scott Baker '97 was tested constantly throughout the night. On the other hand, the Big Green could muster little offense, and were greatly outshot, by a 44-24 margin.
Vermont's J.C. Ruid had two goals in the win, as did Eric Perrin. Perrin's linemate, Martin St. Louis, assisted on three of the Vermont goals.
Boston U. 8, Dartmouth 3
The Big Green were essentially blown out 8-3 at Thompson Arena on Dec. 12 by the powerhouse, top-ranked Boston University Terriers.
B.U., led by a Chris Drury hat trick, chased goalie Ben Heller '97 from net after blitzing him for eight goals on only 19 shots through the first two periods. Baker replaced Heller at the start of the third and did not allow a goal in the entire period, but the damage had already been done.
The Terriers were actually leading 8-1 with less than five minutes left in the game, before Bill Kelleher '96 and Ryan Chaytors '99 scored for the Big Green to make the score a more respectable 8-3. Defenseman Dave Risk '99 had the other Dartmouth goal in the loss.
North Dakota 8, Dartmouth 2
The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux beat the Big Green 8-2 on Dec. 19, in the first of back-to-back games, both of them at North Dakota.
The Fighting Sioux led 4-1 after two periods and added another four goals in the third to turn the contest into a rout. Baker gave up all eight goals in the loss.
Teeder Wynne and Curtis Murphy each scored two goals for North Dakota. The Dartmouth goals were scored by Dan Bloom '96 and David Whitworth '98.
North Dakota 6, Dartmouth 3
North Dakota made it two-in-a-row over the Big Green on Dec. 20, posting a 6-3 win in a game that was much closer than the night before. Baker lasted throughout the entire game in goal, unlike the previous night when he had been yanked in the third period.
All three periods of the game were identical, with North Dakota scoring two goals and Dartmouth scoring one in each stanza. Darcy Mitani scored twice for the winning fighting Sioux, while the Dartmouth goals were scored by Whitworth, Kelleher and Jon Sturgis '98.
Dartmouth 3, Boston College 1
The Big Green finally got into the win column -- after starting the season 0-9-1 -- with a 3-1 victory over the Boston College Eagles in the semifinals of the Sheraton/USAir Classic on Dec. 29.
Whitworth opened the scoring 3:56 into the game, and Owen Hughes '97 made it 2-0 with a score 5:35 into the second period. After B.C.'s Ryan Mittleman made it a 2-1 game 8:15 into the second, Curtis Wilgosh '99 responded with another Big Green goal to close out the scoring at 3-1.
Baker made 20 saves in the win, and the Big Green scored twice with the man advantage, an encouraging sign since the powerplay unit has been struggling.
Minn.-Duluth 3, Dartmouth 2
The heavily favored University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs had to work harder than they probably would have liked to in order to fend off the Big Green in the Sheraton/USAir Final.
Marc Christian put the Bulldogs on top 7:08 into the contest, but Dartmouth tied it at 1-1 when Bloom scored less than three minutes later. Max Wikman put Minnesota-Duluth up 2-1 with 5:02 left in the first period.
After Chaytors tied the score just 18 seconds into the second period, the Bulldogs went up 3-2 on a Curtis Bois goal 12:56 into the second. Though the Big Green pressed, they were unable to get the tying score, and had to settle for second place in the tournament. Baker was named tournament MVP, and Hughes made the tournament honor roll.
This weekend, the team looks to climb out of the ECAC cellar with road games against conference opponents Brown and Harvard.
The Big Green face the Brown Bears on Friday night. After a superb season in 1994-95, the Bears are struggling this season, with a 2-6-4 overall record and a 1-4-3 mark in the ECAC. Brown's best player is probably Brian Jardine, who leads the Bears in scoring.
On Saturday night, the Big Green will battle the Harvard Crimson. The Crimson are having a mediocre season by most standards, with a 6-7-1 overall mark and a 5-3-1 ECAC record, but they are in a three-way tie for third in the ECAC, only two points out of first place.
Dartmouth will have to watch Harvard's Brad Konik, the ECAC's leading scorer.
