Seeking to avenge an Oct. 27 loss to Qunnipiac (12-9-2, 8-5-1 ECAC) on the road in Hamden, Conn, the Big Green entered the game strong.
Things looked better in Hanover right from the start, with forward Camille Dumais '13 scoring the first goal of the night. After intercepting a pass seven minutes into the first period, Dumais placed a backhanded shot swiftly into the back of the net to put Dartmouth ahead 1-0.
The Big Green hot streak continued when defenseman Sasha Nanji '13 notched another goal with just five seconds to go in the first. Nanji made her move from behind the net and beat Quinnipiac's goaltender Victoria Vigilanti with ease.
"It was a two-on-one setting and I tried to pass to Karlee [Odland '15]," Nanji said. "The puck bounced off a defender right back to me, then I deked a defender and put it in the net."
Two goals from Ailish Forfar '16 and Reagan Fischer '12, and an empty-netter from Jenna Hobeika '12 kept the offensive momentum strong through the course of the night. Although the Bobcats tallied two goals of their own, the win was never a doubt Quinnipiac was never within a goal after Nanji put the Big Green in the lead.
The 5-2 win marked an incredible turnaround from Dartmouth's previous 3-8 loss at the hands of the Bobcats. This time around, Dartmouth managed to step up its defense. Whereas Quinnipiac managed 33 shots on goal in the last game, the stellar Big Green defense held them to a mere 20 shots in Friday's contest.
"Last game, I don't think we were totally prepared," Nanji said. "We hadn't meshed yet. Now we're used to each other and we wanted revenge."
Other standout performers for Dartmouth included goaltender Lindsay Holdcroft '14 who tallied 18 saves and Hobeika who notched a goal and an assist. The Big Green's penalty kills were memorable, as they successfully killed five Quinnipiac power plays without allowing a single goal.
On Saturday at Thompson Arena, Dartmouth looked to stretch its winning streak to four games against Ivy League rival Princeton (6-12-2, 2-10-2 ECAC). On the strength of an absolutely incredible performance from Dumais, the Big Green managed to do so, defeating Princeton 6-2.
The first period was tightly contested, with each team netting one goal. The Big Green scored just 3:30 into the game with a shot off of Nanji's stick. The Tigers, however, managed to answer with a shot less than 15 minutes from sophomore Brianna Leahy.
The second period, on the other hand, belonged to the Big Green. With a natural hat trick from Dumais, Dartmouth took the lead. A natural hat trick entails scoring three straight goals without any intervening goals by teammates or opponents.
Before Dumais' goals, Dartmouth and Princeton exchanged tallies with a goal by Fischer for the Big Green and another from Leahy just 44 seconds later for the Tigers. The score had been tied at 2-2, setting the stage for Dumais' standout performance.
Her first goal, which came 40 seconds into a power play after an interference call against the Tigers, would prove to be enough for the win. However, just 97 seconds later, Dumais netted another shot to put the Big Green two goals ahead. Finally, after two more penalties gave Dartmouth a two-player advantage, Dumais slotted her third goal to essentially cement a Dartmouth victory.
"[Dubais] is definitely someone we rely on to score goals, especially considering that her line is so solid," Holdcroft said. "She's got a nose for the net and after that breakout period, Princeton really came out pretty deflated for the third and didn't look like they thought that they could pull out a win."
Even after the eventful second period, Dartmouth was not finished scoring. Six minutes into the final period, Catherine Berghuis '16 slammed home a rebound for her first collegiate goal.
"It was definitely something I didn't expect," Berghuis said. "I was trying to help the team with whatever I can do and I just happened to be there for the rebound. It really sparked a bit of a reflecting period for me and showed that hard work pays off."
Dartmouth returns to action on Jan. 18, when the Big Green will take on Union College at Thompson Arena at 7 p.m.
