The 8-10-1 (6-5-1 ECAHCL) Big Green have had less than a satisfying season thus far, highlighted by last weekend's unimaginably frustrating 3-2 loss to Holy Cross on a shorthanded goal with 29 seconds left in the game. Yet after all that has already gone wrong for Dartmouth, the men in green remain in the upper half of the ECACHL standings. They will look to improve their lot this weekend while playing host to Union and Rensselaer.
The top four teams in the league get first round byes and home ice for the second round. Dartmouth currently sits in fifth, tied with Yale and Rensselaer. However, the team only trails fourth-place Harvard by two points (one win), putting Dartmouth in solid position for the season's home stretch.
The Big Green finished last season's 20-win regular-season campaign as the fifth-place team in the ECACHL, beating Yale in the first round but eventually falling in three games at Vermont in the second round. It is impossible to say with certainty that home ice for the Big Green would have reversed the outcome, but it would not have hurt. Dartmouth veterans recognize the ultimate importance of their final ten games, in terms of the ECACHL bracket as well as their flickering hopes for an NCAA bid.
"We're not really thinking we need a certain number of wins, we're just thinking of playing well the last 10 games, get home ice in playoffs and win our league," said Nick Johnson '08. "That's what we have to do to get to the tournament so that's our goal."
Assistant captain Garret Overlock '06 was wary of glancing too far into the future. "At this point, we don't want to look past Friday night against Union," he said. "If we look past our next game, we will continue to struggle. For the remainder of the year, we must be sure all our attention is focused on whoever our next opponent is, and we'll see where we end up at the conclusion of the regular season."
Dartmouth's leading scorer (22 points) and captain Mike Ouellette '06 expressed the importance of moving past Saturday's heartbreaker against Holy Cross and learning from the team's mistakes. While the senior acknowledged the demoralizing nature of the defeat, Ouellette contended that if the Dartmouth skaters can ameliorate the faults which have led to losses like last Saturday's, they "will be a better team in the long run."
"There was a big reaction in the dressing room [on Saturday]," said Ouellette. "Guys are tired of coming up short when we should have no excuses. We have a lot of leadership in the room and its presence has been very strong all week long in preparing for our next challenge."
Union (11-10-5, 4-5-3 ECACHL) has experienced most of its success at home this season and, until recently, had not lost in Schenectady, N.Y. The Dutchmen are 3-8-1 on the road and have only scored more than two goals twice away from home.
In their last matchup, Dartmouth allowed a third period game-tying goal to sophomore Michael Beynon. Neither team could capitalize in overtime, and the contest ended in a 2-2 draw.
RPI (11-11-3, 5-4-3 ECACHL) currently sits in a tie for fifth with the Big Green, making Saturday's matchup all the more significant. The Engineers are led offensively by senior Kevin Croxton (30 points) and junior Oren Eizenman (29 points), while freshman Mathias Lange has held fort in goal throughout the year. Dartmouth defeated Rensselaer 4-1 in Troy earlier this month with a three-goal outburst in the final period.
This weekend will mark the finale of Dartmouth hockey's season-long centennial celebration. According to the Dartmouth athletics website, "More than 300 former players, coaches, family and friends of the Big Green men's hockey program will attend the weekend's festivities. On-ice honorees will include former coaches, All-Americas, hall of famers, final four teams and Olympians."
The upcoming revelry has excited many Dartmouth players and may serve as a motivating force. "It's going to be a great upcoming weekend, with alumni coming back to help us formally celebrate 100 years of Dartmouth hockey," said Overlock.
Ouellette agreed, saying, "There's already a certain buzz in the air around the arena and I think this weekend is going to be great for us as a team, and for Dartmouth hockey in general. It's always special when something like this happens and we want to make the most of it for our fans and supporters."
Dartmouth will entertain Union on Friday, followed by RPI on Saturday. Both games are set to face off at 7 p.m.
