Big Green Set to Take on Top-Ranked Wisconsin in NCAA Quarterfinals

3/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. - The eighth-seeded Dartmouth women's hockey team will be making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance this coming Saturday as the Big Green take the ice against top-seeded Wisconsin in the quarterfinals at the Kohl Center at 2 p.m. EST.

Saturday's contest will be available on free live web streaming and fans can also listen live on 99.3 FM in the Upper Valley and online at dartmouthsportsnetwork.com.

ECAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPS
The Big Green captured their fourth ECAC Hockey Tournament title with a 6-1 win over sixth-seeded Rensselaer last Sunday. With the win, Dartmouth secured its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament as the eighth seed. Prior to the championship victory, the Big Green took care of business against St. Lawrence with a 5-2 win. It was the first time Dartmouth had beaten the Saints since its last tournament title in 2007.

NATIONAL POLLS
The Big Green jumped up a spot in the national polls to No. 7 in the nation. Dartmouth leaped over Harvard and St. Lawrence after winning the conference tournament. Wisconsin regained the top spot in the nation after beating Minnesota in the WCHA final.

NCAA TOURNAMENT
This is Dartmouth's seventh NCAA appearance and it's the school's third in a row. The Big Green appeared in the first NCAA Tournament back in 2001 as the Big Green dropped both games to St. Lawrence and Harvard. Since then, Dartmouth has appeared in seven NCAA Tournaments in the last nine years, including four visits to the NCAA Frozen Four (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005). The Big Green has had a tough time in the tournament, going 4-15 during their visits.

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Junior Sarah Parsons was named the ECAC Hockey Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after tallying 12 points in five games, including five in the semifinal and championship games. She is currently on a six-game point streak, which has included four multi-point games. Her best output came in the 7-6 overtime loss to Colgate as she posted a season-high four points on three goals and an assist.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Dartmouth had three members earn all-tournament team honors. Parsons was joined by senior co-captain Shannon Bowman and classmate Julia Bronson. Bowman finished the weekend with three points and scored the go ahead goal against Rensselaer in the championship game. Bronson had a great game against the Engineers tying a career-high with three assists and she had four assists all together during the weekend.

TERRIFIC TRUNZO
Sophomore Amanda Trunzo has been one of the top skaters in the nation this season. She leads the team in goals with 22 and points with 42. Her 11 power play goals puts her fourth in the nation and tops in ECAC Hockey. She finished second behind Parsons with 11 points in the ECAC Hockey playoffs with six goals and five assists.

THROWING THE FIRST PUNCH
Dartmouth has done a great job getting out early on its opponents. When scoring first this postseason, the Big Green is 4-0.. This season Dartmouth is an amazing 18-3-1 when earning that first punch and 2-6-3 when failing to net the opening goal.

CONSISTENCY FROM KENNEDY
Senior forward Maggie Kennedy has remained one of Dartmouth's most explosive players. She leads the team with a career-high 25 assists. Kennedy has also posted 10 goals with three coming on the power play. She helped the Big Green to the tournament championship with a goal and an assist in the win over Rensselaer. She has been a important piece of the Dartmouth power play since moving to the point. Since then, the Big Green has a 43% conversion rate with 37 goals in 86 chances.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
After dropping a tough opening game against Colgate in overtime, the Big Green fought back to win two-straight to take the series. Dartmouth posted nine power play goals in the series and outscored the Raiders 15-11 in the three games. It was the fifth-time the Big Green eliminated Colgate from the first round and the first time that the series went three games. It was the first time since the league went to a three-game series that Dartmouth had to play a third game.

ECAC HOCKEY STANDINGS
The Big Green finished the regular season in fourth place with 30 points, after earning only one point in each of the last two weekends. Harvard earned its second-straight ECAC Hockey Regular Season title after sweeping the weekend with SLU and Clarkson. The Crimson finished the campaign with 11-straight conference victories with the last loss coming against the Big Green on Jan. 6.

THE PUCK STOPS HERE
Senior netminder Carli Clemis has been very impressive this season and became the fourth netminder to reach 50 wins in a career with the win over Brown on Feb. 6. She recorded her fourth shutout of the season and 10th of her career with 31 stops at Harvard on Jan. 6. Earlier this year, Clemis became the first Dartmouth goaltender to record three-consecutive shutouts and did not give up a goal in 212 minutes. With the two wins over Brown and Yale, she passed Kelley Coyne '90 for third all-time in wins. She has posted a 56-24-12 mark in three-plus years for a .674 winning percentage. Clemis also became Dartmouth's all-time leader in postseason victories with her 10th against Rensselaer. She is the leader in minutes played in the crease with 5,710.

