Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/1997/04/23/gaudet_81_an_indian_again.php
Wednesday, April 23, 1997
For the past fifteen years, Dartmouth's hockey program has been wallowing in consistent mediocrity, plagued by constant coaching changes, declining fan support, and inconsistent recruiting.
For the past fifteen years, Dartmouth has searched the continent for a man able to return the program to the glorified heights of the late 1970's and early 1980's, when Dartmouth was perenially one of the nation's college hockey powers, and reached the NCAA Final Four.
After turning from coach to coach in dashed hopes of resurrection, Athletic Director Dick Jaeger '59 and the Dartmouth Hockey community believe they have found the man to finally lead the Indians from the ECAC muck.
The man charged with spearheading the resurrection is Bob Gaudet '81, the head coach at Brown University for the past nine years. Prior to arriving at Brown, Gaudet was the starting goalie on the last Dartmouth team to reach the semifinals of the NCAA tournament in 1980. He was also an assistant coach at Dartmouth for several years once his playing days ended.
If his record is any indication, Gaudet may well be the perfect chief for the Indians. When Gaudet arrived at Brown, their hockey program was in absolute shambles. Brown was perenially one of the worst teams in the East, had great difficulty drawing fans to its games, and was lightly regarded in the ECAC.
Under Bob Gaudet, that all changed. In his nine years at Brown, the Bears went from perpetual doormat to perpetual power. By the early nineties, Brown was frequently ranked in the top ten nationally, won two Ivy League titles, had appeared in the NCAA tournament, and had won Gaudet ECAC Coach of the Year honors.
In 1992, while Brown was enjoying success, Dartmouth turned its program over to Roger Demment. Demment was a Yale graduate who had previously coached in France, at the St. Mark's School, and been an assistant at Dartmouth. Demment, like Gaudet at Brown, promised to instill in the team the spirit of victory and restore Dartmouth's program to national preeminence.
Although Demment did lead the Indians to the ECAC playoffs twice in five seasons at Dartmouth, each time Dartmouth bowed out with a first-round loss. This past season, Demment took a talented Indian team, laden with upperclassmen, and ran them directly into the ground: they were one of only two teams out of twelve not to make the playoffs.
The year prior to Demment's arrival was perhaps the lowpoint in Dartmouth hockey history. Coach Ben Smith, let go after one season, led the team to a total of one win in over thirty games. The Indians, needless to say, finished last in the ECAC.
For the first few seasons under Coach Demment, the Indians appeared to be building a strong program, qualifying for the playoffs two times in four years and generally improving the quality of the team through recruitment. Over the past two years, however, Dartmouth stalled, never establishing itself as a contender.
What is needed, argues Gaudet, is an attitude adjustment. 'It's fine to set making the playoffs as a goal. But you can't set that as your only goal. What we need to do is change the whole attitude of this team from the coaching staff on down. I'm not saying we're going to win the Championship in my first season, but that should be our goal. Anything else sells the team short.'
One of the most remarkable, and frustrating, things about the 1996-7 Indians was their competitiveness. Dartmouth had a legitimate chance to win every game it played — the Indians were never blown out. Additionally, Dartmouth played some of its best games against the ECAC's best teams, soundly beating UVM at home, 4-1, and tying Vermont on the road, 4-4, after leading throughout the game. What can make the difference between losing those games and winning them, according to Gaudet, is pride.
'When I played, we had so much pride in playing for Dartmouth. There was a feeling that no matter what the naysayers said, we could get it done. We need to instill a good work ethic, a positive outlook, and energy into this program. Once we do that, we can shoot for the top.'
The team already seems to have responded to Gaudet's approach. 'We only have 12 or 13 guys on campus right now, but they're working real hard. [Strength and Conditioning Coach] Jay Butler is doing an outstanding job getting everyone ready to play, and I've been very impressed with the team's work ethic as a whole. They seem to want to win.'
Dartmouth has suffered through 15 years of mediocre hockey. Maybe now is the time for change. In Gaudet's words, 'I didn't come here to lose.'