Dartmouth club hockey hosted its annual tournament, named after legendary defenseman and club founder Sasha Kraev '01, in November of last year. Usually a popular event among fans of the team, this year's turnout saw a significant plummet in numbers. Last year's record high of 447 audience members fell to just three in what can most easily be attributed to the fickle nature of Dartmouth club-hockey fans.
"We thrive on the support we get from our fan base, it's a symbiotic relationship. They love us when we're good and we're good when they love us," explained power-forward Jamil Batcha '06. "And by the time of the tournament last fall we had sustained an abnormally long losing streak which we didn't break until last week when we obliterated Lyndon State." In the first game Dartmouth faced a seemingly unworthy foe in Maine Maritime Academy, a late replacement for perennial tournament winner UNH. Playing like an actual team, the Clubbers emerged victorious to the jubilation of their single fan, goaltender Chuck Rosenwasser '06. As the buzzer sounded at the conclusion of the third period, Dartmouth skated off with a 7-1 victory and received a standing ovation from Rosenwasser at his net.
Skating strong with four lines, Dartmouth entered the game with a start of massive proportions -- one usually employed by the opposition -- scoring first. Adam Hanbury '07 (2g, 1a) received the puck in the neutral zone, and left a trail of smoke as he single-handedly scorched the opposition's defense and ended with a sizzling shot that left Maine Maritime's goalie flailing in tears. But before he could regain composure, he was left to dig the puck out of the back of his net once again as Dartmouth's Rick Van Fox '06 (1g, 3a) deflected a shot into the bottom left-hand corner. Goals were also scored by Joshua Navikonis Th '05 (1g, 1a) and Jon Landsberg '06 (2g, 1a).
With Rosenwasser skating circles around his net to fight off the encroaching slumber, Maine Maritime struggled to break the puck out of their zone. The Clubbers suffocated them at every fruitless effort under the guidance of freshman Irat R. Feiskhanov's Siberian-style body checks. Then the unlikely occurred.
Rosenwasser's earlier determination and focus failed him, and Maine Maritime caught him snoozing. A series of deflections and bounces later, the puck skidded past the goal line, leaving the Clubbers in front by an insecure margin of four goals.
Aside from another fine goal courtesy of Adam Hanbury '07, little else happened before the completion of the game. Sadly, the team's success was short-lived, as the Clubbers would fall to UVM in the following day's championship game by the score of 2-1 in another nearly empty Thompson Arena.
It was a hard fought, entertaining encounter. The Clubbers began the game listlessly, conceding two goals within the span of one minute. Despite Dartmouth's best efforts, the situation deteriorated as more and more Clubbers bought the round-trip ticket to the penalty box. Out of this grim state of affairs materialized the metaphysical aura of former team bruiser, Anthony Balsamo '04, as whispers of the word "doom" drifted down from the rafters to settle on the slightly disturbed players beneath.
This spiritual enlightenment possessed Alicia Petryk '06 as she triple-deked UVM's goaltender and coolly slipped the puck between his legs. Tragically, Petryk provided too little too late. With so many players riding the pine on Thompson Arena's north side, Balsamo's spirit just couldn't single-handedly supply the inspirational oomph of a full-blown audience, and soon all hope was lost. Even a final offensive onslaught couldn't salvage the Kraev Kup for Dartmouth. However, the Clubbers exited the ice with heads held high and dignity intact.
