Dartmouth Men's Hockey Hosts its Home Opener this Weekend

Dartmouth Men's Hockey Hosts its Home Opener this Weekend

11/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. - After going 2-1 on the road to begin the season, the Dartmouth men's hockey team comes home to the friendly confines of Thompson Arena to play host to the Union Dutchmen and the Rensselaer Engineers. The Big Green holds the edge in the series with Union but it's Rensselaer that has the advantage. Union is currently 2-2-2 while RPI is 5-2-2.

SCOUTING UNION
Union comes into this weekend after tying Brown, 2-2, and Yale, 3-3, on Nov. 2 and 3. The Dutchmen are currently 2-2-2, winning their first two games before falling to RPI and St. Lawrence in non-counting league games. Jason Walters paces the Dutchmen with five points on two goals and three assists. Matt Cook has four points while six others have notched three. The Dutchmen have recorded just four power play goals while allowing 24 by the opposition. Two netminders have split the majority of time so far. Justin Mrasek has played in four games and has a 2-1-0 record while Corey Milan has played in three games with a 0-1-2 record. Mrasek has posted a 1.81 GAA and a .919 save percentage while Milan has a 2.48 GAA and a .887 save percentage.

VS. UNION
This will be the 36th meeting between Union and Dartmouth with the Big Green holding a 19-13-3 edge. The two teams split the series in 2006-07. On Jan. 5 in Schenectady, Union walked away with a 4-1 victory, then in Hanover on Feb. 3, Dartmouth was victorious, 3-2.

SCOUTING RENSSELAER
Rensselaer comes into the weekend after earning ties with Yale (1-1) and Brown (2-2). Prior to that RPI had four straight victories. The Engineers are currently 5-2-2, losing their first two games to Minnesota and Boston College before defeating Army, Sacred Heart, Union and Colgate. Andrew Lord paces his team with seven points on three goals and four assists. The Engineers have recorded just one power play goal while killing 41 of the opponents' 48 power play opportunities. RPI has had two netminders split the majority of time so far this season. Jordan Alford has played in five games with a 3-1-1 record while Mathias Lange has played in four games, going 2-1-1. Alford has posted a 1.17 GAA and a .957 save percentage while Lange has a 1.97 GAA and a .938 save percentage.

VS. RENSSELAER
This will be the 64th meeting between RPI and Dartmouth. The Engineers hold the edge at 34-25-4. Last season Dartmouth won both meetings. The Big Green won the first meeting, 6-2 in Troy and the second, 5-2, in Hanover.

RADIO
Once again the 2007-08 season will be showcased on the radio. All Big Green games can be accessed through the Dartmouth Sports Network at http://www.dartmouthsportsradio.net. Local radio personality Chris Garrett will provide the play-by-play.

TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Dartmouth is slated to make five appearances on television this season. The Big Green will be seen on CN8, WMUR Channel 9 (local New Hampshire ABC affiliate), ESPNU twice and NESN.

UP NEXT
Next weekend the Big Green continues at home in Thompson Arena. Dartmouth hosts Colgate on Friday at 7:00 before taking on Cornell, Saturday at 7:00. Currently the Raiders boast a 3-4-1 overall record while the Big Red is 1-2.

IN THE FRIENDLY CONFINES
Since Bob Gaudet took over the reins of his alma mater his teams have gone 5-5 in their first games at home. In the 102 years of Dartmouth hockey the Big Green has gone 62-32-4 in home openers.

SPREAD IT AROUND
Twelve different players have recorded at least a point for Dartmouth this season J.T. Wyman is the high point getter with seven (3g 4a).

RECENT POWER SURGE
Dartmouth has only allowed two opponent power play goals this season. UVM was held scoreless while Clarkson and SLU each potted one.

SIN BIN
Through the first three games last year Dartmouth was whistled for 31 penalties. In the first three games of 2007-08 the Big Green has notched just 14.

FIRST SCORE WINS
Dartmouth was 1-10 when its opponent scored the first goal last season and is 2-0 in the same situation this year.

