This weekend, the women’s hockey team will take on Colgate University and Cornell University in two home games. The women hope to emerge with two wins and turn their season around.
So far this season, the team’s (1-4-0, 1-3-0 ECAC) games have yielded somewhat disappointing results. After securing their first win of the season against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Nov. 2, this past weekend the Big Green women emerged with two road losses against No. 6 Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University in their second consecutive road weekend.
“Our record isn’t as good as we would want it to be, which can be frustrating at times,” forward Samantha Zeiss ’15 said.
Nonetheless, this weekend proved to be an important learning experience for the team, most of whom are underclassmen. Out of the 20-person roster, 13 are freshmen and sophomores. The team lost the majority of its offense from last season, as the seniors last year accounted for more than 57 percent of the team’s goals.
“I think we played a lot better than our scores indicate,” forward Laura Stacey ’16 said. “Even though we lost both games, I think we played a lot better than we have been playing.”
Coming off of disappointing results, the Big Green women are working hard in practice to improve on various aspects of their play.
“We’re trying to change some things up so that teams don’t really know what to expect coming into the game,” Zeiss said. “We’re also working on getting a lot of little things right.”
In addition to improving on technical aspects of their play, the women wish to sustain their endurance level throughout their games.
“I think we need to play for all 60 minutes,” Stacey said. “We can’t have a little time off at any time. We really need to be on the whole time because the little mistakes are costing us.”
Thus far, players feel confident that they are improving and will be well-prepared for the weekend ahead.
“This week, we’ve been really great in practices,” forward Lindsey Allen ’16 said. “We’re clicking really well and connecting more on and off of the ice. We’re looking forward to having a new start this weekend where everything works out for us.”
The Dartmouth women will face the Colgate Raiders (3-9-0, 1-5-0 ECAC) at Thompson Arena. Last season, Dartmouth had a 1-0-1 record against Colgate thanks to a 3-2 road victory and 2-2 tie in Hanover.
“Colgate always gives us a good game, so we’re just going to have to go in and play our game,” Allen said.
The women will make a quick turnaround to face the Cornell Big Red (7-0-1, 5-0-1 ECAC) on Saturday. The Big Red is currently ranked third in nation. The last time the Big Green defeated a ranked team was almost two years ago against then No. 10 Northeastern University.
Last year, the Big Green women were 0-1-1 against Cornell. Their past three games against the Big Red have been decided in overtime, by one goal or less. Last season, a home game in Thompson Arena resulted in a 0-0 overtime tie.
“It’s going to be a tough weekend, but I think we’ll be ready for it and it’ll be nice to see where we’re at at this point in the season and how much we are getting better,” Stacey said. “If we can come out with two wins it’ll give us a lot of confidence and allow us to move past what has happened so far.”
Regardless of past games, the women are reluctant to predict what their results will be like.
“I think that something we’ve learned throughout the season is that any team can come out and beat anyone else,” Zeiss said. “There have been a lot of upsets and a lot of surprises, but if we play well we could come out with some points.”
Nonetheless, they are excited to play at home and determined to play well for their fans.
“Our home games are a lot of fun,” Allen said. “We try to impress our superfans and our parents, so we always play well.”
Most importantly, the Big Green women hope to emerge from the weekend with increased confidence, and a few wins under their belt.
“This would be a great weekend to figure things out and have it all come together to get us back on track,” Zeiss said.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. against the Raiders on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday against the Big Red.
