The Big Green men (10-13-4, 7-10-3 ECAC) currently sit in ninth place in the ECAC with 17 points, a standing that would force them to travel for the first round of playoffs if they cannot improve their position this weekend. St. Lawrence (13-6-3, 9-10-1 ECAC) sits just above Dartmouth in eighth place with 19 points. To leapfrog the Saints and gain home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, Dartmouth needs to win both games. Alternately, three points a win and a tie this weekend combined with a St. Lawrence loss to Harvard University on Friday would also put Dartmouth in eighth.
"Everyone realizes how important this weekend is and realizes we're going for four points," Doug Jones '12 said. "All that matters to us are our two games because that's all we can control."
Earlier this season, when the Big Green traveled to upstate New York to take on the Golden Knights and the Saints, the team split the games. Dartmouth lost to Clarkson, 4-0, before defeating St. Lawrence, 3-1. The team outshot both of its opponents but ran into some spectacular goaltending against the Golden Knights (15-13-6, 9-7-4 ECAC), failing to score on any of its 37 shots.
St. Lawrence was also a participant in the Ledyard National Bank Classic hosted by Dartmouth in December. The two teams faced off in the championship game, which went to a shootout after a 2-2 tie throughout regulation and overtime. The Saints won the shootout, 3-2, to claim the tournament crown, though the game did not count in the ECAC standings.
"We know what to look for against St. Lawrence," Jones said. "If we play our game like we did at St. Lawrence, we're definitely capable of winning."
Jones added that the team is as motivated as ever going into the weekend and is feeling confident despite enduring a recent seven-game winless streak.
"Our chances are good as long as everyone is mentally prepared and we play two 60-minute games," he said.
Jones said the team does not look at the season in terms of streaks because of the many injuries the Big Green has suffered this season.
"We're trying to learn from those losses and get into a rhythm going into the playoffs," he said. "This team has the talent level and the togetherness to make a run."
Jones also added that the injuries might help the team as it begins the playoff season next weekend because several freshmen have gained critical ECAC experience filling in for teammates during the regular season.
The puck drops for the men on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against the Saints and Saturday at 7 p.m. against Clarkson.
The Dartmouth women (18-8-2, 14-6-2 ECAC), coming off an impressive weekend sweep of Yale University and Brown University to secure home-ice advantage for their first round matchup against the Saints (20-9-4, 14-6-2 ECAC), are poised to make a run in the ECAC tournament and reach the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. The Big Green currently sits at No. 14 in the Ratings Percentage Index rankings, and the Saints are currently ranked No. 12. The top eight teams make the NCAA tournament.
"It's going to be a battle," Reagan Fischer '12 said. "Both of us play our team systems very well and have spectacular goaltending. It's going to be a defensive battle like before, and we need to capitalize on our opportunities."
The Big Green split the season series against St. Lawrence, winning 1-0 on the road and losing 2-0 at home. In Dartmouth's game at St. Lawrence, Fischer notched the game's only goal despite 29 shots from the Big Green. Goaltender Lindsay Holdcroft '14 played strong between the pipes, stopping all 24 shots she faced.
When the Saints visited Thompson Arena, the Big Green brought its A-game but was unable to score despite outshooting St. Lawrence by a 38-18 margin.
"That game, we felt a little cheated," Fischer said. "We thought we outplayed them and deserved the win, so it's definitely something we'll keep in the back of our minds to inspire us."
Despite being slight underdogs to the Saints, Fischer said the team feels confident going into the weekend.
"It's not an arrogant confidence, but a trusting confidence," Fischer said. "We trust each other to get the job done."
Coming off a 10-goal explosion against the Bulldogs and an emotional overtime win on senior day against the Bears, Dartmouth is hoping to avoid suffering an emotional letdown and come out firing at the drop of the puck.
"We want to pick up where we left off [last weekend] and carry those emotions and that energy into the weekend," Fischer said. "We need to focus on keeping our mentality in check with all of the other things going on like midterms and the men's games."
The team has played eight games against opponents who are currently ranked in the top 10 in the nation, and Dartmouth has gone 4-4 in those contests, splitting the season series against Cornell University, Harvard and St. Lawrence, while defeating Northeastern University and losing to Boston College. Seven of the eight games were decided by one goal, while the other was the 2-0 loss to St. Lawrence in which the Saints scored an empty-net goal in the final seconds.
Fischer said the Big Green women's tough regular season schedule this year should "definitely help them in the playoffs."
The puck drops for the first game of the series at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The second game is set to start Saturday at 2 p.m. and the third game, if necessary, will be played on Sunday at 2 p.m.
