In most cases, an 0-4-2 record over a six game stretch might be cause for some worries. For the Dartmouth Big Green, it brought relief.
The team escaped the most trying part of its schedule with its pride intact, if not with any wins. The squad faced five non-league foes, including Hockey East giants UNH and Boston College, and battled ECAC rival Harvard.
The other three games came against two solid Hockey East teams in Providence and Northeastern, and Ohio State -- an NCAA tournament team for the last two years.
With such a young and inexperienced team facing stiff competition, the outcome was not surprising. However, the team is not discouraged.
Coach Bob Gaudet '81 cited the tough schedule as a learning experience.
"There's no question we have a tough schedule, but the kids have played really well against the top teams in the country," he said. "The best way to improve the program is to play the best teams.
"We've got a young team. For the program to get to where we want to go, we need to play the tough teams."
Gaudet is pleased with the team's solid defensive play and goaltending, and said the power-play is finally coming together.
"I'm not disappointed in the effort," he said, "just in the outcomes."
The team comes out of the break with a 2-7-3 record (1-2-3 ECAC) but nonetheless a confidence that it can play with any team in the country. This is just in time for the heart of the ECAC schedule.
Leading scorer Mike Maturo '02 explained, "We were very frustrated with some of the results because we realized that we could play against the best, but we had nothing to show for it, like a win.
"Once we learn how to put a full 60 minutes together, we will begin to win those close games. We deserve to win, and I think it will show when we return to our ECAC schedule."
This past week, freshman goalie Nick Boucher was named ECAC Rookie of the Week. Boucher made 33 saves in a commanding performance against Ohio State on Dec. 30 in the Sheraton/ Howard Bank Classic at UVM.
He carries an impressive 2.40 GAA and .924 save percentage, and has compiled a 2-3-3 record.
"Nick has made the best of the situation." Gaudet said, "He plays a fundamentally sound game and doesn't get rattled. Eric [Almon '00] and Rob [Delwo '02] have helped him and been supportive."
Maturo leads the team with nine points (five goals, four assists). He is followed closely by the brothers Byrne, Trevor '03 with seven, and Michael '01 with six.
Dartmouth is now tied for ninth place in the ECAC standings with Vermont. This weekend the Big Green will face off against RPI and Union at Thompson Arena -- a ripe chance to improve their league record and move up in the standings.
Providence 2, Dartmouth 0
The team traveled to beautiful Providence, RI, to take on the Friars. In a contest full of penalties, Providence skated away with the victory.
The Friars did all the damage in the second session, with goals from Michael Farrell at 3:06 and Jay Leach at 13:21. Doug Shepard provided the helper on both goals.
Boucher made 29 saves in a losing cause. The Friars and Big Green combined for 50 penalty minutes.
Northeastern 2, Dartmouth 1
Dartmouth headed north on I-95 to Boston where it faced rising Hockey East power Northeastern. Senior Ryan Poulton drew first blood for the Green at 9:19 of the first when he beat goalie Mike Gilhooly on a wrister. Maturo and Jamie Herrington '02 assisted on the goal.
Bobby Davis knotted the game at 1-1 in the second on a power play. With 4:36 to go in regulation, Davis struck again for his second of the evening, lifting the Huskies to a 2-1 victory.
Boucher was again impressive in net, making 32 saves for the Big Green.
Dartmouth 1, Harvard 1
In their lone ECAC game over the break, the Big Green locked horns with the Crimson at Thompson Arena. The game was scoreless until 16:06 of the third when Steve Moore of Harvard beat Boucher to make it 1-0.
Dartmouth answered 28 seconds later when Michael Byrne tied it up on a goal assisted by Poulton and Dan Casella '02.
Boucher was yet again outstanding for the Green, making 35 saves.
Boston College 6, Dartmouth 1
In the opening game at the Sheraton/ Howard Bank Classic hosted by the University of Vermont, the Dartmouth squad fell to the powerful Eagles. BC was led by diminutive speedster Brian Gionta, who netted a hat trick. Gionta, a certain Hobey Baker candidate, opened scoring with a power-play goal early in the first.
Gionta proceeded to score twice more in the second, including his second power-play tally of the night. Jeff Giuliano closed out scoring for the Eagles in the second with a goal in the 13th minute.
Mike Mottau and Mike Lephart rounded out scoring for BC in the third.
Frank Nardella '02 ended Tim Kelleher's bid for a shutout at 10:28 of the third, making it 6-1. Michael Byrne and Ryan Sinclair '02 provided the assists. The goal also ended BC's streak of 190:56 without surrendering a score.
Dartmouth's Netminder Almon made 33 stops.
Dartmouth 2, Ohio State 2
In their second game in as many days, the Big Green faced the Ohio State Buckeyes of the CCHA. The second game of the tournament proved to be more to Dartmouth's liking.
Michael Byrne opened scoring early at 4:30 of the first with a power-play goal. His goal was assisted by Nardella and Trevor Byrne.
The Buckeyes tied it up late in the period on a goal from Ryan Jestadt. It remained 1-1 until late in the third when Peter Mahler '01 scored at 15:13 on assists from Casella and Pete Summerfelt '03.
Ohio State countered with a goal by Luke Pavlas with only 1:06 remaining.
Boucher made 33 stops, including 17 in the third session.
UNH 3, Dartmouth 2 (OT)
To finish off their break, the squad traveled downstate to Durham to attempt the leviathan task of knocking off the top team in the country. The Big Green didn't quite pull it off, but they put a great scare into the Wildcats and proved they can play with the best.
It took UNH three periods and then some to finish off the feisty boys from Hanover. The Green must take heart that they held the high-powered UNH offense to only three goals while the Wildcats peppered Boucher with 38 shots.
Maturo commenced scoring with a goal at 7:42 of the first on an assist from Dory Tisdale '01. UNH responded at 10:55 with a power-play goal from Garret Stafford.
In the second, Mike Souza beat Boucher on a power-play goal at 6:51 to make it 2-1. Maturo made sure it wasn't going to be easy for the Wildcats by tying it at 12:53.
He beat UNH goalie Ty Conlkin through the five-hole on a shot from the point on the power-play. Trevor Byrne and Herrington assisted on Maturo's goal.
The third stanza saw no scoring but featured fine play by the netminders. The game went into overtime and ended when UNH's Dan Enders took a dish from Jason Shipulski and found the lower left hand corner open.
This stopped Dartmouth's bid to complete an upset sure to rock the Granite State.
