Sometimes, seemingly little mistakes come back to haunt you. While the Dartmouth women's ice hockey team holds an impressive conference record of 16-6-0 and currently sits in third place, they know they could be higher.
Uncharacteristic losses to weaker teams such as Niagara and Princeton seemed like mere speed bumps in a stellar season, but now they are more significant since the second place and fifth place teams are separated by only three points in the standings.
How does this relate to this weekend's opponents you ask? Simple, Northeastern is currently one point behind Dartmouth and has beaten the Green in both of this season's previous meetings.
Translation: Dartmouth is out for blood against Northeastern. As for Providence, the Friars currently sit in sixth place in the ECAC and would face Dartmouth in the first round of the playoffs if the current standings hold true.
Providence lost the first matchup against Dartmouth 6-2 in late November. Dartmouth will look to dominate the Friars on Saturday, so that they seem more laughable should the two teams meet again in the playoffs.
Offense-Both Dartmouth and the Huskies can score. Dartmouth is averaging 4.42 goals per game while Northeastern has 4.17. Providence has a modest 3.07 goals per game average. The main difference between these teams is depth. The Big Green boasts eight players with over 25 points on the season, Northeastern has three, and Providence one. Dartmouth vs. Northeastern: Advantage Dartmouth. Dartmouth vs.Providence:Advantage Dartmouth
Defense-The Big Green's top all-round defensive players are Correne Bredin '02, Kristin Romberg '01, and Liz Macri '01. Northeastern has quality players in Jennie Setaro, and Kim Greene and but the Huskies defense has let 86 more shots on goal than Dartmouth's. Dartmouth vs. Northeastern: Advantage Dartmouth. Dartmouth vs. Providence: Advantage Dartmouth
Goaltending-Freshman Amy Ferguson will probably get the nod for both games this weekend both don't be surprised to see Meaghan Cahill '01 in net either.Dartmouth vs. Northeastern: Advantage Northeastern. Dartmouth vs. Providence: Advantage Dartmouth.
Simply put, Dartmouth can end its season with two wins, but Northeastern will not go quietly into the night with the number three playoff seed on the line. If Dartmouth wins tonight they should cruise past Providence. If they lose to Northeastern, then Providence might give the Big Green a little bit more trouble.
I pick Dartmouth over the Huskies in a classic goaltender's battle 2-1 and Dartmouth over Providence 4-1.
