Dartmouth sports fans enjoy a break from the monotony of the Ivy League schedules, as the Big Green take on a slew of non-conference opponents this weekend. For many of the teams, this is their last stint outside the Ancient Eight for the rest of the season.
Women's Hockey:
This weekend Canada and the United States will engage in a battle for hockey supremacy. No, the Winter Olympics will not be starting early. The Dartmouth women's hockey team will be traveling to our neighbors to the north this weekend to compete in the Concordia Tournament, hosted by Concordia University.
The tournament will feature eight teams, including two from the United States, the Big Green and the Wildcats from the University of New Hampshire.
Captain Sarah Hood '98 was excited about simply participating in the tournament, as the level of play will be very high.
"It is always a very good tournament usually including all of the teams which will compete for the national championship in Canada. It should prepare us for the rest of the season," she said.
The Big Green need to play well this weekend to gain both confidence and momentum for next week's matchup with Cornell. A win against the Big Red would in all probability bring the Ivy title to Hanover.
Men's Hockey:
While the women travel North, the men's icers have a home date with non-conference foe, the University of Denver.
The Big Green are coming off of a weekend split at home against St. Lawrence and Clarkson, and currently occupy 10th place in the ECAC. If the playoffs were to start tonight, Dartmouth would earn the final spot.
While this game will have little effect on their post-season plans, a victory would raise their record to .500 and would give them momentum going into their matchup at UMass-Lowell on Tuesday and in next weekend's matchup with Vermont.
If the Green are to make a serious run at a playoff berth and a successful weekend, the next two games are crucial confidence-builders.
Men's Basketball:
The men's basketball team will try to rebound from its recent three-game skid as they take on the Navy Midshipmen this Saturday at Leede Arena.
After defeating the Harvard Crimson two weeks ago, the Big Green struggled in a road trip to Cornell and Columbia before losing Wednesday night to twin-state rival the University of Vermont. Navy enters the contest with a 10-6 record and should be more than ready to take on the Big Green. Co-Captain Asa Palmer who recorded a career-high 15 points against the Catamounts realized that the Green need to get a win to stop the bleeding.
"We need to get over this one [Vermont] and look forward to Navy. We have practiced well and are really starting to learn how to bounce back," he said.
