The Dartmouth women's hockey team split its weekend series in upstate New York, defeating Union College 3-0 on Friday while losing to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday by a score of 4-2. The split dropped the Big Green (16-8-2, 12-6-2 ECAC) out of the top 10 nationally ranked teams and to fifth in the ECAC, two points behind St. Lawrence University.
The Big Green dominated Friday's game against Union (4-24-4, 2-16-2 ECAC), notching 40 shots to the Dutchwomen's 11, the smallest number given up by the team this season. Goalie Lindsay Holdcroft '14 turned away all of them with relative ease to notch her fourth shutout of the season, matching her total from last season.
Despite controlling play for the first two periods, the Big Green was unable to score. Dartmouth took 27 shots through the first two periods compared to the Dutchwomen's six, but could not gain an advantage on the scoreboard.
"It's tough playing against a goalie who's red hot," co-captain Jenna Hobeika '12 said. "Sometimes a hot goalie can win a game for you."
The Big Green was finally able to break through just over nine minutes into the third for the game's first goal. Karlee Odland '15 had the puck behind the net and saw Hobeika cutting through the slot. Odland sent her the puck and Hobeika was able to collect it and fire a shot that she said "the goalie wasn't expecting." The puck deflected off the goalie's pad and trickled into the net.
"We're definitely a more skilled and better skating team than Union, but we gave the goalie confidence by not scoring for so long," Hobeika said.
Just over three minutes later, Hobeika scored a second, unassisted goal to stretch the lead to 2-0. The goals were Hobeika's 50th and 51st career points and were her first goals in five games.
The Big Green continued to shut down Union's advances, holding the Dutchwomen to five shots in the frame. Dartmouth tacked on some insurance with only five seconds in the game. Moira Scanlon '12 netted her second goal of the season on the empty Union net off assists from Erica Dobos '12 and Lisa Berreman '13.
"In the third, we really picked up our intensity and work ethic," Camille Dumais '13 said.
The team next traveled to RPI (9-19-4, 6-12-2 ECAC) to face the Engineers on Saturday. Dartmouth started quickly, scoring twice in the opening frame. Just 3:42 into the first period, Odland netted the first goal of the game. She received a pass from Dobos at the top of the circle, cut into the middle, ripped a shot and scored.
Just over a minute later, the Big Green stretched the lead to two off the stick of Dumais. Kelly Foley '12 passed the puck to Reagan Fischer '12, who shot the puck at the far post. Dumais, who was waiting on the back door, backhanded the puck into the net.
The assist marked Foley's 97th point of her career, and the goal was Dumais' 95th career point.
The Big Green could not net another goal during the game and only kept the Engineers off the scoreboard until the last three and a half minutes of the second period.
In that span, RPI scored three times to take the lead going into the third stanza. RPI added a shorthanded goal in the third to gain a 4-2 advantage.
With just over a minute left in the game, Holdcroft came out of the net to give the Big Green an extra attacker. Despite the advantage, the Big Green could not cut into the lead and the horn sounded with the Big Green on the losing end.
"It was a really testing moment for our team," Hobeika said. "They were very, very desperate to win, and they wanted to win more than we did. We didn't have that sense of urgency."
The Engineers' desperation for a win came from the fact that they are battling for the eighth and final playoff spot in the ECAC Tournament and were playing the Big Green on their senior day, Hobeika said.
"We realize now that we need to pick it up and play a full 60-minute game," Dumais said. "We need to focus on ourselves and our strengths instead of what the other team is doing."
The team is hoping to rebound next weekend when it returns home to face Yale University and Brown University. At the game against Brown, seniors Foley, Dobos and Scanlon will be honored in the team's senior day celebration.
Despite the fact that the Bulldogs and Bears rank toward the bottom of the ECAC, the team is taking nothing for granted.
"They're still two very strong teams," Dumais said. "It doesn't matter who we play anymore. It all comes down to who works the hardest. They're the team that's going to win."
