PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Big Green women's hockey team learned a great deal this season about playing through adversity. Faced with heavy graduation losses, injuries to key players and national team commitments that resulted in a constantly shuffling lineup, Dartmouth earned 24 wins, its third Ivy League title in four years and a second straight berth in the NCAA Frozen Four.
As good as Dartmouth has become at dealing with less-than-ideal circumstances, the Big Green could not avoid a less-than-ideal conclusion to the season. Dartmouth dropped both of its Frozen Four games at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, R.I., falling to Minnesota and St. Lawrence by scores of 5-1 and 2-1, respectively.
"We had a great season, and I'm certainly excited to be here," Dartmouth coach Mark Hudak said after the consolation game. "I'm disappointed at losing two games, but I was happy with the way that kids played this weekend."
Left shorthanded by the absences of Canadian national members Gillian Apps '06 and Cherie Piper '06, Dartmouth dressed every available player for the Frozen Four, even when it meant team captain Lydia Wheatley '03 playing with a stress fracture in her foot, or defenseman Meredith Batcheller '07 moving up to the forward position to fill out the Big Green's third line. Shorthanded but not short-hearted, Dartmouth took its depleted lineup into battle on Friday against the top-ranked Golden Gophers.
Against Minnesota, the Big Green women came out anxious to prove that they still had all the firepower they needed to compete with the nation's top-ranked team, outshooting the Gophers 10-4 in the early minutes of the first period. Dartmouth's frenetic pace paid off with 12:08 gone in the opening frame, as Krista Dornfried '05 scored the game's first goal, taking a shot from the slot that found its way past Minnesota goalkeeper Jody Horak and dribbled across the goal line.
Down 1-0, the Gophers picked up the pressure, taking nine shots over the remainder of the period to Dartmouth's four. However, Big Green netminder Kate Lane '06 was equal to the task, stopping every shot she faced in the opening frame, giving Dartmouth a 1-0 lead as the teams headed to the locker rooms for the first intermission.
Minnesota was given a chance to even things up in the second period, getting the game's first two power plays. However, the Dartmouth penalty-kill unit, which was the Big Green's undoing in last weekend's ECAC semifinal loss to St. Lawrence, was strong early, and maintained Lane's shutout bid and the Dartmouth lead.
Minnesota did get tie the game, however, thanks to a Minnesota breakway in the period's 13th minute. U.S. Olympic team members Krissy Wendell and Natalie Darwitz teamed up for the tying goal, with Wendell taking a pass from Darwitz, going in alone, and slipping a backhand shot past Lane and into the back of the net. Wendell's goal was the only tally of the second period, and the teams were deadlocked at the second intermission.
For the first seven minutes of the third period, Dartmouth and Minnesota traded blows with neither team eager to surrender an advantage. Then, with 12:31 to go, a loose puck behind the Dartmouth net bounced its way into point-blank range. Unfortunately for Dartmouth, Wendell was there to meet it. For the next 12 and half minutes, it would be "score or die" for the Big Green.
Five minutes later, it became "score two or die," as Minnesota junior Kelly Stephens took a pass just outside the Dartmouth zone, brought the puck in alone, and roofed it over Lane to give the Gophers a 3-1 lead.
With five minutes to go, the Gophers looked to put the game away, as Wendell circled with the puck, then launched a wrist shot that found net and gave the Olympian a hat trick. Shortly thereafter, Stephens netted her second goal of the afternoon, closing the scoring in the process.
"I'm pretty happy with what we did in the first two periods," Hudak said after the game. "We ran out of gas a little bit in the third period. They took advantage of a couple of mistakes that we made."
When asked if the absence of Piper and Apps contributed to the Big Green's fatigue, Hudak said, "Each game that you go into, you're looking for different people to do things. Would [Piper and Apps] have helped with the fatigue factor? Sure, it's got to. But at the same time, we got fewer penalties without them."
Still, no one in the Big Green camp was about to use the Team Canada call-ups as an excuse. "We all kind of turned on them when they left," joked Dornfried. "You know, 'Screw them! We don't need them.'"
