Catching Up With Senior Brittany Mills

HANOVER, N.H. — Senior forward Brittany Mills (Winchester, Mass.) isn't the flashiest of players, or one that is always looking to score points. But she considers herself one of the cogs in the well-running Dartmouth women's hockey team machine and the results back her up. But before coming to Dartmouth, Mills was just a kid who liked to get out on the ice and skate.

"I started hockey when I was eight years old, when they were starting up a program in Winchester," Mills said. "I switched from figure skating to hockey and never looked back. I started figure skating at around four or five, but was pond skating before that. I've always had a desire to be on the ice and I've always been a Bruins' fan.

"I was goalie for the first game won by Winchester Girls Youth Hockey. They stuck me in net, probably because I was eight years old and most of the others were in high school. I think the other team had maybe three shots on net and I managed to 'save' one of them and the other two went in. But it still counted as a win."

Eventually Mills moved to the forward position and took the love of professional hockey and the love of being out on the ice to higher-level play. From there, she found her way to Dartmouth through a coach and mentor.

"I played on a club team called Charles River, and one of my coaches went to Dartmouth and had great things to say about it," Mills said. "I met a couple of people that were coming to the Dartmouth camp in the summer, so I came to the camp in eighth grade. Once I set foot on campus I knew this is where I wanted to be."

Since being at Dartmouth, the forward has been a strong part of the Big Green team. Despite not scoring points for the team, Mills understands the important part she plays on the squad.

"I try to work as hard as I can in games and in practices to push everyone else on the team to be that much better," she said. "Anything that I can do like going out for a shift to give the first or second line a rest or pushing them in practice to get them that much better is really important and satisfying to me."

In her career, Mills has played in 43 games, including 23 last season when Dartmouth advanced to the ECAC Hockey Tournament Championship Game and the NCAA Tournament.

"Last season was unbelievable, especially the Cornell win," she said. "To come from being picked way back in the ECAC preseason poll to where we ended up showed what we knew we could accomplish. Including this season, we don't really listen that much to what other people say. We just go out and do the best that we can and let the results speak for themselves."

Mills also enjoys the opportunities that being on the team provide her, specifically working with the local youth at Skate with the Big Green or when the team teaches kids to skate at Occom Pond.

"It's great seeing kids at Skate with the Big Green and then you see them at the games and you know them by name." Mills said. "At Skate with the Big Green, I was helping some of the younger kids by giving them tips or I was playing tag with some of the older kids. When Erica Dobos runs skate on Occom Pond, it is really fun because sometimes we only have three kids and can really focus on their individual skills. When there are a lot of kids, we just try to get them to go out there and have some fun."

Mills has enjoyed the opportunities with the youth around Hanover so much that she hopes to get into coaching at some point after her playing career is over.

"I'd love to coach again someday," she said. "I coached when I was younger doing clinics and drills like we do at Occom pond. I see myself doing more coaching of younger kids then at some of the higher levels."

But Mills playing days aren't over yet and even though she doesn't quite know yet what she wants to do in the field of engineering she knows she still wants to give it all out on the ice. She also understands the importance of being a student athlete.

"When I'm at hockey I give 100 percent to hockey and when I'm in the classroom I give 100 percent to the classroom." Mills said. "It really comes down to separating the two aspects and embodying what a student athlete really is."

With still more than half her senior season left, Mills is looking for the team to stay in contention for an ECAC Hockey title and another NCAA Tournament appearance.

Schedules

Players Mentioned

Erica Dobos

Brittany Mills

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Schedules

Completed Event: Women's Ice Hockey at RV Colgate on January 31, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 3

Completed Event: Women's Ice Hockey versus #7/#6 Princeton on February 6, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 5

Completed Event: Women's Ice Hockey versus #8/#6 Quinnipiac on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 3

Completed Event: Women's Ice Hockey at Union on February 13, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 1

Completed Event: Women's Ice Hockey at RPI on February 14, 2026 , Win , 5, to, 3

Completed Event: Women's Ice Hockey at RV Brown on February 21, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 7