In their first season under head coach Judy Oberting '91, the three members of the Dartmouth women's hockey Class of 2004 put their names in the record books as they helped the Big Green women bring home their first ever ECAC championship, then skated for the Big Green in the inaugural NCAA Women's Frozen Four.
However, according to defender Lesley Reiart '04, making history was the last thing on the minds of the '04s when they arrived in Hanover.
"Coming in as a freshman, you really don't know what to expect as to the caliber of hockey you are going to be playing," said Reiart, "and you're not sure what your role is going to be. The league we play in is very competitive, which is great because every game is a battle. Freshman year is your year to adapt and adjust to the style and pace of college hockey, which I felt all three of us handled quite well."
For forward Sarah Clark '04, the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2000-01, adjusting to hockey at Dartmouth "was definitely harder than I thought it would be in the beginning. I have had to improve all aspects of my game in order to compete at this level. It has been a tough, but beneficial learning experience."
In the course of this "learning experience," the '04s have had the benefit of playing under Coach Oberting, who played defense for the Big Green from 1987 to 1991, was named to the All-Ivy First Team three times, and still holds eight school records.
When asked about what it's like to play under a coach with such a storied history at Dartmouth, defender Louise Pietrangelo '04 responded, "It is a positive experience for me. Coach Oberting knows exactly what we are going through, because she did it herself.
"She knows what it takes to be a college athlete, so that makes it easier for her to understand what we're going through during such a long grueling season."
The coaching staff will add another former Dartmouth skater this coming season: Kristina Guarino '01 will return to Hanover as an assistant coach. Guarino, who was named Academic All-Ivy three times and Academic All-ECAC twice during her playing career, was a two-time co-captain of the Big Green, and was one of the first captains (along with Jennifer Wiehn '01) that the '04s played under at Dartmouth.
When asked what it will be like to have Guarino join the coaching staff, Reiart responded, "I think it will be a great thing for Dartmouth. Tina was such an integral part of our team, and was an excellent captain and role model to everyone.
"As a freshman coming in you can sometimes feel a little overwhelmed or inferior at times, but she never looked at us as anything but teammates and equals which was very comforting. You were never afraid to approach her with a problem or question, which can carry over into her new position. I feel like she will be a players' coach, which I think all teams can benefit from."
Clark added, "Kristina was a good leader as captain, and a hard working, solid player with a good hockey mind, which leads me to believe that she will be able to make the transition into coaching and be successful. I am excited to see what she will bring to our already strong coaching staff."
As the '04s gear up for their junior season, they know that if the coming year is anything like the past two, Dartmouth's road to success will almost certainly run through Brown. In each of the last two ECAC tournaments the Bears and the Big Green have taken each other to the limit.
In 2001, the tournament semifinal between Brown and Dartmouth went to two overtimes before Carly Haggard '03 scored to give Dartmouth a 3-2 win. This past season, Dartmouth and Brown met in the ECAC final and also went to overtime. This time it was Brown that emerged victorious, as Kim Insalico scored 8:57 into the extra period to give the Bears a 4-3 win.
How do the '04s feel about the possibility of another Dartmouth-Brown tournament matchup?
According to Clark, "We will be out for revenge next season. They basically ended our season, which has left a very bitter taste in our mouths. Plus, they are always a good team, and our rivalry with them makes the games fun to play."
Reiart added, "Every game with Brown is a battle to the end, which is really what you can only hope for. Those games are the most fun to play, and are that much more rewarding when you come out with the win, because everyone has given it their all and left it all out on the ice."
When asked how she would feel about facing Brown in the ECAC tournament again, Pietrangelo simply responded, "I will be thinking that we are going to beat them this time."
Whether or not another tournament showdown with the Bears is in the cards, the '04s will enter the 2002-03 season with a new set of responsibilities. As the '04s join the veteran half of the team, they will most likely be looked to by the incoming '06s -- and eventually, the '07s -- as a source of guidance and advice. When asked how she would respond to this new responsibility, Reiart responded, "I just hope that i can do as good of a job as our veterans did with us. We have such a dynamic team, in which everyone really seems to mesh.
"I hope that the freshmen will look up to me as someone that they can come and talk to, and that their transition into college hockey goes as smoothly as mine did. I was fortunate to have a great group of girls above me that never treated any of us as anything but equals. We were never made to feel like merely freshmen, aside, of course, from picking up the odd puck here and there."
In order to help the incoming players "mesh" into the Big Green system, Clark would like to stress the importance of constant training. According to Clark, "The number one thing that I have learned in college is that conditioning and strength training are key. You have to put in a ton of work during the summer aside from your training with the team.
"Everyone is good, everyone can shoot, pass, and skate well, and the extra work that you do is the only way to separate yourself from the other college athletes."
As Clark, Pietrangelo and Reiart step into the role of veterans, what will help them most, both in assisting the incoming players and in pursuing further success on the ice, is the team's attitude.
"We're just a group of girls that practices and plays hard whenever we step on the ice," said Reiart, "but we know how to have fun while doing it. Everyone is here because she loves hockey and if we all didn't feel that passionately about it, then we wouldn't be here."