St. Lawrence, Dartmouth's opponent in Sunday's consolation game, could easily sympathize with the Big Green's situation, as Saints forward Gina Kingsbury, who was recently named an all-American, was also training with Team Canada and unable to compete in Providence. The shorthanded Saints entered the consolation game following a tough 2-1 loss to Harvard in the second semifinal game, and went to the consolation looking for their fourth win over Dartmouth this season.
Dartmouth, however, made a strong bid to break through against the Saints in the first period, as the Big Green got the game's first goal. Leading scorer Katie Weatherston '06 took a well-placed pass from Sarah Clark just outside the St. Lawrence zone, then went in alone and put the puck past Saints netminder Rachel Barrie.
The second half of the period was marked by extended special teams play, as the Big Green and Saints were called for a total of six penalties in the final ten minutes of the period. The Dartmouth penalty kill, which allowed three power-play tallies in the last meeting between these teams, stepped up to control play, with Weatherston and Meagan Walton both getting shorthanded opportunities. Neither side was able to capitalize, however, and the Big Green went to the first intermission with a 1-0 lead for the second straight game.
The Big Green's penalty kill was called on to step up again in the second period, as Dartmouth was whistled for two more second-period penalties. Again, the Big Green supplied plenty of shorthanded pressure, with Weatherston, Walton, and Sarah Clark '04 leading the way to limit the Saints to one shot on six power plays through two periods. Overall, St. Lawrence outshot Dartmouth 9-5 in the second period, but Barrie and Dartmouth's Christine Capuano '07 were both up to the task and the score remained 1-0 entering the final period of the season for the Saints and Big Green.
The Saints finally broke through on the power play four minutes into the third, when Capuano was caught out of position behind the Dartmouth net. The freshman netminder sprawled back in front to make the save on Rebecca Russell's attempt, but couldn't stop a high putback shot by Abbie Bullard who found the back of the net for her third goal of the season.
The Saints then took a 2-1 lead with 9:07 to play, as Grills took a high shot of her own that sailed over Capuano and into the net. "Both of my linemates were working pretty hard down low, and I got the puck," said Grills. "I just tried to get the shot on net, and it went in."
The Saints proceeded to weather considerable pressure from Dartmouth, eventually forcing Hudak to call timeout and pull Capuano with 1:37 to go. While the Saints were unable to hit the empty net, they were able to hold off the extra-attacker pressure from Dartmouth, securing the victory.
When asked about his team's response to the injuries and absences that added to Dartmouth's challenge, Hudak said, "We've got 21 players, and we've counted on all 21of them throughout the season, but I was very happy with the way the kids responded [this weekend]."
Wheatley, who has been walking with the aid off crutches while not on the ice, had mixed emotions when discussing the end of her Big Green career. "I'm really sad that it's over with. I've actually been fortunate enough to have longer than most people do, with redshirting, but it's sad that it's over.
"I'm going to miss playing with this team. They make it fun to come out on the ice all the time, so I will miss that, but I think we had a pretty good weekend this weekend. Obviously, it didn't turn out how we wanted it to, but we fought hard."
Down 1-0, the Gophers picked up the pressure, taking nine shots over the remainder of the period to Dartmouth's four. However, Big Green netminder Kate Lane '06 was equal to the task, stopping every shot she faced in the opening frame, giving Dartmouth a 1-0 lead as the teams headed to the locker rooms for the first intermission.
Minnesota was given a chance to even things up in the second period, getting the game's first two power plays. However, the Dartmouth penalty-kill unit, which was the Big Green's undoing in last weekend's ECAC semifinal loss to St. Lawrence, was strong early, and maintained Lane's shutout bid and the Dartmouth lead.
Minnesota did get to tie the game, however, thanks to a Minnesota breakway in the period's 13th minute. U.S. Olympic team members Krissy Wendell and Natalie Darwitz teamed up for the tying goal, with Wendell taking a pass from Darwitz, going in alone and slipping a backhand shot past Lane and into the back of the net. Wendell's goal was the only tally of the second period, and the teams were deadlocked at the second intermission.
For the first seven minutes of the third period, Dartmouth and Minnesota traded blows with neither team eager to surrender an advantage. Then, with 12:31 to go, a loose puck behind the Dartmouth net bounced its way into point-blank range. Unfortunately for Dartmouth, Wendell was there to meet it. For the next 12 and half minutes, it would be "score or die" for the Big Green.
