The men’s and women’s hockey teams face crucial ECAC games this weekend. The women (5-13-1, 4-8-1 ECAC) will play Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Union College, looking to pick up four points in the standings, while the men (3-13-3, 2-9-1 ECAC) square off against RPI on the road.
The women currently sit in ninth, just two points out of the ninth place and a berth in the ECAC playoffs, four points behind sixth place RPI (10-11-2, 6-5-1 ECAC) and three points ahead of Union (8-15-1, 3-9-0 ECAC). The games this weekend will impact playoff seeding and the team’s postseason chances.
Lindsey Allen ’16 said she expects two tight games. “Union we lost to the first time but we didn’t play our game at all,” she said. “We got our first win of the season against RPI, but they’re going to be seeking revenge. They know now not to underestimate us, so they’re going to come out strong, but we need to come out stronger.”
The women’s team has momentum going into the weekend after besting Colgate University 4-2 on Jan. 18 with a trio of goals in the second period.
Yet RPI has not lost a game since a 4-3 overtime loss to Providence College on Jan. 5. RPI has since defeated Union twice, as well as beating Quinnipiac University and tying Princeton University.
The RPI team’s greatest strength is its depth. This year, seven players have 11 or more points, and sophomore Lauren Wash leads the team with 11 goals.
Union will play Harvard University Friday night before Saturday’s game in Hanover. Union has lost three straight games, and its offense has been lackluster all season, averaging 1.8 goals per game. Union has a few players who can put the puck in the net — sophomore Kathryn Tomaselli and senior Stefanie Thomson lead the team with 10 and eight goals respectively. Senior Maddy Norton and junior Alex Tancrell-Fontaine have provided their teammates with excellent scoring opportunities, registering 14 and 12 assists.
Union’s unbalanced offense is accompanied by a weak defense. Its power play defense has relinquished a goal 21 times out of 84 chances.
Dartmouth men’s hockey travels to Troy, N.Y., to take on RPI (8-10-4, 3-5-3 ECAC) Friday evening at 7 p.m. RPI’s last win was a 5-2 rout over Princeton on Dec. 7, 2013.
RPI has changed since it defeated Dartmouth 7-1 in November. The preseason favorite to win the ECAC Hockey title is currently in the midst of a four-game losing streak and six-game winless streak that dropped it from national rankings.
In the Engineers’ last game, conference leader No. 7 Quinnipiac University blew out RPI 6-2. Six different Bobcats skaters scored goals against RPI.
Despite allowing three power play goals against Quinnipiac, RPI has a stingy power play defense, allowing only 18 goals in 91 opportunities this season. However, RPI hasn’t been as opportunistic on offense, scoring on 18 power plays in 89 chances.
The Big Green enters Friday night coming off an emotional two-game weekend against two of the nation’s hottest teams, losing the first 4-1 to Colgate in its most physical game of the season before tying previously No. 12 Cornell University 1-1.
The team had strong offense and defense, aside from missing a few opportunities and allowing Colgate to score power play goals, Brandon McNally ’15 said.
“We just need some more work,” he said. “Get more shots. Stay in front of the net. We’re really close, but it’s not enough sometimes.”
Dartmouth was dealt major blow when the ECAC announced Monday afternoon that it would suspend Eric Neiley ’15 for two games after a scrum at the end of Saturday night’s overtime game against Cornell.
Neiley was assessed a five-minute major penalty for charging and a game disqualification, but upon further review by the ECAC, he is suspended for both this Friday’s game against RPI and next Friday’s game against Quinnipiac.
“That hurts a lot but we’re going to go out and play with the team intensity and passion that we played with against Cornell,” head coach Bob Gaudet said. “We didn’t win the game but we raised the bar, playing 65 strong minutes.”
Neiley is Dartmouth’s leading scorer with 10 goals and four assists, double Charlie Mosey, the second-highest scorer with five goals.
Neiley’s two-game absence further strains a Dartmouth roster already decimated by injuries.
Dartmouth has been forced to play with a fluctuating line-up, including using natural defensemen as forwards. Despite the losing record, Gaudet deserves credit for constructing line-ups that have kept Dartmouth competitive and in the hunt for a home playoff game.
Unfortunately for Dartmouth, Tyler Sikura ’15 and Eric Robinson ’14, two of Dartmouth’s captains, are out for extended periods with injuries. Sikura might return from his knee injury in time for the ECAC playoffs. Robinson will not play at all this season.
Gaudet will likely make a game-time decision as who to start in goal. The player he chooses will be pressured all night in the goal by junior Ryan Haggerty (18 goals, 9 assists), Brock Higgs (13 goals, 9 assists) and Matt Neal (9 goals, 12 assists).
The puck drops for the women at 7 p.m. in Thompson Arena Friday night when the women play RPI and Saturday’s game starts at 4 p.m. The men start their game at RPI Friday at 7 p.m.
