Over this past weekend, the No. 3 Dartmouth women's hockey team reached another milestone before the closure of the regular season. Dartmouth was crowned Ivy League champion on Saturday after amassing a 9-0-1 record in the League. The Big Green's latest Ivy victories came in a 6-0 blowout against Brown on Friday night and a tense 3-2 overtime win over Yale on Saturday.
The rout of Brown was followed by a grudge-match against Ivy rival Yale (15-12-2, 10-10-2 ECACHL) on Saturday afternoon. After a pair of shorthanded goals, the game was knotted at 2-2 at the end of regulation to force overtime.
The prospect of Dartmouth completing an undefeated Ivy season was at stake when the Big Green took the ice against Yale in the overtime period. Harvard, Dartmouth's competitor for the Ivy crown, finished up its Ivy season with an 8-1-1 record.
A loss would have resulted in identical records for both teams. However, just as Gillian Apps '06 persevered in the overtime thriller against St. Lawrence three weeks back, the team captain found net in the extra period to assure Dartmouth sole possession of the Ivy title.
On the winning play, Cherie Piper '06 dished the puck to Sarah Newnam '09 at the Yale blue line, and Newnam rifled a shot on net. The Yale keeper made the save but allowed a rebound, which Apps recovered and buried home for the win. Piper notched her 100th career assist during the contest.
"Yale played us tough. Their goalie was playing very well," Katie Weatherston '06 said.
"It was a really good, fast-paced game," Sarah Parsons '10 said. "In the end, it [the game] came down to who wanted it more. We wore Yale down at the end."
After the win, the Dartmouth women received the Ivy cup and a hearty round of applause from the spectators. The Big Green finished the regular season with a 23-4-2 overall record and a 20-1-1 ECACHL record.
"We could always get better. We will have to get better each game...you can't let your guard down [in the playoffs.] You don't get that second chance," Weatherston said.
Looking forward, Parsons argues that "nothing in particular [needs to be worked on]. We are just going to keep working hard and not take anything for granted," she said.
When asked to summarize the team's goals for the upcoming postseason, Parsons stated them succinctly.
"To win," she said.
This is Dartmouth's fourth Ivy League title since 2001 and ninth in program history. Now in possession of the Ivy League Cup and a nine-game winning streak, the Big Green has given itself plenty of momentum going into ECACHL postseason play.
"Down the road, we want an ECAC championship. Some of us have been there two times already. We really want a championship," Weatherston said.
The first period saw chances on both sides of the ice, though neither team could capitalize on its opportunities, with Dartmouth gaining an 11-6 shooting advantage.
Dartmouth controlled the momentum of the game through most of the second period. In the previous game, Dartmouth's power play shined, but in this game against Yale, Dartmouth's penalty kill unit stood out.
Less than three minutes into the second stanza and with Yale on the power play, Dartmouth found its way on to the scoreboard. In a heads-up play, Shannon Bowman '09 pressed the Yale defense and was able to steal the puck from a Bulldog defender. Bowman then flung a shot on net, getting the puck past the Yale goalie Shivon Zilis to give Dartmouth its first lead of the night.
Throughout the second period, Dartmouth outshot Yale 17-2, but the shot total did not translate to a Dartmouth lead by the end of the middle twenty. On the power play half way through the period, Yale's Crysti Howser capitalized on the player advantage to tie the game 1-1. Dartmouth could not convert on its four power play opportunities in the period, and the game proceeded into the final period tied.
Dartmouth went on the power play early to start the third period but was surprised by Yale when Bulldog Helen Resor got control of the puck and successfully got a shot by netminder Carli Clemis '09 to get a shorthanded goal of its own. Yale now had built a 2-1 lead, but with 17:16 remaining in the game, Dartmouth had plenty of time to respond.
Only about two minutes passed before Dartmouth tied the game. Once again, the Big Green overcame adversity in a shorthanded situation. Bowman got control of the puck behind the Yale net and shoveled a pass to Maggie Kennedy '09, who stationed herself in front of the net. Kennedy then slammed the puck past Zilis to tie the game at 2-2.
The Big Green fought off two more penalties down the stretch to finish regulation tied. There was a scare in the second half of the period when Piper was taken down with a big check. After being examined on the bench for a few minutes, Piper was able to return to play.
The Brown Bears (10-17-2, 6-15-1 ECACHL) proved to be the easier of the two opponents for Dartmouth over the weekend. Dartmouth outplayed Brown during the first period, outshooting the Bears 16-6. Parsons and Piper each finished the contest with three points.
However, the score remained tied until 14:14 into the opening frame. While on the power play, captain Apps found net after taking a pass from defender Newman to give the Big Green a 1-0 lead. The goal was the first of four Big Green power play goals of the night.
"We struggled a little at the beginning of the game," Parsons said.
Early in the second period, Apps took advantage of another power play to get Dartmouth on the board again. Piper fed the puck to Parsons, who shot on net. Apps was then able to deflect the puck, which got by unsuspecting Brown keeper Nicole Stock to extend Dartmouth's lead to two goals.
The remainder of the period was dominated by a slew of penalties, with four by Dartmouth and two by Brown. Despite consistently playing short-handed, the Big Green defense limited the Bears to only two shots on the period.
"We've been practicing [special teams] a lot," Parsons said about the improved performance on the penalty killing.
Dartmouth found much more offensive success in the third period, as the team put the game away by amassing four goals over the last twenty minutes.
At 8:53 into the period and on the power play, Piper fueled a two-on-one by Parsons and Weatherston by shoveling a pass to Parsons. Parsons dropped the puck to Weatherston, who rifled it into the back of the Brown net, giving the Big Green a comfortable 3-0 lead.
Barely two minutes later, Jenna Cunningham '10 capitalized on another Dartmouth power play as she placed the puck over the Brown keeper for a 4-0 lead. Julia Bronson '09 assisted on the play.
Later in the period, Parsons intercepted a Brown defender's clear and got by another for an unassisted goal.
Marley McMillan '09 finished off the scoring for the Big Green, finding net for another unassisted goal. The game ended with a 6-0 final score, and Clemis achieved her fourth shutout of the season.
Dartmouth is guaranteed home ice throughout the ECAC tournament, and the team begins the postseason with a best-of-three series against Rensselaer at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23.
