After Camille Dumais '13 scored her second goal of the game to give Dartmouth women's hockey a 4-2 lead midway through the third period against St. Lawrence University last Friday, she raised her arms in celebration, waiting to be embraced by her teammates.
"All I could think was, Thank God it went in,'" Dumais said.
Dumais is one of seven freshmen on what Big Green head coach Mark Hudak described as a fairly young team. Now with two goals and an assist through four games, Dumais is tied for fourth on the team in points and is starting to see more time on the ice.
"She is doing a good job so far," Hudak said. "She is getting used to the style and tempo of play and seeing time on the power play."
Despite being a freshman on the team, Dumais is an experienced player. She was injured all of last year with a torn ACL, but was previously an assistant captain at Dawson College in Montreal for the 2008-2009 season, and, before that, was a two-time academic athlete of the year at the Kuper Academy a private, K-12 school in Kirkland, Quebec.
While leading the U-18 Canadian national team in scoring at the World Championships, Dumais earned a silver medal. She was also a three-time member of Team Quebec and earned two silvers and a bronze at the Canada Games.
"She is a great addition to the team," Hudak said. "She has the ability to find the back of the net."
Both of Dumais' goals came against St. Lawrence. Dumais said that she was happy to score her first goal in front of her family in the stands and to defeat a Saints team which includes two of her friends.
"It felt good to get the pressure of the first goal off," Dumais said. "It was the best thing that could have happened."
Dumais' first goal was assisted by a pair of freshmen, Sasha Nanji '13 and Sally Komarek '13. Nanji found Komarek with a pass, who in turn fed the puck to a waiting Dumais, who calmly put the puck into the net. Dumais immediately showed her elation by pumping her first in the air and skating toward the Big Green bench.
Later, Dumais capitalized on a power play to give Dartmouth an insurance goal.
Making the approximately three-hour trek from her home in Montreal to Dartmouth does not bother Dumais she described the trip as the perfect distance. "When I came to visit, I could see myself coming here," she said. "You know everyone, which makes it fun, but it is different from home."
While her family can still come to visit, they have to call first, she said.
The ice at the College, however, is a larger adjustment for the freshman.
"The speed is fast a lot faster," she said. "The extra second that you used to have, you don't have anymore."
As a self-described "grinder" who likes to win her battles, Dumais said that while she enjoyed her time on the Canadian national team, it does not compare to the competition she sees at Dartmouth.
"While on Team Canada, not every team or every player was that good," she said. "But here, everyone you play is much better, so you have to keep your head up or else you'll get hit."
Dumais also said that the increased level of competition forces her to make smarter decisions, because opponents at the collegiate level are more likely to take advantage of any small mistakes.
While Hudak described Dumais as a smart, heads-up player with lots of energy, Dumais said she simply likes to score.
"Things are going well considering it was our second weekend, and I did not play at all last year," she said.
The women's hockey team (1-2-1, 1-2-1 ECAC Hockey) will play its next game at home against Princeton (4-1-1, 3-0-1 ECAC Hockey) at 7 p.m. on Friday at Thompson Arena.
