The women’s hockey team moved to 3-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC after a 3-0 shutout win over Union College and a 5-2 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The Big Green offense continues rolling, having scored 14 regular season goals this year.
“The puck is going in the back of the net for us. We’ve been scoring a lot,” forward Laura Stacey ’16 said. “We’ve been fighting hard. Our offense has been really strong.”
The 3-0-0 start is the team’s best since the 2010-11 campaign, when it last made the NCAA Tournament.
The good start, said Robyn Chemago ’17, shows that the team is developing a “championship culture.” Now, the team must maintain the high level of energy, she said.
Captain Karlee Odland ’15 said that the team is keeping things simple in order to find success.
“We’re working on fixing little things that will make a big difference against better teams,” she said.
On Friday, the Big Green squared off against Union College (1-8-1, 0-2-0 ECAC) at Thompson Arena. The Big Green varied its scoring — only one goal was scored by the top line.
Emma Korbs ’17 opened the scoring with her first goal of the season 6:54 into the first period, assisted by Odland and Ailish Forfar ’16.
Two goals in the third period sealed the victory. Just 3:34 into the third period, Lindsey Allen ’16 capitalized on a power play for her third tally of the year, assisted by Kennedy Ottenbreit ’17 and Stacey.
Ten minutes later, the Big Green capped off the night with a final goal by Morgan Turner ’18, following passes from Hailey Noronha ’18 and Elena Horton ’18. Turner shot into the left-hand corner of the net past the Union goalie’s hand to score the dramatic final goal of the game — the first of her collegiate career.
The Big Green outshot the Dutchwomen 45-13 in the contest, including 15-6 in the opening frame. Union senior goaltender Shenae Lundberg was solid between the pipes for the visitors, notching 42 saves in a losing effort. Chemago turned away all 13 shots for her first career shutout.
“The defense was very solid so it made my job easy,” Chemago said. “The team effort was all there — the team really helped me get the shutout.”
The Big Green kept rolling on Saturday against Rensselaer (1-6-2, 0-2-0 ECAC), where the team won 5-2. The team outshot the Engineers 47-21 in the game.
Stacey, the Big Green’s most dangerous offensive player so far this season, opened the scoring 6:14 into the first period off of assists by alternate captains Morgan Illikainen ’15 and Catherine Berghuis ’16.
Just five minutes later, Berghuis notched her second assist of the game after intercepting a pass deep in Dartmouth’s half. Berghuis then gave the puck to Katy Ratty ’17, who zoomed down the ice and shot past a lone defender and the goalie to mark Dartmouth’s second goal — Ratty’s first of the season.
After securing a 2-0 lead in the first, Dartmouth faced a tough fight from the Engineers, who outscored the Big Green 2-1 in the frame. Senior Mariana Walsh got Rensselaer on the board, but Berghuis could not be denied on Saturday afternoon. She responded six minutes later with her first goal of the season following passes from Forfar and Korbs. Less than two minutes later, Rensselaer rebounded with another Walsh goal.
“This was the first weekend where we had to play two games, so we’re still getting back into game shape,” Odland said. “Our legs were a little heavier on Saturday, so we need to find our way and skate hard, but we’re learning quickly and we still played really well on Saturday.”
Going into the third period, Dartmouth maintained a narrow 3-2 lead. The Big Green fought hard and were soon rewarded. Sam Zeiss ’15 notched her first goal of the season off assists from Forfar and Odland. Ten minutes later, with less than three minutes on the clock, Stacey sealed Dartmouth’s victory with a shorthanded marker for her second goal of the game, assisted by Ottenbreit.
The Big Green power play tailed off from its hot start last weekend, going 2-9 over two games. The penalty kill, however, continued to be a strength, as the Big Green have not allowed a power play goal in eight opportunities this regular season.
Next Saturday the Big Green will travel to Rochester, New York, to face St. Lawrence University at 5 p.m.
“We’ve only played three games, and we have 20 games to go, so we need to keep the energy high,” Stacey said. “It’s been a really great start for us, we’ve deserved the wins.”
