Midway through the season, the Dartmouth women's hockey team is ranked number-one in the nation. With four solid lines, three talented goalies, two straight wins, and only one loss so far, this is not a team to take lightly.
Success this season has been thanks to a combination of factors. With four talented lines, the team has extraordinary depth. Any number of combinations of players have produced results this season; the team has also increased its skating speed, making it easier to put pressure on other teams.
Correne Bredin '02 cites the team's three goalies, Meaghan Cahill '01, Kate Cochran '02, and Amy Ferguson '03, as major strengths, noting that "it is reassuring that there is someone who can save you in the net."
Finally, an intangible strength of the team has been the core of three coaches, led by head coach Judy Parish Oberting '91.
"Solid coaching has been a big part of our success," Carly Haggard '03 commented.
Rebounding from their disappointing loss to Northeastern on January 5th, the team bounced back in spectacular fashion last weekend, beating Maine and UNH, 5-2, and 6-2, respectively.
Key players in both those games were Haggard, and Bredin, who had a combined five goals and four assists in those two games.
During the game against Maine, Haggard had two goals and an assist; Bredin tallied three assists. Against UNH, Bredin scored two goals and Haggard notched a goal and an assist. The win against UNH gave Dartmouth its first-ever regular season sweep of the team.
Bredin noted this season that there has been an increase in support.
"Last year, we would only have around 100 fans a game," Bredin remarked. "This year, during the game at UNH there were 750 people in the stands. It's been nice to have more support."
The team plays tonight against Providence (12-5-2) and on Friday at home against Boston College (3-16-0). Haggard was quick to point out that the team cannot take the Friars lightly.
"Providence is a team like Northeastern," Haggard said. "We can't take it for granted that we will win, and we are going to have to play competitively."
Bredin added, "We still have a lot of games to play, and the big part of the season is still left."
While a big part of the season may be left, the Dartmouth women have already left their mark on this season. Their only hope now is for that mark to grow even larger come this March.
