Men's hockey looking for second win this year
After breaking a six-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory against St. Lawrence University on Saturday, the Dartmouth men's hockey team will search for additional wins against Harvard on the road and Providence College at home this weekend in non-conference competition.
Dartmouth (1-6, 1-6 ECAC Hockey) and Harvard (1-4-2, 1-4-2 ECAC Hockey) last faced off on Oct. 30, when the Crimson emerged victorious after a heated third-period battle.
"Harvard is obviously a good team, and we played well against them last time, but they came out on top, so we want to have a better outcome," assistant captain Scott Fleming '11 said.
Sophomore Alex Killorn leads the Crimson with four goals in league play this season. Dartmouth's top goal scorers are Joe Gaudet '10, Dustin Walsh '13 and Scott Fleming '11, who have each put the biscuit in the basket three times so far this season.
The Big Green is 8-for-43 on the power play this season, while Harvard is 7-for-32.
"Our special teams [play] has improved quite a bit," Fleming said. "We need to be a little more consistent and we need to find more ways to score we are still struggling to put the puck in the net. We have the capability, so hopefully we will break out soon."
Providence (6-4-1, 1-3-1 Hockey East), currently in last place in its league standings, is averaging 34.3 shots per game and has outscored opponents 29-27 this season.
Friars goaltender Alex Beaudry has a save percentage of .929 so far this year, while Crimson netminder Kyle Richter has a save percentage of .897.
Both Jody O'Neill '12 and James Mello '12 have played in net this season for the Big Green, with Mello earning his first collegiate start against Clarkson last Friday. O'Neill, who has earned time in six of the seven games so far this season, has a save percentage of .891.
Mello has a save percentage of .917 in his two appearances this season.
"[Mello] had a really good game on Friday, so the coaches have pretty good confidence in both of us," O'Neill said. "I don't think there is a wrong decision on which guy will play. We will both give the team an equal opportunity to win."
Dartmouth confronts Providence at 7 p.m. on Friday in Hanover and then returns to the ice at 4 p.m. on Sunday to meet Harvard in Cambridge, Mass.
