With no Psi U keg jump on the schedule for Winter Carnival, you may think the only athletic pursuits taking place this weekend will involve modified ping pong paddles or a pair of die. However, if you think this you are sorely mistaken, my friend. From the ice of Thompson Arena, to the hardwood of Leede Arena to the slopes of the Dartmouth Skiway, the Big Green will be in action this weekend.
Men's Hockey
The men's hockey team has skated through an up-and-down season this year, struggling up to Thanksgiving and then riding the high of several huge wins over non-league opponents. Now, in the heart of ECAC play, it is sink or swim time for the Big Green.
At 9-10-2 (6-6-2 ECAC) and sitting in a tie with Vermont for sixth in the conference, this weekend could be a key indicator of the team's fortune for the rest of the season. The Big Green dropped both games last weekend to Rensselaer and Union, after sweeping the same teams the weekend prior.
How Dartmouth will respond to this minor setback will say a lot about their toughness and drive, which are attributes that will get you far in the playoffs.
One thing going in the team's favor is their success at home. The Big Green is riding a five-game winning streak at home and is 7-4-0 overall at Thompson. This is a far cry from their 2-6-2 record on the road.
Obviously, the confines of Thompson Arena have been friendly to the Big Green. With the crowds that Winter Carnival weekend will attract, this will be magnified as the Thompson partisans root on the hometown team.
Facing the Big Green tonight will be the Harvard Crimson, a team that has given Dartmouth fits in the past.
In their first meeting this season in Cambridge on Nov. 11, Harvard took home a commanding 5-2 win. However, Dartmouth is a much different team now, so both teams will be expecting a closer game this time around.
Harvard (10-10-1, 9-5-1 ECAC) sits in second place in the ECAC behind Cornell, after being knocked out of the first place position it had grown accustomed to this season.
After a long layoff for exams, the Crimson faced a grueling three games in four days last weekend. Harvard had a tough time with lowly Colgate on Friday, but was able to pull away in the end to win 4-1.
On Saturday, the Crimson faced Cornell in a battle for supremacy of the ECACand fell 2-1.
As if its weekend wasn't tough enough, Harvard had to play second-ranked Boston College on Monday night in the opening round of the annual Beanpot Tournament. The Crimson was outmatched by the powerful Eagles who won easily, 4-1.
Harvard's offense is led by sophomore Dominic Moore, who was 11 goals and 18 assists in 20 games. His brother Steve is second in scoring with 18 points. Senior Oliver Jonas has been solid in net for the Crimson, posting a .924 save percentage and a 2.69 goals again average.
Tomorrow night the Big Green will take on the Brown Bears, who have had a disappointing season thus far. The Bears are losers of five in a row, though they did give Cornell a scare last weekend before falling in overtime.
Brown (4-15-2, 2-10-2) gave Dartmouth its first win of the year when they lost to the Big Green 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 11.
Now, placed firmly in the cellar of the ECAC, the Bears will be looking to make a run for the final playoff spot, and will need to start now. Thus, the Big Green must be wary of underestimating them.
If the offense can come together and Nick Boucher '03 can maintain his steady play, the Big Green should be able to enjoy their Carnival weekend much more.
Men's Basketball
Whenever Penn and Princeton come to town you know there will be some good basketball. It is just a matter of whether we can see any coming from the home team.
The premier teams in the Ivy League take on Dartmouth this weekend, with both teams hoping to leave Hanover with their unbeaten records still intact. The Big Green are just hoping to emerge from the weekend with some respect.
The Big Green stand at 1-5 in the Ivy League and sport a 6-13 overall record. While any hopes for an Ivy title are long gone, the team hopes to save face and salvage something out of what has been a disappointing season. This would be the weekend to start.
Though Princeton may not light up the scoreboard as much as other teams, their defense is among the best in the Ivy League. The Tigers have allowed an average of 58.8 points per game, a statistic that falls to 50 in league games.
While they may be renowned for their defense, the Tigers also have the best field goal percentage in the league, shooting at 45.5 percent.
Like Princeton, Penn also has a tight defense. While overall, the Quakers are giving up an average of 68.9 points per game, in Ivy play they have allowed a minuscule 48.5.
The Quaker offense is also nothing to sneeze at, with three starters averaging in double figures. Senior guard Lamar Plummer leads the team with 15.9 PPG, while the two sophomore forwards, Koko Archibong and Ugonna Onyekwe average 11.0 and 14.1 respectively.
The Big Green will look for big games from Greg Buth '01, who is third in the league in points per game with 17.8. Buth has averaged 39 percent from downtown, and if the Big Green hope to break the defenses of Penn and Princeton, he will need to be on target.
Forward Ian McGinnis '01, a key factor in the win over Cornell, is leading the league in rebounding with 182 total and 9.6 per game.
These two senior leaders have been around the block before and know what it would mean to win on Carnival weekend over two of the best teams in the league. Whether they can reach that goal is up to them.
Skiing
The Winter Carnival would not be the same without skiing. From the start skiing and racing have been an integral part of carnival.
The Dartmouth Skiway will host some of the top collegiate skiers in the nation this weekend, in one of the most important events on the carnival circuit. After winning the first two carnivals of the season, Dartmouth came in second last weekend at UVM.
The giant slalom will take place today, while the slalom will be tomorrow.
Dartmouth expects to have some top finishers in both races. On the women's side captain Gusty Swift '01 and Jeannie Eisberg '01have both had victories in the slalom this year, and look to continue their success.
On the men's side Bradley Wall '02 has skied brilliantly, and has dominated at times in both slalom and GS events.
The Nordic teams have also met with much success this year. The cross country races will take place at Oak Hill today and tomorrow.
The women hope to remain undefeated with a win on their home course. The team is led by Erin Quinn-Hurst '02, Kate Pearson '02 and Anna Harrington '02.
The men's cross country squad looks to get a top five finish from captain Scott McArt '01. McArt is coming off first and fourth place finishes at Vermont last week.
