Sports

By Ben Flickinger | Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Dartmouth heads into conference season with loss to Wildcats

From here on in, all the games are for conference points. Dartmouth's hockey team (6-4-5, 4-1-3) finished up its non-conference schedule Tuesday losing to #9 New Hampshire by a final of 5-0. Steve Saviano had a hat trick for UNH to lead the way for the Wildcats. Dartmouth played without captain Brian Van Abel '04, who suffered a high ankle sprain in practice; it showed in the numerous defensive breakdowns that led to at least three of UNH's goals.

If Dartmouth could take one positive out of the game, it's that they were not outclassed like they were against Boston College over Thanksgiving Break. Though the final was 5-0, Dartmouth never faced stretches of the game where they couldn't even get out of their zone, let alone get off numerous quality shots like they had Tuesday.

The Indians finish with a non-conference record of 2-3-2—not horrible considering six of the seven games were away from Thompson Arena, but that includes an 0-3-2 record against Hockey East teams, something which will come back to haunt them when the NCAA tournament selection comes around.

In the opening period, Dartmouth had the majority of the chances, but UNH ended up with the 2-0 lead. Mike Ouellette '06 had two outstanding shots off of feeds from Lee Stempniak '05, but he hit the pipe the first time and was stoned by the UNH netminder on his second opportunity later in the period.

But the period was summed up by one play in particular. Darcy Marr '06 broke in all alone, but, somehow, his shot was saved. The rebound drew another post, and then the second rebound wound up in the net, but the goal was waved off because the net had come off a fraction before the puck crossed the line. It was that kind of night.

Meanwhile, UNH scored two goals despite being outshot by the Indians 13-6 in the period. Both goals were scored when the defense let the UNH player skate in toward Dan Yacey '05 unmolested and allowed point-blank shots.

The second period was more of the same, as Dartmouth again outshot the Wildcats 10-7, but UNH scored both goals in the period. UNH's third goal was a wrister from the top of the right circle that snuck through Yacey's five-hole. The fourth goal came on a 3-on-1 break just after Dartmouth failed to convert on a 2-man power play.

UNH added one more goal in the third period for the final score. It was also the first time Dartmouth has been shutout this year.

Yacey finished the night with 9 saves in two periods of action. Sean Samuel '07 saved 10 of 11 shots in the third period after relieving Yacey.

Since the Bank Sheraton Classic in Burlington, Dartmouth also split a pair of games against its travel partner Vermont. The Indians won 7-5 on January 2nd in Thompson Arena, only their fourth home game of the season. The Catamounts returned the favor in Burlington, scoring three unanswered goals in the third period to win 4-2.

Dartmouth takes the ice this weekend against the North Country duo of St. Lawrence and Clarkson. The puck drops at 7 PM both nights at Thompson Arena.

Vermont headed to Hockey East

The biggest news on the hockey front over Christmas was the announcement that Vermont will officially be leaving the ECAC for Hockey East starting in 2005-06. This will be the first change in the ECAC's Division 1 membership since Army left the conference and Union was added in its place.

The move makes since on many fronts for the Catamounts. They currently are the only major state school in the ECAC, while Hockey East's members include Maine, New Hampshire, and the Minutemen of UMass. There is also the possibility that Hockey East may expand again relatively soon, with the expansion of UConn's program in recent years and the possibility of Rhode Island starting a hockey team in the near future.

It should also help the Catamounts in their recruiting, which has been hurt ever since a hazing scandal forced the cancellation of the second half of the 1999-2000 season.

The move also may have a more immediate effect on Dartmouth than the other conference schools because Vermont is currently Dartmouth's travel partner. When Vermont cancelled its season, Dartmouth played fresh opponents each night during a normal weekend series, though the schedule makers did what they could to help by rescheduling one game each weekend and adding an off day between games.

This time around, however, there is plenty of lead-time, and there are several options the ECAC will consider. The most likely choice would be the addition of a new team to maintain the current travel partner scheduling system, and there are several likely candidates.

Holy Cross is probably on or near the top of that list. Currently a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association, Holy Cross not only faces most ECAC schools in other sports, but also fits the academic profile of the conference and is situated in the middle of the conference geographically. The one downside is that attendance and rink capacity are both well below even ECAC standards.

Quinnipiac also fits geographically and has a much better hockey program than the Crusaders, but it may not appeal to University presidents as much as Holy Cross does. UConn is a third candidate, though the ECAC is unlikely to replace the lone state school with another, and UConn is likely holding out for Hockey East down the road.

The ECAC could also remain at eleven schools and scrap the travel partner system partially or altogether. The main advantage would be additional non-conference games, especially for the Ivy League members, but such a schedule would likely require mid-week conference games or an unbalanced schedule, neither of which is preferable.

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