The line of left wing Maggie Kennedy '09, center Amanda Trunzo '11 and right wing Jenna Cunningham '10 supplied the majority of Dartmouth's offense, as the three skaters combined for eight points on three goals and five assists.
"[Wednesday night] was a great win for us," captain and defenseman Sarah Newnam '09 said. "We outworked BC and stuck to our game plan, which was to stay disciplined and properly execute our systems, get our feet moving early and push the pace of the game. All of these factors added up and resulted in a great team victory over one of the best teams in the country."
The victory may have been a bit sweeter for the juniors and seniors of this year's Big Green squad. In March 2007, BC (6-1-2, 3-0-1 Hockey East) pulled off a shocking 3-2 upset to knock the Big Green out of the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. Last season, the Big Green and Eagles played to a 2-2 tie in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Dartmouth (3-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) got off to a quick start, with defenseman Julia Bronson '09 putting the first goal on the board just six minutes into the game. Center Trunzo set up the tally by winning a face off in the offensive end to get the puck to Bronson, who fired it past Eagles goalie Kiera Kingston from the blueline.
It was the first goal of the season for Bronson, a key member of Dartmouth's stalwart defense, which frustrated the BC attack all night.
The energy for the Big Green only picked up from here, as line after line of Dartmouth skaters consistently out-hustled and over-powered their opponents.
Just four minutes after the first goal, Trunzo scored her third goal of the season on a power play to put the Big Green up, 2-0. Linemate Kennedy fed the puck down low to Cunningham, who found Trunzo open near the crease.
In just three games, Trunzo has already managed to tally seven points, leading the team in both goals and assists.
The second goal was Dartmouth's only power play goal on the night, as the team went one for six on extra-skater opportunities. At the same time, the Dartmouth penalty-kill lines were superb, styming Boston College and denying the Eagles any goals in seven man-up chances.
The second period saw continued strong play from the Big Green, who came close to increasing its lead on several occasions while continuing to physically dominate the Eagles.
After the scoreless second stanza, Dartmouth again provided some offensive fireworks in the third.
Cunningham gave the Big Green a three-goal advantage over the visiting Eagles on a score thanks to crisp passing and better execution. Kennedy made a pass to Cunningham, who then faked the forehand before going to the backhand to put the puck past BC's Kingston.
The goal brought the sizeable crowd to its feet in Thompson Arena as the Big Green skaters celebrated on the ice. The official attendance for the game was measured at 765.
The Big Green skaters seemed to appreciate the support from the fans, with several players acknowledging hall mates and friends who were cheering loudly.
"We couldn't wipe the smiles off of our faces after the game was over," Katie Horner '11 said. "We had a ton of fun, and we can't wait to carry our success from this game into the weekend. The support from our super fans was unreal as well."
With two assists under her belt, Kennedy scored by herself with just under four minutes remaining in the game to give Dartmouth its fourth and final goal. The BC backcheck had trouble in its own zone trying to clear the puck when Kennedy intercepted the clearing pass, beat the defenders and put a shot past the goalie to seal the win for the Big Green.
Dartmouth's dismantling of BC -- considered one of the top college programs in the nation -- led some fans to heckle the Eagles with calls of "overrated." For the evening, Dartmouth outshot BC, 39-29.
"It was only our third game, so we still have a lot of kinks that we need to iron out, but the win shows the potential that this team has to do extremely well this season," Newnam said.
Big Green goalie Carli Clemis '09 turned away 29 shots for her second consecutive shutout. For the season, Clemis has an 0.975 save percentage over three games.
"We were fired up and came ready to play," Horner said. "Our energy showed on the ice, and we were relentless and disciplined through all three periods. They were an aggressive team, but Clemis played on her head, and we worked our forecheck and ran our routes well."
Dartmouth women's hockey takes on ECACHL rival Union College at 7 p.m. on Friday night at Thompson Arena.