Five minutes later, it became "score two or die," as Minnesota junior Kelly Stephens took a pass just outside the Dartmouth zone, brought the puck in alone, and roofed it over Lane to give the Gophers a 3-1 lead.
With five minutes to go, the Gophers looked to put the game away, as Wendell circled with the puck, then launched a wrist shot that found net and gave the Olympian a hat trick. Shortly thereafter, Stephens netted her second goal of the afternoon, closing the scoring in the process.
"I'm pretty happy with what we did in the first two periods," Hudak said after the game. "We ran out of gas a little bit in the third period. They took advantage of a couple of mistakes that we made."
When asked if the absence of Piper and Apps contributed to the Big Green's fatigue, Hudak said, "Each game that you go into, you're looking for different people to do things. Would [Piper and Apps] have helped with the fatigue factor? Sure, it's got to. But at the same time, we got fewer penalties without them."
Still, no one in the Big Green camp was about to use the Team Canada call-ups as an excuse. "We all kind of turned on them when they left," joked Dornfried. "You know, 'Screw them! We don't need them.'"
St. Lawrence, Dartmouth's opponent in Sunday's consolation game, could easily sympathize with the Big Green's situation, as Saints forward Gina Kingsbury, who was recently named an all-American, was also training with Team Canada and unable to compete in Providence. The shorthanded Saints entered the consolation game following a tough 2-1 loss to Harvard in the second semifinal game, and went to the consolation looking for their fourth win over Dartmouth this season.
Dartmouth, however, made a strong bid to break through against the Saints in the first period, as the Big Green got the game's first goal. Leading scorer Katie Weatherston '06 took a well-placed pass from Sarah Clark just outside the St. Lawrence zone, then went in alone and put the puck past Saints netminder Rachel Barrie.
The second half of the period was marked by extended special teams play, as the Big Green and Saints were called for a total of six penalties in the final ten minutes of the period. The Dartmouth penalty kill, which allowed three power-play tallies in the last meeting between these teams, stepped up to control play, with Weatherston and Meagan Walton both getting shorthanded opportunities. Neither side was able to capitalize, however, and the Big Green went to the first intermission with a 1-0 lead for the second straight game.
The Big Green's penalty kill was called on to step up again in the second period, as Dartmouth was whistled for two more second-period penalties. Again, the Big Green supplied plenty of shorthanded pressure, with Weatherston, Walton, and Sarah Clark '04 leading the way to limit the Saints to one shot on six power plays through two periods. Overall, St. Lawrence outshot Dartmouth 9-5 in the second period, but Barrie and Dartmouth's Christine Capuano '07 were both up to the task and the score remained 1-0 entering the final period of the season for the Saints and the Big Green.
The Saints finally broke through on the power play four minutes into the third, when Capuano was caught out of position behind the Dartmouth net. The freshman netminder sprawled back in front to make the save on Rebecca Russell's attempt, but couldn't stop a high putback shot by Abbie Bullard who found the back of the net for her third goal of the season.
The Saints then took a 2-1 lead with 9:07 to play, as Grills took a high shot of her own that sailed over Capuano and into the net. "Both of my linemates were working pretty hard down low, and I got the puck," said Grills. "I just tried to get the shot on net, and it went in."
The Saints proceeded to weather considerable pressure from Dartmouth, eventually forcing Hudak to call timeout and pull Capuano with 1:37 to go. While the Saints were unable to hit the empty net, they were able to hold off the extra-attacker pressure from Dartmouth, securing the victory.
When asked about his team's response to the injuries and absences that added to Dartmouth's challenge, Hudak said, "We've got 21 players, and we've counted on all 21of them throughout the season, but I was very happy with the way the kids responded [this weekend]."
Wheatley, who has been walking with the aid off crutches while not on the ice, had mixed emotions when discussing the end of her Big Green career. "I'm really sad that it's over with. I've actually been fortunate enough to have longer than most people do, with redshirting, but it's sad that it's over.
"I'm going to miss playing with this team. They make it fun to come out on the ice all the time, so I will miss that, but I think we had a pretty good weekend this weekend. Obviously, it didn't turn out how we wanted it to, but we fought hard."
