After 27 games and almost five months of hockey, the Dartmouth men's hockey team's season comes down to the final two regular season games this weekend, tonight against Brown and tomorrow night against Harvard at Thompson Arena.
The Big Green (11-11-5 overall, 7-10-3 ECAC, 8th place) are right on the cusp of making the playoffs for just the third time in the 1990s, and they have their destiny in their own hands. To put it simply, if the Big Green win, they're in -- a win over either Brown or Harvard guarantees Dartmouth a spot in the postseason ECAC Tournament.
And the Green can still make it regardless of how they do this weekend if the 11th place St. Lawrence Saints lose or tie either of their games, which would eliminate the Saints from playoff contention.
But the Green don't want to "back in" to the playoffs based on the results of other games -- they want to do it all by themselves. As an added incentive, if the Green win both tonight and tomorrow, they have an outside shot at finishing fifth in the league, which would reward them with home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
If the team is feeling any nerves from knowing the playoffs are on the line this weekend, you wouldn't know it hearing what they have to say.
Defenseman Dave Risk '99 says the Green have been through so much together this season. "We feed off of the extra pressure of the playoffs. We are a veteran club who have a lot of pride in our school and in our team, and we plan on giving our fans and Dartmouth College what it deserves, a winner with this weekend sweep," he said.
Forward Brian Fleming '98 says knowing the playoffs are on the line makes it that much easier to prepare for this weekend. "Any athlete worth his salt wants to play in the big games, when everything is on the line," he said.
It won't be easy for the Big Green though, since both Brown and Harvard have a lot to gain this weekend, too.
The surging Brown Bears (11-14-1 overall, 10-9-1 ECAC, 4th place) are looking to sew up home ice advantage in the first round and would like nothing more than to stick it to Dartmouth's Head Coach Bob Gaudet -- who coached the Bears for nine years before defecting to Hanover -- yet again. Brown defeated Dartmouth in overtime 6-5 earlier this year in Providence.
And the Harvard Crimson (9-16-2 overall, 7-10-3 ECAC, 8th) are locked in an 8th place tie with Dartmouth and it could be said that they are fighting for their playoff lives. Just a few weeks ago, Harvard was in third place in the ECAC and looked to be cruising toward home-ice advantage in the playoffs. But Harvard has slumped badly since then, and the Crimson lost twice at home last weekend.
The Green are coming off a disappointing one-point weekend versus Yale and Princeton, but Dartmouth is still unbeaten in eight of its last 11 games (5-3-3) and they have been playing great hockey throughout calendar year 1998. Furthermore, the Big Green have not lost back-to-back games since early January.
Tri-captain Jeremiah Buckley '98 has goals in seven of his last nine games, and Jon Sturgis '98 comes into this weekend with a six-game point scoring streak.
After goalie Eric Almon '00 had to miss last weekend with a minor injury, Gaudet says that Almon should be back at full strength this weekend, and both Almon and Jason Wong '00 figure to see some action in net for the Green.
The key to tonight's game against Brown for the Green may very well be containing lethal forward Damian Prescott. One of the most prolific scorers in the league, Prescott has 26 points in his last 13 games. And Brown goalie Scott Stirling has won seven of his last nine starts, and has allowed an average of less than two goals per game over that span.
While Harvard is not playing as well of late as Brown (the Crimson have won just two of their last eight), Gaudet still cautions that they are still a speedy team with good goaltending, and they cannot be taken for granted. Harvard beat the Big Green in Cambridge 4-3 in January.
Students are reminded that both tonight's game versus Brown (7:30 p.m.) and tomorrow night's Harvard game (7:30 p.m.) are free to those who show a valid Dartmouth ID.
Forward Zach Hafer '99 says the Big Green are primed to reward those who come to the game: "We want to show the athletic department how much we appreciate the free hockey this weekend by putting on a great show for the fans."
And Saturday night's game will also be a special one for the Dartmouth hockey program, as eight players will be playing their last career regular season games at Thompson on "Senior Night": Jeremiah Buckley '98, Bob Cancelli '98, Brian Fleming '98, Shaun Peet '98, Charlie Retter '98, Tom Ruzzo '97, Jon Sturgis '98 and Dave Whitworth '98.
The Green have a job to do, and the results of other games could affect their playoff standing, but Gaudet says there's no place for scoreboard-watching. "We have to do what we have to do ... To me there's no place for scoreboard-watching. We have to take care of our own business."
