Dartmouth Men's Hockey Travels to Denver

12/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

By: Dartmouth

Hanover, N.H. - The Dartmouth men's hockey team travels to Denver for the Wells Fargo Denver Cup. In the first game on Dec. 28, the Big Green matches up with Northern Michigan while Denver and Sacred Heart will battle in the nightcap. It will be the first time Dartmouth and NMU have met. Denver holds a 3-0 lead over the Big Green with Dartmouth playing Sacred Heart twice and winning both. The games will be the first for the Big Green since a Dec. 1 game against Harvard.

SCOUTING NORTHERN MICHIGAN
Northern Michigan enters with a 7-10-1 overall record. Prior to the holidays the Wildcats tied and defeated Michigan Tech. The two tied the first game, 1-1 with NMU winning the second, 2-0.

The Wildcats are 5-9-0 in the CCHA with five of its seven total wins this season coming against league opponents. Northern Michigan has defeated Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Lake Superior and Alaska while taking two non-conference wins over Michigan Tech.

Junior Nick Sirota leads his squad with 22 points while sophomore Matt Butcher has 11 and freshman Mark Olver has chipped in 10. Three players are right behind with nine points apiece. NMU has killed 67 of the opposition's 95 extra-man chances while going 12-for-87 on power play opportunities.

This season three goaltenders have tended the net for the Wildcats. Sophomore Brian Stewart has seen the most time, playing in 12 games with a 4-6-1 record while freshman Reid Ellingson has played in six games with a 3-3-0 record with sophomore Derek Janzen getting the nod in five games with one loss. Stewart leads with an .886 save percentage and a 3.12 GAA while Ellingson has a .893 save percentage and a 2.92 GAA and Janzen has an .848 save percentage and 3.39 GAA.

This will be the first meeting between Northern Michigan and Dartmouth. The Big Green has gone 8-6-2 against foes of the CCHA. The most recent meeting between Dartmouth and a member of the CCHA was in 2004 with a 1-1 tie against Bowling Green in Hanover.

SCOUTING DENVER
Fourth-ranked Denver enters its tournament with a 14-4-0 record. The Pioneers are on a four-game win streak after taking two from Alaska-Anchorage and St. Cloud. Denver is being led by sophomore Brock Trotter with 21 points while Peter Mannino has been the Pioneers netminder, playing in 18 games with a .932 save percentage and a 1.80 GAA. Dartmouth and Denver have met three times with the Pioneers winning all three contests. The two met for two games in 1954 with the most recent contest coming in 1998. The Big Green is 7-25-0 against members of the WCHA.

SCOUTING SACRED HEART
Sacred Heart comes into the weekend with a 6-6-2 record after taking wins over league opponents Army and Bentley. The Pioneers have all six of its wins coming against conference foes. Sophomore Nick Johnson and junior Bear Trapp are leading the team in scoring with 14 points. Netminder Drew Stefan has played in 12 games and has a .910 save percentage and a 2.72 GAA. Dartmouth and Sacred Heart have met twice with the Big Green winning both. The most recent game was a 4-3 victory last season in Hanover. Currently Dartmouth holds a 56-17-5 record against teams in Atlantic Hockey.

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 four 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
Dartmouth will be on the road traveling to Princeton and Quinnipiac on Jan. 4 and 6 with both games on television.

LAST TIME OUT
Dartmouth's last time out didn't happen as the game against Boston University, scheduled for Dec. 13, was postponed due to a snow storm in the northeast. The Big Green and the Terriers will now meet on Jan. 15.

TAKING A BREAK
When Dartmouth meets Northern Michigan on Dec. 29, it will be the Big Green's first game since Dec. 1.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Senior Nick Johnson and his father, Kevin, are both wearers of the Green as Kevin was Dartmouth's leading scorer in 1976-77 with 42 points. Nick needs just one more goal to tie his father with 51.

LIKE UNCLE, LIKE NEPHEW
Captain Nick Johnson is following in his uncle Dana's footsteps as both have captained Dartmouth hockey. Dana was the Big Green's captain in 1972-73.

NICK JOHNSON MEET NICK JOHNSON
Should Dartmouth and Sacred Heart meet up the Big Green's Nick Johnson will take on the Pioneers' Nick Johnson.

