Dartmouth (6-10-2, 4-8-1 ECAC Hockey) overwhelmed RPI (5-4-3, 8-10-5 ECAC Hockey) in the ECAC Hockey tournament championship last season, winning by a score of 6-1. In the teams' previous nine match-ups, the Engineers only managed a tie against the Big Green in Feb. 2008, with Dartmouth winning the other games outright.
RPI will rely heavily on forwards Whitney Naslund, Allison Wright and Alisa Harrison to lead its offensive charge. Naslund currently leads the team with 12 goals and 19 points.
According to head coach Mark Hudak, the Engineers play an aggressive game putting many shots on the net and reacting quickly to changeovers.
"They are very good at protecting the puck down low at the offensive end," he said.
The Big Green hope to beat RPI by similarly transitioning well off turnovers and maintaining discipline on its own end, Hudak added.
Union (5-18-1, 1-10-1 ECAC Hockey) has had even less success against Dartmouth, posting 12 straight losses in the overall series.
Although they sit at 11th place in the ECAC standings, the Dutchmen are coming in hot after defeating last-place Brown University last Saturday in a 3-0 shutout.
Acting as Union's defensive anchor, freshman goalie Alana Marcinko pushed aside 47 saves against the Bears en route to earning her third shutout of the season.
In contrast to RPI, Union plays a defensive game, Hudak said. The Dutchmen will try to prevent the Big Green from taking advantage of turnovers.
"They'll bring a lot of people back through the guts of the ice," he said. "You don't have an easy strike to the net."
Hudak said he believes Dartmouth will need to keep mental errors in check and look out for bounces in order to put the puck in.
Co-captain Sarah Parsons '10 continues to lead the team offensively with 14 goals, 11 assists and 25 total points.
Despite the frustration of the last five losses and a tie, Hudak has been "preaching patience" to the team, he said.
"We can't quite figure out how to get over this hump," he said. "We know we're doing the right things, but we also have to understand that there are some things that we can't control."
The Big Green takes on RPI at 7 p.m. Friday at Thompson Arena and hosts Union the following day at 4 p.m.
"We just have to focus on what we can control," Hudak said. "If we do that, then that's going to give us our best chance to win and be successful."
