The team demonstrated marked improvement over last weekend as it worked cohesively as a unit to come through in the clutch against the Tigers in its second come-from-behind victory of the year.
"We are starting to do a lot of the little things right on a more consistent basis and are competing harder right now," coach Mark Hudak said. "We're getting a lot out of everyone -- it's been a great team effort."
Friday's game against Princeton was close until the final minutes. The Tigers struck first early in the first period but were quickly answered two minutes later by Amy Cobb '08 with a power play goal.
Maggie Kennedy '09 added another goal two minutes after Cobb's to put the Big Green ahead. The Tigers then proceeded to score twice before the end of the second period, but Cobb evened up the score with her second goal with 6:17 left in the game.
Two minutes later, ECACHL player of the week Jenna Cunningham '10 buried the game-winner and Dartmouth's stonewall defense held on for the win.
The Big Green took 36 shots on goal compared to Princeton's 15, as goaltender Carli Clemis '09 contributed 12 saves. The win was Cobb's first career two-goal game.
"I think the key against Princeton was just not giving up," Kennedy said. "We played a solid hockey game and showed a lot of heart coming from behind once again."
One might have expected the team to be exhausted after such an intense game on Friday, but Dartmouth came out as strong as ever for Saturday's match against Quinnipiac. The Big Green struck early and often, shutting down the opponent's offense while maintaining a brutal offensive attack throughout.
Cunningham continued her streak of dominance, netting two goals and contributing two assists. Amanda Trunzo '11 also scored two goals in the first multi-goal game of her career, while Kennedy and Sarah Parsons '10 both notched one goal while making two assists. Other point scorers included Shannon Bowman '09 with two assists, Cobb with two assists, and Alyssa Boehm '11 with her first career goal.
Dartmouth's offensive barrage was simply too much for the Bobcats to handle as the Big Green outshot Quinnipiac 46-9. Eighteen of those shots were made in the first period, stretching the Bobcat defense early on.
"We were able to put the puck in the net and expand on our lead," Kennedy said. "We did not allow ourselves to become content when we were a couple of goals ahead, which I think could have happened earlier in the season."
Mariel Lacina '10 tended goal for the Big Green and notched her first career win while making eight saves.
So far, the team has seen great success this season with regards to capitalizing on opportunities presented by its opponents' mistakes. Dartmouth leads the nation in power play success rate with a conversion percentage of 31.6 percent. This strength will certainly prove useful against upcoming opponent Providence College, which has allowed 33 power plays thus far.
Providence will host Dartmouth on Nov. 11. The Friars boast a record of 2-2-2 and are riding high following a 3-2 defeat of Boston College last Tuesday.
Against other top teams in the ECACHL, Providence has faltered, losing 0-8 against St. Lawrence and 0-5 against Connecticut. Dartmouth defeated the Friars 5-0 in the teams' only matchup last year.
"Providence is going to be a strong, hard-working team," Hudak said. "We'll need to really work on winning the 50/50 battles. We will be doing a lot of competitive, situational work this week in practice."
It will be hard not to look past the next three games against second-tier opponents Providence, Brown and Yale to the looming showdown with St. Lawrence on Nov. 23, but the Big Green seems very focused.
If Dartmouth can continue to be successful over the next three games, that matchup with St. Lawrence may have significant postseason implications with regards to tournament seedings.
Hudak remained cautiously optimistic about the team's prospects down the road.
"The results from this weekend should tell us we can compete with anyone if we choose to do so," the coach said. "It's going to take a team effort every game, and if we can commit to that we are going to be successful."
