The 2000-2001 season has been, by any standard, a remarkable one for women's hockey at Dartmouth. But the season is far from complete, and as the Big Green play each game, they continue their all-out assault on the record books.
1999-2000
Last year was one of the best years in the history of women's hockey at Dartmouth. The 1999-2000 squad finished third in ECAC with a conference record of 17-7-0, 21-12-0 overall. The team played a school-record number of games (33) and enjoyed a record number of wins (21) as well.
They fell in the finals of the ECAC Tournament to top-seeded Brown, 6-3, after beating second-ranked Harvard 3-2 in the previous round. But the Big Green knew as they concluded their season that they would return an almost complete team to the ice in 2000-2001, when they would make a championship run.
Where they stand
The team is currently 18-1-1 overall, 16-1-1 in ECAC, and enjoying the best season in team history. With seven regular season games left to be played, the Big Green is on pace to break its record number of wins (21 in 1999-2000), its record fewest losses (7 in 1990-1991 and 1992-1993), and has a chance to allow the lowest season goal total in its history (46 in 1986-1987), despite playing six more games than the record-setting team did.
The Dartmouth squad is set for the playoffs, remains undisputed in the nation's top spot in the rankings and is first in the ECAC.
Where they go from here
The Big Green have only seven regular season games remaining, but the schedule is onerous. They face five consecutive games on the road before concluding their season at Thompson Arena with games March 3 and 4.
The team will face-off at seventh-ranked Wisconsin this Saturday, and then at conference rivals Harvard and Brown next weekend. The Harvard and Brown games will foreshadow possible late-round match-ups for the ECAC Tournament, and will therefore be vital to the psychological state of the teams as they prepare for postseason play.
On February 24 and 25, the Big Green will play back-to-back games at Niagara (8th in ECAC). Finally, Dartmouth will close out the season at home against Providence (7th in ECAC) and Northeastern (4th in ECAC, 8th nationally). The culminating Northeastern game will be a hot ticket, as the Big Green will attempt to avenge its only loss of the season, and carry momentum into the post-season.
