With hockey season less than a week away, the Big Green dusted the cobwebs off their sticks to pull out a 7-6 exhibition game victory against the University of Quebec, Three Rivers Patriotes on Sunday afternoon.
UQTR notched a quick goal off of a turn-over deep in the Dartmouth defensive zone 39 seconds into the game. Three minutes later, UQTR capitalized on another Dartmouth turn-over, bringing the score to 2-0.
Assistant captain and defenseman Evan Stephens '11 said that while it was tough to let two quick goals in, the team stayed positive.
"The team knew to stay positive, not to think about the shift before, and that there would be more goals scored in the game," Stephens said.
Dartmouth countered 28 seconds later with a goal from Rob Smith '10 off of a pass from line mates Kyle Reeds '11 and Andrew Owsiak '11.
The Big Green would go on to score two additional goals from Owsiak and Matt Reber '11 to take a 3-2 lead going into the second period.
Dartmouth continued much like they left off in the first period, as Nick Walsh '12 passed UQTR goalie Jean-Christophe Blanchard to give the Big Green a two-goal advantage.
Only seconds after a Dartmouth hooking penalty on Paul Lee '12, the Patriots proved too much for the Dartmouth penalty kill, scoring a power play goal to bring the game to 4-3.
One of the shining moments of the game came when Matthew Lindblad '14 notched his first career Dartmouth goal while on his back after being tripped on a break-away.
"It was not a big deal personally, I was just glad I could contribute to the team," Lindblad said.
Lindblad's goals seemed to give the Big Green the momentum as the second period winded down, but within 30 seconds, the Patriots countered off of a well-placed wrist shot from the top of the circle.
The score remained 5-4 going into the third period. The physical nature of the game increased as tension mounted. Dartmouth's game became very physical during the third period, landing several crucial body checks.
The first goal of the third period came in the Big Green's favor, as Reeds sniped the Patriots back-up goalie David Chabot-Maltais to put Dartmouth back on top by two goals with a little more than eight minutes left in the game.
The Patriots remained resilient, scoring 19 seconds later and then knocked in the equalizing goal to tie the game at 6-6 with less than five minutes to play.
Smith remained the determining factor, scoring the game-winning goal off a rebound with less than four minutes remaining. Dartmouth held the lead for the remainder of the game.
The win provides momentum for the Big Green heading into a match-up against fifth-ranked Yale University next weekend.
Unlike the UQTR team, which has officially been playing together since August, the Big Green has only been practicing together as a team since "Friday at 5 p.m.," according to coach Bob Gaudet '81. Gaudet said he was not sure what to expect from this exhibition game, but was proud of his team's heart and ability to overcome the early deficit.
"I was looking mostly for effort and intensity out there today," Gaudet said.
He added that the team showed a lot of both and has a lot of potential for growth.
"The team is not honed in yet, we have to work to win every battle and to win every shift," he said.
Although official practices started recently, the team has had captains' practices five days a week for nearly a month, according to goalie James Mello '12.
"I think it has been really good for the team to go for a good skate," Mello said. "It has been good for us as players, but also helped to create great morale. There is no team that has better morale than this one. There are no outcasts in this group and we are all really good friends."
Mello said that the practices and team interactions so far show the team's potential for strong camaraderie.
The exhibition games also help to shake off the rust many players have coming into the season, according Lindblad.
"This game was a way to get used to playing at this level of competition again," Lindblad said. "Most of these guys have not been playing at this level for some time." Gaudet added that the games are important because they allow the team to simulate a game-level of competition, which is nearly impossible to do in practice.
The exhibition game showcased the talent of this year's freshman class. The five members of the Class of 2014 played a significant amount of time in the exhibition game. Cab Morris '14 started the game as goaltended for the Big Green.
"This freshman will be key," Stephens said of this season. "It is really important that we have three or four guys who step up and start to contribute for us."
The squad also has nine seniors returning. The Big Green has a "Senior Line" of offensive forwards which tallied four of the team's seven goals on the day.
This first win shows the promise of this year's squad, especially coming off last season when the Big Green started the year 0-8. This first win will allow the team to focus on the fundamentals of teamwork and development.
This year, members of the men's ice hockey team are already recipients of several honors. For the second consecutive year, Stephens was named to the coaches' pre-season All-Ivy League Team.
Stephens was also named as a contestant for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School award. This award is given to a senior in every sport who excels in community, classroom, character and competition. Stephens is one of 20 and only one of five defenseman in the running for the award.
"It is just an honor to be mentioned with the caliber of players that are on that list," Stephens said of the nomination.
Reber was also included in the A-Z Guide of Men's College Hockey. Author Joe Gladziszewski, one of the authors of the report, said that "If the trio of Reber, [Adam] Estoclet '11 and [captain Scott] Fleming '11 stays together for its senior season, it should be one of the best in the League."
The Big Green will be back in action for a scrimmage against Yale Universiy in New Haven, Conn. next Sunday. Yale is favored to win the ECAC and ranked fifth nationally.
Gaudet said he looks forward to facing a strong team on the road to open the season.
"They know a lot about our game and we know a lot about theirs," Gaudet said. "We need to have a good week of practice, and more than anything else, we need to really test ourselves."
Despite the Bulldogs' strength, the Big Green is optomistic about its chances in next weekend's game.
"We are going to go to Yale's barn and make a little noise," Mello said.
