This is what it's all about.
For the past seven years when it began, the ECAC tournament has been the climax of the season for women's hockey players.
This year it's even bigger.
Not only does it scream out, "We are the champions," but this year, the ECAC tournament is a stepping stone to the brand new, four-team National Championship.
UNH, the winner of the ECAC this season, already holds the first ticket into the Championship. According to Dartmouth Head Coach George Crowe, one of the remaining three spots will likely go to Minnesota, the strongest of U.S. women's hockey teams outside of the ECAC, for geographic diversity. The other two positions are open, but not for long.
The ECAC tournament, which begins this weekend, should settle one of those spots. One postition automatically goes to the winner of the tournament, unless, of course, that team is UNH. In that case, both of the last two spots will belong to whichever teams have proven themselves to be up to the challenge based on regular season and tournament play.
Step one for Dartmouth: to get past Providence College this weekend at home in Thompson Arena.
"If we want any chance at all, it's a must win on Saturday," Crowe said. "That will put us in pretty good shape. If we don't win, we can write it off."
Dartmouth, after capturing the Ivy League title two weekends ago, split last weekend, landing itself a third-place tie with Brown. ECAC officials gave Dartmouth the nod for the tournament's third seed over Brown (15-4-3) because of Dartmouth's one extra regular season win (16-5-1).
Which brings the Big Green back to Providence.
An annual powerhouse, Providence has slipped this season, after losing two of its strongest players, forward Laurie Baker and goalie Sara DeCosta, both of whom donated their talents this season to the Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. National team.
Predicted to finish ahead of Dartmouth at number four, Providence (9-11-2) faltered over and over, losing 15 of its first 19 games and eventually finishing in sixth place.
Dartmouth was able to take advantage of this stumble, beating the Friars twice this season, 4-1 in the season's opening weekend last November and 3-2 in the season's closer last weekend.
Having lost its star goalie in DeCosta, who ended her freshman season with an 18-7-2 record as well as a 2.66 goals-against average, one of Providence's key weaknesses this season has been between the posts.
"They have a huge weakness in goal," Michelyne Pinard '98 said. "We really need to just shoot."
Freshman Heather Wilcox has started 10 of the Friars' last 13 contests and posts a .841 save percentage and a 3.81 goals-against average. Senior captain Pilar Christopherson has tallied a .841 save percentage and a 2.97 goals-against average in her six games, while sophomore Megan Marfione has a .833 save percentage and a 4.16 goals-against average in 10 games.
At the other end of the ice, Baker's presence has also been greatly missed. Her 68 points on 41 goals and 27 assists last season can't be touched.
Freshman Jessica Tabb has picked up the slack to a great extent this year, leading the Friars with 15 goals and 36 assists for 21 points. Teammates Myia Yates, Katie Lachapelle and Corinne Rosen follow behind Tabb, each having scored in the double-digits this season.
As for Dartmouth, the team will rely on continued strength from freshman goalie Meaghan Cahill. Cahill, posting a .909 save percentage and a 2.55 goals-against average, has played every minute of every game this season. She has already set a new school record with 19 wins in one season.
"The past two games we've played against them, they've averaged about 25 to 30 shots. That's what I like," Cahill said. "I can be part of the game. It's not too few, but it's not too many."
Sarah Hood '98 stands out as Dartmouth's top gun. With 21 goals and 20 assists for 41 points this season, Hood places fifth among Dartmouth's all-time top scorers with 145 points on 72 goals and 73 assists.
Michelyne Pinard '98 has also proven her play-making talents. Pinard leads the team with 23 assists and also adds nine goals for a total of 32 points. A pair of freshmen, Jen Wiehn (12-19-31) and Lauren Trottier (18-10-28), are right behind Pinard.
With strong defense from veterans Jen Lane '98, Kathleen O'Keefe '99 and Wendy Soutsos '99 as well as rookie Liz Macri '01, Dartmouth should be lined up for a good weekend.
"I think it'll be a really good game," Crowe said. "We really match up well with Providence."
Unlike teams like Brown and Northeastern who play a much more physical game, Crowe said, Providence relies on the skill of the game like Dartmouth does.
For Dartmouth's Wiehn, it's all about the attitude Dartmouth takes. "We know we have the ability to win. It's like it was with the Harvard game [for the Ivy title]. We went in thinking there was no way they were going to beat us. We were going to win the Ivy title. If we get that attitude back, we'll be fine."