AW SHOOT
Dartmouth has been outshot in all three games this season, going 2-1. Last year the Big Green was 10-6-2 when being outshot

CLOSING IN
Senior Nick Johnson is closing in on 100 points. Johnson has 93 career points in 104 career games. He is second in scoring for Dartmouth.

IN THE NICK OF TIME
Nick Johnson finished the 2006-07 season strong, notching 22 points in 19 games. His longest scoring streak was four games which he did twice.

STREAKING
The Big Green currently has three players on three-game scoring streaks. J.T. Wyman leads all players with seven points in three games while Nick Johnson and Kyle Reeds have each notched at least a point in all three games this season.

NATIONAL MAN
J.T. Wyman is currently ranked second nationally in points per game and is third in assists per game.

HE'S A GAME WINNER
Senior J.T. Wyman led the team in game winning goals last season with four. Wyman and Rob Pritchard have each notched one in 2007-08.

THANKS TO THE ROOKIES
All of Dartmouth's nine first-year players have seen time in a game this season. Currently four have notched at least a point and Kyle Reeds leads with three.

ALL HIS TIME IN NET
Senior goalie Mike Devine has been the Big Green's starter for the past three seasons. On Jan. 19, 2007 freshman netminder Joe Grossman was given the nod, breaking Devine's and one of the nation's longest starting streaks by a goalie. Devine had started every game since Dec. 16, 2005, 38 in all. The senior has now played in 66 games in his career.

THEIR FIRSTS
Freshmen Evan Stephens and Kyle Reeds have both notched their first collegiate goals. Stephens' came on the tying goal against UVM while Reeds' was the second goal of the game against Clarkson. Classmates Matt Reber and Adam Estoclet both had their first assists against UVM. Sophomore Rob Smith tallied his first collegiate goal in the third period against the Golden Knights.

JUST NUMBERS
Connor Shields scored the first goal of the 2007-08 season at 2:47 in the first period on Oct. 20 in an exhibition game against York University. Rookie Evan Stephens notched Dartmouth's first goal of the regular season, at 3:19 of the second period at Vermont.

THE SCORING GOALIE
Mike Devine was credited with an assist on Jan. 20, 2007 against Sacred Heart. Devine has notched two assists the last two seasons.

HE'S A WINNER
Netminder Mike Devine earned his 37th victory on Oct. 28. The senior has played in 66 games while at Dartmouth and his 38 wins put him third on the career charts. He needs just three more victories to move past current head coach Bob Gaudet (40 wins). Nick Boucher '03 is the winningest goalie for the Big Green with 50.

OPENING VICTORY
The win over Vermont is Dartmouth's seventh opening win in the last 10 years and the 32nd time the Big Green has won when opening the season on the road.

WE'LL TAKE IT
The 4-2 win over Vermont on Oct. 28 was Dartmouth's second victory in a row over the Catamounts and the 12th since Bob Gaudet took over in 1997-98.

YOUNG ?UNS
For Dartmouth's first goal of the season on Oct. 28 against UVM, there were five freshmen on the ice. First-year Evan Stephens recorded the game tying goal while classmates Matt Reber and Adam Estoclet had the assists. Rookie Joe Stejskal was also on the blueline while Reber and Estoclet's linemate, Scott Fleming recorded a +.

FAST AND FURIOUS
Dartmouth scored back-to-back goals less than 30 seconds apart against UVM on Oct. 28. The last time the Big Green scored two or more goals less than a minute apart was a 5-4 win over Quinnipiac on Feb. 9, 2007. J.T. Wyman lit the lamp at 9:06 in the second as Tanner Glass potted an even strength goal at 9:26.

MARCHING PAST THE SAINTS
Dartmouth defeated St. Lawrence, 2-1, on Nov. 2. It was the Big Green's first win over the Saints in three games. SLU won both regular-season contests last year along with a victory in the ECAC consolation game in Albany.

KNIGHTS ARE GOLDEN AGAINST DARTMOUTH
Clarkson rallied from two goals down to defeat the Big Green, 4-3, on Nov. 3. Nick Johnson and Kyle Reeds gave the Big Green the lead but a Clarkson three-goal second period proved too much for Dartmouth.

