Women’s ice hockey dropped two this weekend in a tough homestretch against conference rivals Cornell and Colgate Universities. The Big Green’s record moved to 10-9-1 overall, and 6-7-1 in conference.
Friday night Dartmouth came out strong in the first period, intent on capitalizing on No. 10 Cornell’s (10-7-3, 8-3-2) short bench. Dartmouth had several scoring chances, including a shot off the pipe by Zoe Brennan ’16, but was unable to get on the board. Despite 15 shots on goal by the Big Green in this period alone, Dartmouth remained scoreless when the first period came to an end.
In the second period, Dartmouth let up in intensity, and Cornell began to control possession. The game remained scoreless until Cornell’s Taylor Woods intercepted a Dartmouth pass and sent the puck to Jess Brown outside the net. Brown was able to put the puck away with a minute and a half remaining in the period.
“We stepped back and let them take control of the game,” Ailish Forfar ’16 said. “We needed to play a full 60 minutes and that second period killed us.”
In the third, the Big Green reenergized but unfortunately could not break Cornell’s lead. Cornell managed to increase its lead to two by scoring in the seventh minute of the third.
Laura Stacey ’16 got Dartmouth on the board in the 13th minute of the period with a hard shot from the blue line, after passes from Kennedy Ottenbreit ’17 and Eleni Tebano ‘17. This was Stacey’s seventh goal of the season.
Dartmouth’s offense produced 29 shots total, more than Cornell’s 25, but unfortunately could not find the back of the net again. The game ended with a Dartmouth loss, 2-1.
“They’re a really skilled team, and they work well together,” Forfar said. “They’re definitely a good team — they’re really hard to compete against. We tried to shut them down positionally, which worked in the first and third periods.”
In Saturday afternoon’s match, the Big Green faced Colgate (6-19, 3-10). Both teams got off to a slow start, with neither getting on the board until the second period.
In the second period, Dartmouth again produced several convincing scoring chances, including a shot by Ottenbreit that hit the post, but could not get the shots past Colgate’s goalie.
“In the second period we really picked it up, and we started getting back to the game plan. We started winning races to the puck.” Robyn Chemago ’17 said. “When we win the races to the puck it works.”
Colgate had its own chances, including a scramble in front of the Dartmouth net with players from both teams trying to connect. The Dartmouth defense was able to clear that attempt, but in the sixth minute of the second Colgate scored.
Period three opened with both teams at high energy. Colgate’s Kayla Haus was able to take advantage of a quick transition to score in the first minute.
The third period continued with strong offensive pressure from both teams. Dartmouth’s offensive line never stopped pushing, with forwards Lindsey Allen ’16 and Emma Korbs ’17 particularly active in producing challenges to the net.
“We did start a little shaky,” Korbs said. “As the game went on we got stronger and stronger.”
The match was a physical one, and the referees were largely content to let the players duke it out without much interference. Even so, eight minor penalties combined were called in the game.
“They were definitely a more physical team than we had encountered in the past,” Korbs said. “They were a really gritty team. They would do anything to get the puck.”
Despite significant pressure on the Colgate defense, Dartmouth did not score in the third period. The game ended in a 2-0 loss for the Big Green.
As the Big Green readies for a big weekend away, the team will focus on taking ownership of individual actions on the ice.
“I think we just need to work on taking accountability for our actions out there,” Forfar said. “We can’t allow ourselves to have one period off or a couple shifts off because the other team is going to capitalize on it.”
Dartmouth takes the ice next weekend in another double match-up, playing Princeton Univeristy at Princeton, New Jersey on Friday and Quinnipiac University at Hamden, Connetticut on Saturday. The Big Green will next play in Hanover on Friday, Feb. 6 against Brown University.
