Quiet to only unknowing Dartmouth students, the women's hockey team has been making a loud noise in the nation. With an impressive 20-2 overall record and a 13-1 league mark, the Big Green currently ranks third behind only Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth.
More impressive than the team record is the sheer talent that head coach Mark Hudak has at his disposal. Olympic forward Cherie Piper '06 leads the team in scoring with 49 points (19g, 30a) in just 20 contests, and eight other players have reached double digits in scoring. Five forwards, including Piper, have tallied over 100 points in their careers.
"The talent on the team is very strong," said Hudak. "It says a lot about us as a whole. We are unselfish and spread the points around."
The team's top two lines strike fear in the hearts of its opponents, combining for nine hat tricks among the six forwards.
"I know all the top forwards on that team and how amazing they are," said Harvard tri-captain Nicole Corriero. Her team handed Dartmouth one of its two losses on the season last weekend.
"And if you give them some room in the offensive zone," Corriero continued, "they'll work magic."
That magic has produced a 7-2 record against currently ranked teams, including a dramatic come-from-behind win over top-ranked Minnesota that snapped the Gopher's 27-game winning streak.
During the incredible run, many opposing coaches have echoed praises for the talent of this Big Green squad.
"Dartmouth is a great team and extremely gifted," said Colgate Head Coach Scott Wiley after a tough 3-2 loss to the Big Green.
"They're free-willing and hard-playing, and you can't give them any gifts," added Providence coach Bob Deraney whose 10th-ranked Friars suffered a 10-2 defeat in Thompson Arena. "You try to learn something by playing against great teams, and Dartmouth is a championship contender."
Contending for a championship has been the one constant goal of the Big Green since the 7-1 opening day victory over Boston College, and with the field expanded to eight teams this season, Dartmouth is poised to make its third consecutive tournament appearance.
"We're still focused on the regular season," said Hudak. "Any of the top four, five teams can win it on any given night, so we just have to work hard and keep on trying to get better as a team."
Dartmouth seemed to be invincible in the new year, but last weekend, long-time nemesis Harvard came into Thompson Arena and dealt the Big Green a 6-3 loss. In addition to the bitter taste of defeat, Dartmouth is now faced with a legitimate challenger for the conference title. With a 12-1-1 record, Harvard is only one point behind Dartmouth in the league standings. The two teams will face-off in Boston on the last weekend of the regular season with heavy playoff implications on the line.
But before that end of the season clash, the Big Green has a few more roadblocks in its way. Next weekend, Dartmouth will travel to the state of New York to face St. Lawrence and Clarkson, both of whom tasted defeat in Hanover earlier this year. However, the Big Green will be severely short-handed on the weekend, as three of its top five scorers, including top-goal scorer Katie Weatherston '06, will be out of the country due to national team commitments.
"We're playing next weekend with a smaller roster," said Hudak, "so we'll have to play smart and work hard in those games."
St. Lawrence boasts a season sweep of Dartmouth just a year ago. Senior forward Rebecca Russell leads the team with 48 points (24g, 24a), and freshman goalie Meaghan Guckian stands between the pipes with a 12-3 record.
Clarkson does not have a player with over 20 points, but the Golden Knights have competed admirably in its first year in the ECAC conference with a 4-9-1 record.
Should the Big Green escape New York unscathed, the team will host No. 9 Princeton and Yale two weeks from now. Though nothing is guaranteed in the ECAC, the chain of tough matches should adequately prepare Dartmouth for the post-season tournaments ahead.
Women's ice hockey opens Winter Carnival play in Canton, N.Y., for a 7:00 p.m. match up against St. Lawrence. The following afternoon, the College travels to Potsdam, N.Y., finishing up the weekend's action against Clarkson at 4:00 p.m. If the Green wants to stay in the top five, it will need to take both games.