SHOOTERS
Clarkson recorded 40 shots against Dartmouth on Nov. 3. It was just the fourth time in the last four seasons that an opponent has had more than 40 shots on goal.

HOME AND AWAY
Dartmouth finished 2006-07 with a 12-5-2 record at home, a 6-4-1 record on the road and was 0-3-0 at neutral sites.

IVY TITLE
Dartmouth and Yale both earned a share of the 2006-07 Ivy title. It was the first Ivy title for Dartmouth since 1980.

EVERYONE LOVES A WINNER
With its 18-12-2 record last season the Big Green finished with a winning record for the seventh year in a row. The 18 wins is third most for head coach Bob Gaudet since he took over coaching duties in the 1997-98 season.

VICTORIOUS
Head Coach Bob Gaudet begins his 11th season with the Big Green, going for his 250th career win. In 2004-05 Gaudet reached a career milestone, garnering his 100th Dartmouth and his 200th overall win. His career numbers stand at 245-278-68 while he's 152-136-37 at Dartmouth. Gaudet's first win at Dartmouth came in his first game, a 7-1 victory over Army Oct. 31, 1997.

STRAIGHT UP
The 2006-07 season marked the sixth straight that Dartmouth played more than 30 games with 33. The former record of 34 games in one season was broken in 2004-05 when the Big Green had 35 games.

CALGARY CONNECTION
The Big Green has five players from the province of Alberta. Senior Nick Johnson and Jon Grecu hail from Calgary while Connor Shields is from Edmonton, Rob Smith is from Brooks and John Gibson is from Okotoks. The Dartmouth players from that Canadian province scored 64 points last season.

CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Senior forward Nick Johnson has been selected as the 2007-08 Big Green captain. Joining Johnson as the assistant captains are classmates Mike Devine and J.T. Wyman along with junior Rob Pritchard. Johnson is the 116th captain in Dartmouth men's hockey history.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
The Big Green has several players on the team who have had relatives attend Dartmouth. Nick Johnson is a sixth generation attendee of Dartmouth; his parents, uncle, grandfather and great uncles all graduated from Dartmouth. Nick's father, Kevin, played hockey for the Big Green and was the team's leading scorer in 1977, his uncle, Dana, was the team captain in 1973 and his mother was a member of Dartmouth's alpine ski team. Chris Johnson's father graduated from Dartmouth in 1975. Peter Boldt is the 14th member of his family to attend Dartmouth. Joe Gaudet is head coach Bob Gaudet's eldest son. Both of Joe's parents attended Dartmouth and his younger brother Jim has deferred his admission to Dartmouth for one year, joining his big brother for the 2008-09 season.

OH TO BE YOUNG AGAIN
Of the 27 players on the Dartmouth roster this season, 16 are underclassmen. The Big Green has seven sophomores and nine freshmen.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The 2007-08 Dartmouth roster features five seniors, six juniors, seven sophomores and nine freshmen. This season's Big Green hail from eight states and four Canadian provinces.

Alberta (5): Jon Grecu, Connor Shields, Rob Smith, Nick Johnson, John Gibson
Massachusetts (2): Kevin McCarthy, Joe Grossman
Minnesota (6): Chris Johnson, J.T. Wyman, Brandon Harrington, Matt Reber, Adam Estoclet, Joe Stejskal
New Hampshire (1): Joe Gaudet
Ontario (4): Harry Taylor, Josh Gillam, Dan Goulding, Scott Fleming
British Columbia (1): Rob Pritchard
Connecticut (2): Peter Boldt, Jonathan Wolter
Michigan (1): Evan Stephens
New York (2): Mike Devine, Dan Markowitz
Missouri (1): Kyle Reeds
Saskatchewan (1): Andrew Owsiak
Vermont (1): Will Boardman

NEWCOMERS
Dartmouth adds nine newcomers to the 2007-08 roster.