RANKED OPPONENTS
Dartmouth is 1-2 against ranked opponents this season. Defeating St. Lawrence while falling to Clarkson and Harvard.

SPREAD IT AROUND
Eighteen different players have recorded at least a point for Dartmouth this season J.T. Wyman is the high point getter with 12 (6g, 6a) followed by Nick Johnson with eight (3g, 5a).

ROOKIE SENSATIONS
Several Big Green freshmen are racking up the points this season. Scott Fleming and Matt Reber both have six points while Kyle Reeds (5), Evan Stephens (4) and Adam Estoclet (3) have all contributed to Dartmouth's output this year.

POWER SURGE
Dartmouth has allowed only three opponent power play goals this season. Clarkson, SLU and RPI are the only teams that have scored an extra-man goal on the Big Green.

NEED MORE POWER
Dartmouth has notched five power play goals this season. The last time the Big Green had an extra-man strike was on Nov. 10 against Rensselaer.

SIN BIN
Through the first five games last year Dartmouth was whistled for 61 penalties. In the first five games of 2007-08 the Big Green had notched 22. Dartmouth is currently the second least penalized team in the nation, averaging 10 minutes per game.

FIRST SCORE WINS
Dartmouth was 1-10 when its opponent scored the first goal last season and is 2-3-1 in the same situation this year.

AW SHOOT
Through the first five games of the season Dartmouth had been outshot in all but one game. But on Nov. 16 and 17 the Big Green had 68 shots on net, 13 more than its opponents. Prior to Harvard on Dec. 1, the Big Green had outshot its opponents in its last three contests.

BIG-TIME SCORER
With two assists against Bentley on Nov. 24, J.T. Wyman notched his fifth multiple-point game.

CLOSING IN
Senior Nick Johnson is closing in on 100 points. Johnson has 98 career points in 109 career games. He is second in scoring for Dartmouth this season.

RECORD MAN
Nick Johnson got in the Dartmouth record books with his goal against Union on Nov. 9. He now has 50 goals for his career and is tied for 27th.

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

THANKS TO THE ROOKIES
All of Dartmouth's nine first-year players have seen time this season. Currently five have notched at least a point with Scott Fleming and Matt Reber leading with six points while Evan Stephens and Kyle Reeds havie notched four.

DEVINE INSPIRATION
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 71 games in his career.

THEIR FIRSTS
Several first-year players have already notched collegiate firsts. Evan Stephens first was on the tying goal against UVM while Kyle 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. Several players had firsts on Nov. 9 and 10 against Union and RPI. Scott Fleming not only had his first goal and assist but he recorded back-to-back multiple-point games. Reber had his first goal against Union. Estoclet joined the mix with his first goal and first multiple-point game on Nov. 24 against Bentley.

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.

SCORING EARLY
J.T. Wyman notched the earliest goal of the season just 21 seconds into the game on Nov. 10 against RPI while Matt Reber has recorded the latest at 19:33 in the third against Rensselaer.

FACE TIME
Several players have seen time in the faceoff circle for the Big Green. Rob Pritchard, Joe Gaudet, Scott Fleming and Kyle Reeds have been the ones who have handled the most faceoffs while last year's guy, Connor Shields, is starting to get back into the mix. Pritchard has won 32 of his 76 faceoffs taken while Fleming is 49-of-91, Gaudet is 39-of-85, Shields is 53-of-92 and Reeds is 64-of-138.

THE SCORING GOALIES
Mike Devine was credited with an assist on Jan. 20, 2007 against Sacred Heart. Devine has notched two assists the last two seasons. Dan Goulding got into the mix with an assist of his own against Bentley on Nov. 24.

HE'S A WINNER
Netminder Mike Devine earned his 39th victory on Oct. 28. The senior has played in 71 games while at Dartmouth and his 39 wins put him third on the career charts. He needs just two 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.

SHUTOUT
Dartmouth shutout Union on Nov. 9. The 4-0 victory was the fifth shutout of netminder Mike Devine's college career as he had 29 saves in the win. Devine has won all five of those games.

NO SCORE FOR YOU
Dartmouth's shutout of Union was the first over the Dutchmen since a 4-0 win on Nov. 8, 1997.

STAY CLASSY HANOVER
In the Big Green's shutout of Union on Nov. 9, a member of every class scored. Senior Nick Johnson had the first goal with junior Connor Shields, sophomore Joe Gaudet and freshman Scott Fleming adding to the 4-0 victory.

