“I think honestly playing teams that are ranked in the top 10 push our limits,” co-captain Ali Winkel ’14 said. “We stepped up to the occasion and we did play really well and it goes to show that when we give 110 percent we can play really well and keep up.”
In the first game of the break, the women fell to Northeastern University 2-1 in overtime. The Big Green led on the strength of a second period tally by Karlee Odland ’15 off assists from Lindsey Allen ’16 and Winkel. The sophomore and senior cycled the puck in the corner before Allen slid it in front to a waiting Odland, who banged it home for the goal.
Lindsay Holdcroft ’14 was stellar between the pipes, stopping 40 shots in the game, and 29 in the first two periods. With just under seven minutes left in the game, Huskies (7-11-1, 3-5-1 Hockey East) freshman Hayley Scamurra beat Holdcroft to tie the game. In a back-and-forth third, neither team could gain an advantage. In overtime, the Huskies came out firing, but Holdcroft was up to the task, stopping the first three shots she faced. W ith just 1:52 left in overtime, redshirt junior Kelly Wallace slid one past the Big Green netminder for the game winner.
The team next traveled to Cambridge, Mass., to face Harvard (10-1-2, 7-1-1 ECAC) and lost 5-0 despite outshooting the Crimson 25-19. The game was the team’s fifth against a ranked opponent this season.
The women stayed on the road and lost to the University of New Hampshire 2-1. Allen’s first period power play goal put the Big Green on top, but the Wildcats slid one past Robyn Chemago ’17 and the Big Green defense in each of the second and third periods. The women attempted a furious comeback in the final minutes, but the UNH defense was up to the task and held off Dartmouth rivals for the win.
Returning to the friendly confines of Thompson Arena, the Big Green fell 1-0 in overtime to the University of Vermont Catamounts. Again late in the extra frame, the Big Green women gave up a goal — this time to Catamounts’ freshman Amanda Pelkey, who got a pass and skated in on Holdcroft untouched. A quick deke later and the puck was off her backhand and into the net. Laura Stacey ’16 and Allen powered a Big Green offense that totaled 18 shots on net.
Dartmouth’s lone win over interim was a 3-2 victory against Providence College (7-13-0, 3-5-0 Hockey East). The Big Green trailed 2-0 at the start of the third period, but a massive rally by the Big Green women brought home a win. Kennedy Ottenbreit ’17 scored just 42 seconds into the period with an assist from defenseman Olivia Whitford ’16 and Emma Korbs ’17. Defenseman Zoe Brennan ’16 put in the second goal with just over 12 minutes to play off an assist from Devon Moir ’17, who notched her first collegiate point in the game. Winkel sealed the victory with just under seven minutes left in regulation.
The victory over the Friars gave Holdcroft her 50th win, making her the fifth goalkeeper in program history to reach 50 victories. Head coach Mark Hudak won his 199th career game in the contest.
On Saturday, the women traveled to Boston to face No. 8 BU (15-3-1, 8-0-0 Hockey East). After a high-octane first period, the Terriers emerged with a 2-1 lead. Odland notched her third of the year in the period off of assists from Winkel and Morgan Illikainen ’15. Just over five and a half minutes into the second period, Ottenbreit tallied her third of her freshman campaign off an assist from Eleni Tebano ’17. The lead did not last long, however, as just three minutes later, the Terriers retook the advantage on the scoreboard with a power play goal. The Big Green tried to come back in the third, ripping eight shots to BU’s seven, but came up just short.
“Against Providence honestly that was a huge win for us, we were losing and came back and I think that showed the whole team coming back from a deficit will get us pumped up if we are ever in a situation like that,” Winkel said.
Seven of the Big Green’s 12 losses this season were by two or fewer goals.
“For how much we have lost by a really close margin our team is still very solid,” Odland said. “We haven’t had anyone quit on us and I think we’re starting to pick it up.”
Dartmouth will be back in Thompson Arena this weekend to take on Ivy League and ECAC rivals, Yale University and Brown University. The Big Green will play the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. on Friday and the Bears on Saturday at 4 p.m.
