The women’s hockey team moved to 4-0 with a 5-1 win over St. Lawrence University on Friday on neutral ice in Rochester, New York — a score that does not count toward the overall ECAC standings. Lindsey Allen ’16 and captain Karlee Odland ’15 were the offensive stars for the Big Green, notching three and two points in the win.
“It was probably the hardest team that we’ve faced all year, so to come out with a big five-to-one victory puts a lot of confidence in our team moving forward,” Odland said.
The Big Green scored early and often in the game. The team has now scored five or more goals in all but one of its games this season.
Odland said the team’s success comes from its competitive practices.
The game took place in the midst of a youth hockey tournament in Rochester, making the ice conditions difficult, players said.
“We didn’t let anything get to us,” Allen said. “There were a lot of conditions that were not what we are used to. We just tried to stick to what we know, which is working hard and hard work pays off. That’s basically what we did and what we’ve been doing all year.”
Ailish Forfar ’16 got the Dartmouth women on the board just 2:16 into the game off of assists by Odland and Sam Zeiss ’15.
Just past the halfway point in the period, Zeiss and Odland connected again, giving the captain her second goal of the season. The seniors went on a two-on-two rush before a nifty pass from Zeiss found Odland, who put the puck in the back of the net.
The two-goal lead did not last long, however, as the Saints (4-5-1, 1-2-0 ECAC) got on the board at the 13:22 mark to cut the Dartmouth lead to one, where it would remain for the remainder of the period and most of the second frame as well.
The second period saw back-and-forth action, with neither team gaining an advantage, thanks to the goaltending play of Robyn Chemago ’17 and junior Mikaela Thompson. The Big Green had 35 shots to the Saints’ 30.
“The way they play their offense is definitely challenging. They like to work it down low and then have lots of pressure in the slot, so I had to be really aware of the slot,” Chemago said. “They also have some really great defense and know how to work the point and work it high a lot to get the shots through, so that makes it more difficult.”
The Dartmouth women also killed off all three shorthanded opportunities in the middle frame en route to a perfect four-for-four on the evening.
With just under four minutes left in the second period, Allen tallied her first goal of the evening off assists from Laura Stacey ’16 and Hailey Noronha ’18 to give the Big Green a 3-1 lead heading into the final period.
The Saints came out firing in the third, notching 18 shots against Chemago. The sophomore starter was up to the task, stopping all 18 in the frame to secure the Dartmouth win.
“They put on a lot of pressure, and I thought we did well,” Odland said. “We didn’t panic or lose composure and I think that really frustrated them.”
With under three minutes to play, the Saints pulled Thompson to make one final offensive push. But Allen tallied two empty-net goals to complete the hat trick and put the game out of reach.
The Big Green did not have any man advantages on the night.
The team returns to action next weekend for two conference games, first taking on the Saints before traveling to Potsdam, New York, to play No. 8 Clarkson University. Clarkson, the No. 1 seed in last season’s tournament, sits atop the ECAC standings with six points.
