Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Swamp. The Pit. Thompson Arena?
While Thompson may not be famous for its rabid fans and sellout crowds, this year it has had the same effects on opposing teams as these inhospitable venues, with the Big Green compiling a 9-4-0 record at home. All Thompson needs now is its own "Crazies" to put it on equal footing.
This weekend was no exception to the Big Green's success at home. A week after dropping two games in a weekend for the first time since mid-November, Dartmouth men's hockey bounced back with a vengeance, garnering a Winter Carnival weekend sweep. The Big Green destroyed a skilled Harvard team by a 7-0 margin and took a hard-fought decision over Brown, 3-1.
The four-point weekend goes a long way towards improving Dartmouth's chances at home ice advantage in the playoffs, and puts them into fifth in the ECAC standings. Their record now stands at 11-10-2 (8-6-2 ECAC).
Harvard
In what was the more anticipated of the two games this weekend, the Big Green took on a Harvard team that came into the game second in the league. The Crimson left Hanover with their faces the color of their uniforms.
Coming into the game on a two-game slide, the Crimson knew they were hurting but had no idea what was in store for them. Certainly they didn't expect the one-sided affair that took place.
"The puck bounced our way," head coach Bob Gaudet '81 said after the game. "We got some key goals and great stops. We chipped away offensively and scored some goals."
This comment may seem like an understatement, for it appeared that the Big Green did much more than chip away offensively -- they blew Harvard apart.
Apart from the offensive fireworks for Dartmouth, the game featured great goaltending from Nick Boucher '03, who made 22 saves and notched his first shutout since Jan. 7, 2000 against RPI.
The Big Green lit the lamp 1:26 into the game on a tally by Chris Taliercio '02. Taliercio scored off a rebound from a Frank Nardella '02 shot, wristing it home past Harvard netminder Oliver Jonas.
This goal would be all the offense Dartmouth needed, but the Big Green were unwilling to let it stand there.
Later in the period, at 16:06, Mike Byrne '01 made it 2-0 after he found the puck loose in the crease and slid it into the goal. His brother, Trevor Byrne '03, picked up an assist on the goal, the second time the brothers Byrne have hooked up for a goal.
In the second it was more of the same for the Big Green. A goal by Kent Gillings '03 ten seconds into the period and a one timer by Chris Baldwin '02 at 18:13 were bookends to a period dominated by Dartmouth.
What cracks the Big Green had found in Jonas, they found in the third period in Will Crothers, who entered the game in relief of a shell-shocked Jonas.
As the Crimson began to feel the game slipping out of their reach, they began to play physical, and the penalties piled up. This gave the Dartmouth power play unit a chance for target practice.
In a span of a little over two minutes, the Big Green scored twice on the power play and once in a regular strength situation. Taliercio got his second of the evening on a shot from the top of the right face off circle on the power play. Jamie Herrington '02 scored 19 seconds later, while Nardella put the finishing touches on the rout with a power-play score at 18:44.
The win was Dartmouth's first over the Crimson since Mar. 1, 1996, a span of nine games.
Obviously the fact that the win came over Harvard is a big deal for Gaudet and his troops, but the Dartmouth coach tried to use the win as a more general example of what can happen when the team comes together.
"It matters very little who we play," Gaudet said. "If we play to our potential, that's what counts."
Brown
While the lopsided result of the Harvard game may have come as a surprise to some, the next night was an anticipated win for the Big Green, and they delivered.
In what was a departure from the offense laden Friday night game, the 3-1 win over Brown was a defensive struggle that was not a done deal until the buzzer sounded.
Boucher was a force in net once again, making 35 saves in the win.
"I thought they [Brown] played really well," Gaudet said after the game. "We played solid hockey. Last night was a real good game offensively, this was a different game from last night."
Mike Maturo '02, who had two goals in the win, found twine for the first time since Jan. 13 against Cornell, a goal-scoring slump of mammoth proportions for Dartmouth's leading scorer.
"I was in a three-week slump for goals," Maturo said following the game. "Getting this was a big monkey off my back."
Maturo got Dartmouth on the board at 6:15 of the first on a pretty wrister from the right face off circle that found the top right corner. Linemate Mike Murray '03 assisted with a nice setup to Maturo.
That was all the offense Dartmouth would get in the opening stanza, as three penalties made it hard for them to mount any sort of consistent offensive effort.
The 1-0 lead held for over a period and a half, until Maturo netted his second of the night for the game winner at 18:20. The goal came on a rebound off a shot by Pete Summerfelt '03, which Maturo deposited from the slot.
At the end of two periods, the score stood at 2-0, and would remain that until 14:01 of the third, when Baldwin scored a fluke goal from behind the net.
Brown ended Boucher's bid for a weekend shutout at 17:22 when John Petricig scored on an odd-man rush to get Brown on the board.
Now, the Big Green must transfer some of the magic at Thompson Arena to the road, where they have an unimpressive 2-6-2 record, as the travel to Cornell and Colgate next weekend, in a crucial weekend series. Dartmouth's troubles winning on the road don't appear to bother Gaudet.
"We've played well on the road," Gaudet said. "We don't have to do anything different but win."
