"I think the past nine games have been a roller coaster ride for our team," Jenna Hobeika '12 said. "We'll play well one game and then bad the next game. Overall we've improved from the beginning of the break, but we're still trying to find our team identity and figuring out how we play best together."
On Nov. 23 the Big Green (8-5-2, 4-4-1 Hockey East) lost a heartbreaker in overtime to No. 2 Cornell University. Dartmouth had hoped to be the first ECAC team to knock off the Big Red in regular season play since Clarkson University defeated Cornell (10-3, 8-2 Hockey East) last January. Dartmouth started strong with Laura Stacey '16 scoring 19 minutes into the contest, but Cornell responded five minutes into the second period to tie the score. In the final period, neither team was able to generate any significant offensive advantage, forcing the game into overtime. The Big Red dashed Dartmouth's hopes only three minutes into overtime, scoring the game winner on a power play.
Dartmouth continued its home stand a day later against Colgate University, once again playing into overtime. The Big Green traded goals with the Raiders (5-12-2, 1-7-2 Hockey East) during the first and second periods with Dartmouth goals by Sally Komarek '13 and Reagan Fischer '12. In overtime, neither team could capitalize and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
The Dartmouth women then embarked on an eight-game road trip, competing first against No. 5 Harvard University. The Crimson (11-1-1, 9-0 Hockey East) shut out the Big Green, 6-0, stopping all 26 shots put up by the Dartmouth women and marking the third shutout of the season for Harvard goalie Laura Bellamy. The Big Green had trouble capitalizing on power plays, going 0-10 on the night. The game also marked the 100th career game for defenseman Sasha Nanji '13.
"The weekend against Cornell and Colgate and then the game against Harvard were really tough and it was kind of a wake-up call for us," Camille Dumais '13 said. "We realized that we have the talent and the ability to skate with the best, we just need to show up and play for every game."
The Big Green continued its road trip in Boston against No. 10 Northeastern, playing in its fifth overtime game this season. Dartmouth came out strong, with Komarek scoring just three minutes into the game, assisted by Hobeika and Stacey. Northeastern (11-6-2-0, 5-4-1-0 Hockey East) came back and took the lead, scoring goals in both the middle of the second and third periods. Fischer was able to force overtime with a third-period power play goal, but the Huskies were unable to be stopped, pulling out a 3-2 win in overtime.
"Losing in overtime is always tough and it's important not to let it taint the games you have ahead of you," Dumais said. "I think it's all about how you handle the loss and how you handle the next game."
After an 0-3-1 stretch, Dartmouth turned around its road trip with a weekend sweep against the University of Maine. On Saturday, Dartmouth notched a 6-1 win against the Black Bears (3-15-1, 1-8 Hockey East), highlighted by a hat trick from Dumais, two goals from Fischer and one more from Stacey. The Big Green dominated on the offensive side, out-shooting its opponent 61-15. Dumais' hat trick marked her 50th career goal. In its second game against Maine, Dartmouth prevailed 4-2. After goals from Morgan Illikainen '15 and Dumais, the Big Green entered the third period tied 2-2. With just 3:07 remaining, Nanji scored to put Dartmouth ahead. The final two minutes of the game proved to be just as exciting, as Hobeika scored an insurance goal off an assist from Fischer. The assist marked Fischer's 100th career point with the Big Green, making her the 35th player in the history of the program to attain the milestone.
"It was pretty exciting," Fischer said. "It was definitely exciting to be able to join a club of alumni who have been successful. But now that that's come and gone, it's time to focus on the task at hand and focus on the team."
After coming off of a three-week holiday break, the Big Green wasted no time getting back to work against with a 4-2 win against Providence College. Hobeika and Samantha Zeiss '15 scored goals just two minutes apart in the first period, giving the Big Green an early lead. But the Friars (9-9-4, 5-4-2 Hockey East) responded with a goal of their own minutes later.
Ailish Forfar '16 scored the first goal of her career 10 minutes into the second period, extending the Big Green lead back to two. After another Friar goal, Dumais, who was named Ivy League player of the week, extended the lead even further, scoring with five minutes left in regulation.
Riding a three game winning streak, Dartmouth was unable to pull out a win against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Friday. The Engineers took the lead early, scoring seven minutes into the first period and again in the third to take a 2-0 lead. Hobeika scored seven minutes into the third, but it was not enough to overcome Rensselaer (6-12-2, 4-6-0 Hockey East).
Despite a tough loss the day before, the Big Green came out strong against Union College on Saturday. Dartmouth dominated offensively, winning 6-0. The contest was highlighted by freshman Zoe Brennan '16 and Forfar who both netted a pair of goals against the Dutchwomen (5-11-3, 0-7-3 Hockey East). Olivia Whitford '16 also saw her first career goal on a power play.
"If there is one thing that we've learned is important, it's consistency," Hobeika said.
Between the posts, Dartmouth goalie Lindsay Holdcroft '14 has nabbed 200 saves and one shutout.
The Dartmouth women will be back in action on Wednesday against the University of Vermont.
