All season long there have been nights when a bounce here and a bounce there have meant the difference between a win and a loss for Dartmouth men's hockey. Most of these losses have come on the road, where the Big Green has a 2-6-2 record.
This weekend, when Dartmouth travels to upstate New York to take on Cornell and Colgate, the Big Green will look to make those bounces go their way.
In short, they want two wins.
The Big Green know what they can do at home. At Thompson, they have been giant killers, defeating three ranked teams and several of the top teams in the ECAC. Now they must prove they can do the same away from the confines of familiar Thompson Arena.
As they wind down the season and look towards the postseason, the Big Green realize how much every game is worth. The next three weekends could mean the difference between a home playoff berth and an early exit from the postseason. Needless to say, the Big Green crave some road wins.
The Big Green swept Cornell and Colgate at home last month, now they look to take the show on the road.
Cornell
After a brief reign atop the ECAC standings, last weekend the Big Red fell back to earth with losses to Yale and Princeton. Tied for second with Clarkson and owners of a 9-5-2 ECAC record (14-9-3 overall) Cornell will attempt to make up ground this weekend.
In their earlier meeting this year, the Big Green defeated Cornell 4-1.
The Big Green hope to repeat that performance tonight when they take on the Big Red at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y., which can be an imposing venue for visiting teams.
With two wins over Clarkson and wins over Harvard, RPI and Vermont, the Big Red are clearly not a team to be taken lightly.
Colgate
The Red Raiders come into this weekend on their longest winning streak of the year- three games. Last weekend the 10th-place Red Raiders (8-16-4, 6-9-1 ECAC) surprised Yale and Princeton, beating the Bulldogs 4-2 and the Tigers 7-3.
This is a clear sign that Colgate is not to be taken lightly.
Colgate's place in the ECAC and overall record is a bit misleading. Eleven of Colgate's 16 losses have been by two goals or fewer. The Red Raider's also tied Michigan in their season opener, and have two convincing wins over Yale.
Against Dartmouth earlier this season, Colgate fell to the Big Green 3-2 in a hard-fought, physical game. Three consecutive goals in the second period for Dartmouth made the difference.