RED HOT RPI
Rensselaer defeated Dartmouth on Nov. 10. The victory was RPI's first over Dartmouth since 2001-02 and the 11 combined goals were the most since an 8-3 Engineer win in 1999.

HIGH SCORING AFFAIR
The 7-4 loss to RPI on Nov. 10 was the most scoring at Thompson Arena since a 9-4 Big Green win over Yale in 2005. The seven goals were the most the Big Green has given up since a 7-5 win by Quinnipiac on Nov. 5, 2005.

OVERTIME
Dartmouth had its first overtime game of the season against Colgate on Nov. 16. In 2006-07 the Big Green went 0-1-3 in extra session games.

WE'RE THE GOOD GUYS
Against Colgate on Nov. 16 the Big Green went penalty-free. It was the first time in the 10 seasons that Bob Gaudet has coached that Dartmouth did not record a penalty.

LATE GAME OUTBURST
On Nov. 24 against Bentley the Big Green potted four goals in a late-game outburst to defeat the Eagles, 5-1. The four goals were the most scored in a period this season.

NICE TO SEE YOU
Junior netminder Dan Goulding was given his first collegiate start on Nov. 24 against Bentley. He stopped 24 shots to earn his first career win.

SHOOTIN' THE LIGHTS OUT
Dartmouth recorded 44 shots on net against Bentley on Nov. 24. It's the second time this season the Big Green recorded more than 40 shots in a game. The first time was on Nov. 16 against Colgate.

THANKS FOR COMING
On Nov. 24 Dartmouth and Bentley met for the first time. With the win over the Eagles the Big Green is now 57-17-5 against schools in the Atlantic Hockey League.

TYPICAL
On Dec. 1, Dartmouth and Harvard met in Cambridge. The Crimson earned a 1-0 victory and it was the fifth one-goal game between the two squads since Bob Gaudet began coaching for his alma mater.

JUST NEEDED 10 MORE MINUTES
The game between Harvard and Dartmouth almost turned out to be the Big Green's sixth scoreless tie but the Crimson netted the gamewinner with under 10 minutes to play in the game.

A LITTLE SHORT
Harvard's gamewinning goal on Dec. 1 was just the second shorthanded tally Dartmouth has given up this season. The first was to RPI on Nov. 10. The Big Green allowed just five shorthanded goals in 2006-07.

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 eighth straight that Dartmouth has played 30 or more games in a season with 33. The former record of 34 games in one season was broken in 2004-05 when the Big Green had 35 games. Last year Dartmouth had a total of 33 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 is 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 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.

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.

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.

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

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 (as of Dec. 17).

Nick Boucher '03 Fort Wayne Comets 8 GP, 2.59 GAA, .909
*Named Goaltender of the Month (12/3/07)*
Trevor Byrne '03 Iowa Stars 29 GP, 0-4-4
Tanner Glass '07 Florida Panthers 9 GP, 0-0-0
*Made NHL Debut on Nov. 12, 2007*
Mike Hartwick '07 Mississippi Sea Wolves 10 GP, 0-0-0
Hugh Jessiman '06 Hartford Wolfpack 29 GP, 6-8-14
David Jones '08 Lake Erie Monsters 27 GP, 7-8-15
*Third on team in scoring (as of 12/17/07)*
Grant Lewis '07 Chicago Wolves 12 GP, 0-3-3
Ben Lovejoy '07 WB-Scranton Penguins 23 GP, 0-3-3
Sean Offers '05 Utah Grizzlies 16 GP, 0-8-8
Mike Ouellette '06 Hartford Wolfpack 18 GP, 1-4-5
*Scored first AHL goal on Dec. 7, 2007*
Eric Przepiorka '06 Youngstown Steelhounds 24 GP, 13-16-29
*Second on team in scoring +/- (+12) as of Dec. 17, 2007*
Lee Stempniak '05 St. Louis Blues 30 GP, 6-13-19
*Posted a six-game point streak from Nov. 30-Dec. 11, notching seven points*

DARTMOUTH'S NHL STAR
In his third NHL season with the St. Louis Blues, Lee Stempniak '05 is fourth on the team with six points (1g, 5a). 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 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.