With six league games remaining in the regular season, Dartmouth (11-10-2, 9-5-2 ECACHL) finds itself, for the first time, on firm ground. Unbeaten in its last four contests, the Big Green has propelled itself through the ECACHL ranks to third place, topping fourth place by a single point and trailing frontrunners Colgate and Cornell by three and four points, respectively. Since New Year's, Dartmouth is 4-0-2 in league games, putting the Big Green in an enviable position to acquire a coveted first round bye in the ECACHL playoffs come March -- that is, if they can take care of business this weekend.
As the debauchery of Winter Carnival fast approaches, men's hockey must focus on continuing its recent success this weekend when Dartmouth takes on Quinnipiac University and Ivy rival Princeton University. Neither team has made much of a stir in the ECACHL -- Princeton sits in ninth place and Quinnipiac in 11th, both teams compiling six wins thus far. However, the Big Green has yet to conquer either foe this season, losing to Princeton 3-0 and Quinnipiac 7-5 in back-to-back November games. And as the team learned last weekend at Brown, no opponent can be taken for granted.
Dartmouth was forced to settle for a tie against the worst team in the ECACHL when the Big Green found itself playing from behind for the second straight night as it took on Brown (3-14-6, 2-10-4 ECACHL) in Providence.
"We just played terribly average on Saturday," Nick Johnson '08 said. "We have to focus on having better starts and being better prepared for every game."
Johnson, who started this season slowly after leading the team in goals last year with 18, has three goals and two assists in the current four-game unbeaten streak.
Standout goaltender Mike Devine '08 put a more positive spin on last week's draw.
"That tie was a minute or so away from being a loss," Devine said. "We didn't play our best hockey against Brown but we still found a way to get out of there with a point, which could be very important when it comes to home ice for the playoffs."
Devine has been one of the few consistent performers for the Big Green this season, maintaining an impressive 2.46 GAA and a 10-6-2 record. Since replacing Sean Samuel '07 in the season's fourth game, Devine has proven to be a defensive stalwart.
Asked if his play has surprised even him, Devine claims his successful netminding is nothing unexpected.
"As an athlete, you always expect to succeed," the sophomore said. "I didn't come into this year hoping to just get to play. Yes, I wanted the playing time but, more importantly, I wanted to help our team win games."
Devine said that when he got the chance to play, he would take advantage of it.
"Now that the opportunity is here, I want to do anything I can to help our team get to where we want to be. In that process, my confidence has definitely grown and I've come to expect more out of myself each game," he said.
With Princeton coming to town on Saturday night, many Dartmouth student fans will be warming up their throwing arms to partake in the annual tradition of tossing tennis balls onto the Princeton side of the ice after Dartmouth's first goal. Last season, referees threatened to penalize Dartmouth if any balls landed on the ice, yet Big Green enthusiasts never got the chance to test the resolve of the refs -- or Princeton players for that matter -- as the Tigers shut-out Dartmouth 3-0. Princeton beat Dartmouth later on in the year 6-2.
Three consecutive losses to Princeton and a defeat to Quinnipiac, not to mention the pulsating atmosphere of the big Winter Carnival weekend, has made the Big Green hungry for retribution.
"I think playing at home will give us a huge advantage," team captain Mike Ouellette '06 said. "We got swept on the road earlier this year by these teams, so we'll be out for some revenge."
For Saturday's game against Princeton, Dartmouth icers have requested that fans don white clothing in order to "white-out" the stands. According to Devine, 3,000 white towels with the Dartmouth hockey logo on them will be handed out to the first fans to arrive as well.
Friday night's match-up against Quinnipiac is set for the normal 7 p.m. face-off. Saturday's game will be played at a special time, 4:30 p.m., and will be televised by ESPNU.