ONE SPECIAL CLASS
Dartmouth honored this special class of seniors last weekend. There are seven seniors that when they came to Dartmouth they were thrown into competition from the get go. With multiple players away for the Olympics this group filled in and did an excellent job. Senior co-captains Shannon Bowman and Sarah Newnam, along with Maggie Kennedy, Carli Clemis, Katie Gray, Marley McMillan and Julia Bronson are the seven skaters that were honored. The group has posted a 75-35-16 record in their four years and made three NCAA appearances with an Ivy League Championship, along with two ECAC Tournament Championship and a regular-season title.

ONE-GOAL GAMES
The Big Green has played six one-goal games in their last 11 contests with two ending in ties. Dartmouth has played in 10 one-goal games this season and has a 5-5 record in those games. Both the fifth win and loss came against Colgate with a 7-6 overtime loss and a 2-1 win. In the Big Green's postseason history, Dartmouth has played in 28 one-goal games and the Big Green hold a 17-11 record in those games.

PUTTING THE PUCK IN THE NET
Dartmouth has remained the top scoring team in the league throughout the season, averaging 3.79 goals per game. This postseason the Big Green has been on a tear, averaging 5.2 goals per game and when Dartmouth scores three or more goals the Big Green is 18-3-2. The team has scored three or more goals in all but one game this postseason.

REELING 'EM IN
Freshman Reagan Fischer has been a welcomed addition to the scoring attack for the Big Green. She is third on the team with 15 goals and she has added 11 assists for 26 points after a goal and an assist in the championship weekend. She was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week on Jan. 12 following a four-point weekend at Yale and Brown. She leads all freshmen on the Big Green with seven power play goals and is fourth on the team overall.

FIRST YEAR SUCCESS
Freshman Kelly Foley has joined Fischer as a first-year scoring threat for the Big Green. She has 25 points on the season with 12 goals and 13 assists. Her four power play goals are second behind Fischer for the freshman lead and her 13 assists is tops among first years. She posted a career-high three assists in the series clincher against Colgate.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION
Senior co-captain Shannon Bowman has been on a scoring tear in 2009. She posted a season-high nine-game point streak. During the streak, she posted three multi-point games and the streak was a team-high for this season. Her highest point total came in the win over Brown on Jan. 10 as she had a goal and two assists, which was a season-high. She became the third member of this year's squad to reach the milestone with three points over the weekend, including a goal in the third period to reach 100 points in her career. She posted three assists in the series win over Colgate and was named to the all-tournament team after two goals and an assists in the semifinal and championship games. She has 20 career postseason points and is tied for second all-time with 14 postseason assists.

100-POINT CLUB
Senior forward Maggie Kennedy became the 28th Big Green skater to reach 100 points with two points against Harvard on Dec. 17. In her career she has posted 39 goals and 66 assists for 105 points in three-plus years with Dartmouth. Kennedy is proving again to be one of the best players in the league. She currently has a two-game point streak. She has only been held scoreless in six games this season. Junior Sarah Parsons became the 29th member with a goal and assist over the weekend to give her 101 points in two-plus seasons. Junior Jenna Cunningham looks to be the next player to reach the milestone as she has 45 goals and 49 assists for 94 points.

PEPPERING THE GOALTENDER
Dartmouth has only been outshot in six games this season and in those games, the Big Green is 1-3-2. The lone win came in the ECAC Semifinals against St. Lawrence. When the Big Green has the advantage over its opponents Dartmouth is 19-6-2. In the postseason, the Big Green outshot their opponents in four games.

POWER IS BACK IN POWER PLAY
Midway through the season, the power play numbers were down for the Big Green. For the season the Big Green is second in the league with 45 goals on the power play and is first with a 24.6% success rate. Sophomore Amanda Trunzo leads the conference with 11 goals on the man advantage this season. The Big Green has four players with at least five goals on the man advantage.

AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
Dartmouth has faced top teams seven times this season. The Big Green is currently 2-5 against ranked teams this season. The two wins came against then #4 Boston College on Nov. 5 and against St. Lawrence last Saturday. Dartmouth dropped two games to then ranked No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth and also lost to St. Lawrence who was No. 5 in the nation on Nov. 14. The Big Green fell to No. 7 New Hampshire on Jan. 16 and split the last two against the nationally-ranked Saints.