The Big Green men's hockey team will play the Princeton Tigers in the first round of the Ivy League Shoot-Out Tournament hosted in New Haven, Conn., on Friday. Coach Bob Gaudet '81 said the tournament is a great way to start off the season against high caliber opponents.
"We get to play in a tournament-type atmosphere, and actual Division 1 NCAA games give you that added sense of excitement," Gaudet said.
Depending on how the Big Green fares against the Tigers, they will face either Yale University or Brown University on Oct. 30.
Captain Scott Fleming '11 said he is confident in his team going into the weekend, but that he is focusing on the Saturday match-up against Princeton.
"We have an older team this year with a lot of guys who will step up," Fleming said. "We are trying to put last year behind us, and just focus on Friday,"
Last year, the Big Green lost both games to the Tigers, including an overtime loss at the beginning of the season. The Big Green has been hard at work to ensure that this season's face-offs against their rival are different, Fleming said.
"The team has worked really hard at captain's practices before the season officially started," he said. "We know that against Princeton, we just have to keep it simple and limit our turnovers and the opportunities will come."
Gaudet said one of the key factors in the game will be his team's desire to execute plays and work together against a tough Princeton team.
"Princeton really resembles our team in that they are hard-working and tough with a lot of motivation," Gaudet said. "Our team has good skill, a great work ethic and a lot of toughness, but most importantly a lot of pride. To win this game, we have to compete, play every puck and use this great chemistry we are really starting to enjoy."
The women's hockey team will officially open its season against Brown and Yale in a round robin in Hanover this weekend. The Big Green will host the Brown Bears on Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. and will be back in action against the Yale Bulldogs at Thompson Arena on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.
The Big Green is looking to rectify a closely contested 3-2 loss to McGill last Friday, according to head coach Mark Hudak.
Hudak said he feels good about the team's progress so far through its short pre-season.
Like the men's hockey team, the women did not officially start practicing together as a team until recently in accordance with Ivy League restrictions. The team has been practicing with Hudak for a little over two weeks.
Hudak said the McGill exhibition game was a great way to get some experience together working as a team and to see what worked and what did not.
"It was a great chance for coaches to evaluate players, to roll lines and see who worked well together," Hudak said of the game. "We don't quite have things settled yet, and we are still figuring a few things out as team, but that's what these games are all about. Most of the other teams in the ECAC have already had a few games and more time to practice, but schools like Brown and Yale are in similar situations."
The Brown Bears have currently logged only two games, a 5-2 win over Etobicoke University from Toronto and a 5-2 loss to Boston College.
Yale enters the weekend with three games, a 1-0 loss to McGill, a 4-1 loss to the University of Vermont and a 1-1 tie to Vermont.
Dartmouth will enter the weekend with an additional motivation the Big Green was picked to finish eighth in the ECAC, a ranking that many of the players hope to defy throughout the course of the season, according to Hudak.
"The players are using it as a motivation," Hudak said. "There is a lot of external motivation for this season for our team, and the players are really taking it to heart," said Hudak.
The men open at home against Rensselaer Polytechnic Insittute Nov. 5 at 7:00 p.m.
