The Big Green (8-17-2, 6-12-2 ECAC Hockey) has accumulated 14 points this season and trails Princeton University and Brown University tied for ninth place by only two points.
With only eight points, the Golden Knights (7-22-3, 3-15-2 ECAC Hockey) remain in last place while the Saints (14-12-7, 8-7-5 ECAC Hockey) are in sixth with 21 points.
"The thing about our league is that everyone is good so it takes our best effort to be in the hunt," head coach Bob Gaudet said. "[The playoffs are] a new game for everyone."
With the top four-seeded teams earning a bye in the first round of the ECAC playoffs, teams ranked five through eight will host teams ranked nine through 12.
"I don't think we will have home ice, which is fine," assistant captain Scott Fleming '11 said. "We know that we can beat any of the teams that we are going to face so we just want to finish strong the next two games and head into playoffs with a good attitude."
At the beginning of the season, the Big Green snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Saints at home, bouncing back from the previous night's 3-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
"St. Lawrence is a quick, aggressive team so we are going to have to make really good decisions with the puck," Gaudet said. "The next night we play Clarkson, which is a team that is coming on stronger towards the second half of the season."
The win over St. Lawrence on Nov. 21 was Dartmouth's first victory of the season. The Big Green drilled two power-play goals, with defenseman Evan Stephens '11 notching two assists.
Senior Travis Vermeulen currently leads the Saints with 17 goals and 34 points this season.
With 19 assists and 11 goals so far this season, Adam Estoclet '11 leads the Big Green in points with Fleming trailing closely behind with a team-high 17 goals.
In the loss to Clarkson, Dartmouth allowed two third-period goals to give up a 2-1 lead in the first career start for James Mello '12.
The Big Green split last weekend's home games against Colgate University and No. 9 Cornell University.
With 2:17 remaining in the third frame, Estoclet netted the game-winning goal in the 5-4 comeback victory against the Big Red on Senior Night. Cornell is currently tied with Union for second in the ECAC standings with 28 points.
The win was an improvement over the 5-1 blowout loss to the Big Red earlier in the season.
The previous night, Dartmouth gave up a lead to Colgate in the last minute to force overtime. For the last 1:13 of the game, the Big Green was on a power play but took no shots. The game ended in a 6-6 tie. Injuries to Dartmouth players, such as forward Dustin Walsh '13 and defenseman Mike Keenan '13, hurt the team's play, Gaudet said..
Mello and Jody O'Neill '12 continue to split time in net. Mello has a .916 save percentage the second highest in the ECAC compared to O'Neill's .888 save percentage.
The Big Green will travel to Canton, N.Y., on Friday to take on St. Lawrence at 7 p.m. before confronting Clarkson at 4 p.m. Saturday in Potsdam, N.Y.
The first round of the ECAC Hockey Championship tournament will begin the weekend of March 5 with a best-of-three series.
"We hope to get a couple of wins, gain some momentum and go into the playoffs with some positive vibes and take it to whoever we play," Kevin McCarthy '10 said.
McCarthy scored his first collegiate goal against the Raiders last Friday.
