On Feb. 7, the Big Green bounced back from a weekend two-game losing streak to defeat the Harvard University Crimson, 3-2.
Ending a string of losses is always a challenge — one that can “maybe get a little harder” when “worrying too much about the outcomes,” goalie Emmett Croteau ’27 said. In those moments, raw impulse often works better than focusing on the numbers, he explained.
“I want to do my best and give the team a chance to win,” Croteau said. “At the end of the day, that’s all I can do.”
The game started off slow, with neither team scoring in the first period. It was not until the second that the crowd saw action.
Right wing Hayden Stavroff ’28 finally created momentum at the 1:54 mark. Left wing Sean Chisholm ’25 won the faceoff, allowing Stavroff to retrieve the puck and fire his first shot. After a blocked first attempt, Stavroff regained the puck and took another, from a low angle just off of the goal line. The puck slid past Harvard’s six-foot-four goalie to make it 1-0 Dartmouth.
Head coach Reid Cashman said Stavroff’s performance fit his player profile. In other words, he’s “a goal scorer,” Cashman explained.
“He’s always been a goal scorer,” he said. “He started off the year, scored a bunch, and then hit a little bit of a lull, but he was getting chances, so we weren’t worried about it. Getting that first goal on Friday was important because it had just been a little while.”
Three minutes later, Hank Cleaves ’28 poked the puck away from the Crimson and Stavroff gained control. Stavroff then found Chisholm in front of the net to make it 2-0.
Not only has Chisholm been incredible on the ice, but outside the rink as well, according to Colin Grable ’28.
“[He’s] done a great job guiding the freshman, leading the ship, leading by example and being positive in the room,” Grable said. “We all want to be like [him].”
The Big Green scored its third goal of the second period at the 11:20 mark, with Cleaves finding Stavroff cutting toward the goal. Netting his second goal of the night, Stavroff also marked his first two-goal game of the season — placing him on the Richard Group Athletes of the Week list.
Together, the three-man line of Stavroff, Chisholm and Cleaves had a three-point game. According to Cashman, the senior and two freshmen have a seamless connection.
“[Chisholm] leads the way with how we want to play and he plays so hard. He is a really good communicator, so he’s able to communicate with those two first-year guys,” Cashman said. “[Cleaves] and Stavroff, every week they’ve gotten better and more comfortable. [Stavroff] tends to be more of a shooter. Then [Chisholm] does a little bit of everything. They enjoy playing with each other.”
During the first two periods, Croteau kept the Crimson scoreless.
“Credit to the guys in front of me for helping me make it a little bit easier,” Croteau said. “[Harvard] was a skilled team, and we played a complete game.”
Harvard attempted to fight back during the final period, scoring at the 6:10 mark and again after adding an extra attacker with 1:11 left in the game. Those dramatic, late-game goals shifted the narrative of the match, Croteau said.
“[Harvard] came out really hungry,” he said. “They had a big push, and they got a bounce off the end of the wall, and made a good play towards the end of the period.”
The Big Green defense was able to hold out, completing a season sweep of the Crimson for the first time since the 2010-2011 season. Dartmouth previously beat Harvard 2-1 on Nov. 1.
According to Grable, it was “awesome” to hear the Big Green’s victory song, “Revival,” by Zach Bryan after the win.
“It makes the win feel way better and then it brings us close together as a team,” Grable said.
This weekend, Dartmouth takes on the Clarkson Golden Knights — who are one point ahead in the ECAC standings — at Cheel Arena in Potsdam, N.Y., on Feb. 14 and the St. Lawrence Saints at Appleton Arena in Canton, N.Y., on Feb.15. With only six games remaining in the regular season, every game matters.
“The goal has been to finish as high as you can, certainly,” Cashman said. “If you can finish in the top four, you get that first-round bye [in playoffs].”
