Men’s hockey prepares for home tilts vs. Colgate, Cornell

Dartmouth men’s hockey returns home for the first time since Dec. 30 with a two-game homestand against Colgate University on Friday and No. 12 Cornell University (8-4-3, 4-3-2 ECAC) on Saturday.“Both teams play fast and physical, so we have to match their intensity and put the pressure on them,” forward Brad Schierhorn ’16 said. “We just got to play our game.”Dartmouth (3-12-2, 2-8-0 ECAC) currently ranks last in conference standings with only four points, possessing the worst conference record and the worst overall record.A Dartmouth victory in either game would be regarded as a surprising upset. If the Big Green takes both games, it would signal that Dartmouth refuses to write off its season and believes that it can climb out of the conference cellar.After losing its first eight games, Dartmouth has gone 3-4-2 since its first win of the season against Harvard University on Nov. 30.Even Dartmouth’s losses have been agonizingly close. After losing by big margins early on, three of Dartmouth’s four most recent losses have been by a lone goal.The exception was last Saturday’s 4-2 loss, when the University of New Hampshire scored on a delayed penalty call with 33 seconds left in the game.Colgate (9-9-3, 5-3-1 ECAC) enters Friday’s match-up, which will be the first meeting of the season between the teams, having won three of its last four games.Dartmouth will try to replicate the magic of last year’s Feb. 16 5-4 victory against the Raiders and avoid a similar defensive collapse like it suffered during the matchup between the two teams last season.During the first game against Colgate last season, on Nov. 16, 2012, Dartmouth held a 4-1 lead heading into the third only for its defense to disappear. Colgate tallied four unanswered goals in the final frame to stun then no. 12 Dartmouth and hand the Big Green its first loss of the 2012-2013 season.The second game was similarly action-packed. Colgate held a 4-3 lead with 10 minutes remaining until Dartmouth reeled off two consecutive scores, capping off the comeback with a goal from Eric Neiley ’15.The Dartmouth-Colgate all-time series score stand at 45-42-5, making the ECAC rivalry one of the most competitive in the country.Colgate features a well-balanced offense with five players registering 13 or more points. However, Colgate has a few weaknesses to exploit.First, Colgate has converted just 14 of its 100 power plays this season. On the penalty kill, Dartmouth has allowed 17 power play goals in 69 attempts, the second worst percentage in the ECAC so far.What might be most beneficial for the Big Green is Colgate’s inability to score in the first period, having been outscored 20-11 during the first 20 minutes.Recently, Dartmouth has shown the capability to start strong score points quickly, seen best by its first minute goal on Saturday against UNH.But in order to win, Dartmouth must capitalize on its scoring opportunities, especially during the power play. In Dartmouth’s last two games, against Boston University and New Hampshire, the Big Green failed to score during any of its opportunities with the numeric advantage.“A lot of our chances will come from the power play, and we just got to figure out a way to capitalize on them,” forward Charlie Mosey ’15 said.Then, on Saturday, Dartmouth will square off against a Cornell squad with some rust.Cornell’s men’s hockey team has taken to the ice sparingly in 2014 playing only a 6-0 exhibition win on Jan. 3 over the Russian Red Stars, a touring all-star team, and a game at Harvard University tonight before traveling to Hanover.Cornell leads the all-time series against Dartmouth 79-43-4. Dartmouth failed to defeat the Big Red last year, tying the first game 1-1 while losing the second 2-4. Dartmouth’s last win against Cornell was a 5-4 win in Feb. 2010in Hanover.Cornell possesses the best ECAC conference record of all the Ivies with a 4-3-2 mark. However, the Big Red still ranks fifth overall in the conference behind Union College, Quinnipiac University, Clarkson University and Colgate.One reason behind Cornell’s record has been an efficient offense that averages almost 43 goals on just 356 shots. Its power play offense is even more effective, scoring on 26 percent of their man-advantages, good for second in the ECAC.The offense also features six players with more than 10 points, bolstered by veteran goalie senior Andy Iles with a .919 save percentage and a defense that stifles the power play, allowing the second fewest goals on the penalty kill in the league.The puck drops both nights at 7 p.m. in Thompson Arena.