FORWARDS
Adam Estoclet (Orono, Minn. - Benilde-St. Margaret's School)
* 2006-2007 Stats: 27 GP - 32 G, 37 A, 69 Pts.
Scott Fleming (Plainfield, Ont. - Wellington Dukes)
* 2006-2007 Stats: 48 GP - 28 G, 40 A, 68 Pts.
Andrew Owsiak (Moose Jaw, Sask. - Okotoks Oilers)
* 2006-2007 Stats: 60 GP - 30 G, 31 A, 61 Pts.
Matt Reber (Edina, Minn. - Edina High School)
* 2006-2007 Stats: 31 GP - 28 G, 38 A, 66 Pts.
Kyle Reeds (St. Louis, Mo. - Waterloo Blackhawks)
* 2006-2007 Stats: 51 GP - 23 G, 22 A, 45 Pts.

DEFENSE
Dan Markowitz (Jericho, N.Y. - Tri-City Storm/Ohio Junior Black Hawks)
* 2006-2007 Stats: 31 GP - 0 G, 1 A, 1 Pts.
Joe Stejskal (Grand Rapids, Minn. - Grand Rapids High School)
* 2006-2007 Stats: 31 GP - 14 G, 31 A, 45 Pts.
Jonathan Wolter (Branford, Conn. - Boston Junior Bruins)
* 2006-2007 Stats: 33 GP - 9 G, 19 A, 28 Pts.
Evan Stephens (Bessemer, Mich. - Cedar Rapids Roughriders)
* 2006-2007 Stats: 31 GP - 28 G, 38 A, 66 Pts.

SO LONG, FAREWELL
Dartmouth lost eight players from last year's squad. Five graduated and three left school. A key loss for the Big Green is All-America David Jones. Jones was Dartmouth's leading scorer last season with 44 points. He decided to forego his senior season and sign a contract with the Colorado Avalanche. Key losses on the blue line are Ben Lovejoy, Grant Lewis and Mike Hartwick along with forwards Tanner Glass and Dan Shribman. T.J. Galiardi signed with Colorado and Kevin Swallow transferred to the University of Maine.

MORE FAREWELL
The Big Green lost 148 points, including 55 goals, from the departed quintet of David Jones, T.J. Galiardi, Tanner Glass, Ben Lovejoy and Kevin Swallow.

DARTMOUTH'S NHL STAR
In his third NHL season with the St. Louis Blues, Stempniak is fourth on the team with seven points (1g, 6a). Last season he set a career-high seven game point streak from Dec. 26-Jan. 9, registering eight points (three goals, five assists) over the span. Stempniak played in his 100th career NHL game on Jan. 10, 2007 at New Jersey. Over the summer he inked a four-year, seven milllion dollar deal.

BIG GREEN IN THE PROS
There are several former Dartmouth men's hockey players who are playing professional hockey. Listed are the players and their stats to this point in the season.

Nick Boucher '03 Fort Wayne Comets 1 GP, 29-31
Trevor Byrne '03 Iowa Stars 11 GP, 0-2-2
Tanner Glass '07 Rochester Americans 13 GP, 1-1-2
Mike Hartwick '07 Elmira Jackals 1 GP, 0-0-0
Hugh Jessiman '06 Hartford Wolfpack 11 GP, 0-3-3
David Jones '08 Lake Erie Monsters 10 GP, 3-3-6
Grant Lewis '07 Chicago Wolves 2 GP, 0-0-0
Ben Lovejoy '07 WB-Scranton Penguins 8 GP, 0-0-0
Sean Offers '05 Utah Grizzlies 2 GP, 0-0-0
Mike Ouellette '06 Charlotte Checkers 6 GP, 3-2-5
Eric Przepiorka '06 Youngstown Steelhounds 8 GP, 4-7-11
Lee Stempniak '05 St. Louis Blues 13 GP, 1-6-7

BIG GREEN WALLPAPER AND RING TONES
Dartmouth fans can now get wallpaper to put on their computer screens and mobile phones along with select ring tones. Fans can also become Big Green Insiders which allows them to view coaches shows, games and postgame press conferences. All this and much more can be found at www.DartmouthSports.com.