Final Regular Season Roadtrip on Tap for Men's Hockey This Weekend

Game 26 - Friday, Feb. 17, 2012 - 7:30 p.m.
Dartmouth Big Green (9-12-4, 6-9-3 ECAC)
vs.Yale Bulldogs (10-13-2, 7-10-1 ECAC)
Location: New Haven, Conn. - Ingalls Rink (3,500)
All-Time Series: Yale, 105-87-13
First Meeting: Jan. 16, 1907 - W, 4-2 (Away)
Last Meeting: Jan. 28, 2012 - L, 5-4 (Home)
Streak: Yale, 9-0-0
Last Dartmouth Win: Feb. 23, 2008 - W, 7-2 (Home)
TV: NBC Sports Network

Game 27 - Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 - 7 p.m.
Dartmouth Big Green (9-12-4, 6-9-3 ECAC)
vs.Brown Bears (8-14-3, 5-11-2 ECAC)
Location: Providence, R.I. - Meehan Auditorium (2,495)
All-Time Series: Dartmouth, 72-63-8
First Meeting: Feb. 22 1928 - W, 15-0 (Home)
Last Meeting: Jan. 27, 2012 - W, 6-2 (Home)
Streak: Dartmouth, 7-0-1
Last Dartmouth Win: Last Meeting

Broadcast Information:
Television: NBC Sports Network Announcers: Ron Vaccaro with Pierre McGuire
Radio: WFRD 99.3 FM Play-by-Play: Chris Garrett
In-Game Updates: On Twitter - @Dartmouth_MIH

Dartmouth Notes • Yale Notes • Yale Preview • Brown Notes • Brown Preview • Brown Video • Live Stats • Live Video

HANOVER, N.H. - The 2011-12 regular season is coming to an end. Just two weekends and four crucial games remain for the Dartmouth's men's hockey team in their push for postseason positioning.

The Big Green (9-12-4, 6-9-3 ECAC) currently sit tied for eighth in the ECAC Hockey standings with Yale (10-13-2, 7-10-1 ECAC) as both have 15 points.

That makes Friday's nationally-televised game between the two on the NBC Sports Network all the more important. The game will be the second time this season the Big Green will be seen by a national audience after having defeated RPI on Jan. 6 in Troy, 4-3.

But, it's not just a Friday match-up with Yale on tap this weekend. Dartmouth will follow it's game in New Haven with one an hour and a half north in Providence as it takes on Brown (8-14-3, 5-11-2 ECAC) Saturday night in Meehan Auditorium.

The league's postseason is just two weekends away and a couple of wins and points on the final road trip of the regular season could go a long way in helping Dartmouth move closer to earning home ice through the first round.

GAME NOTES

LOST WEEKEND
Dartmouth comes into the weekend, having stumbled a bit in two home contests its last time out. A 5-1 loss to No. 11 and league-leading Union started off the weekend that also included a one-goal loss to then last-place Rensselaer, 2-1, the following night. The two "L's" have Dartmouth in a tie for eighth place in the ECAC Hockey standings with 15 points.

SCOREBOARD WATCHING
Despite dropping both games at home last week to the Capitol District teams, Dartmouth remained tied with Yale in the league standings as the Bulldogs were bested on the road by both Colgate and Cornell as well. Brown also lost to both opponents and, by virtue of RPI's 2-1 win Saturday in Hanover and its 7-6 loss at Colgate, have fallen to 12th in league.

LAST TIME VS. YALE
The beginning of Dartmouth's current six-game winless skid can be traced back to its 5-4 loss to Yale at Thompson Arena on Jan. 28. On that night, the Big Green took a 4-1 lead into the locker room after one period of play, but could not hold off the Bulldogs' late-game surge that eventually resulted in a 5-4 win for the visitors. Three goals in the third period, including the winner with just 34 seconds on the clock capped a wild and offensive affair. Dartmouth was unable to keep the three-goal lead safe and fell to the Elis for the ninth-straight time, a streak that dates back more than four years.

LAST TIME VS. BROWN
If the loss at Yale was devastating, the game the night before with the Bears should have been the boost a team like this needed. Jumping out to a 3-0 lead after one period, Dartmouth kept its foot on the gas, scoring once more in the second and twice in the third to lock up a 6-2 win. In the waning moments of the game, both teams were involved in a mix-up that led to six 10-minute misconducts being handed out and a season-high 98-combined penalty minutes for the night. Senior James Mello (Rehoboth, Mass.) made 20 saves in the game, while Brown starter Marco De Filippo was chased after just 17:34 of play, replaced by Mike Clemente. Clemente allowed two goals, but provided the Bears with stability in net, making 26 stops in just over 40 minutes of action.

CONTINUED TRENDS
That weekend split with the Bulldogs and Bears in late January continued the trend of losing to Yale and beating Brown for Dartmouth. The Elis have taken the last nine meetings with the Big Green, dating back to the winter of 2008, while the four-goal victory over Brown pushed the Dartmouth unbeaten streak to eight (7-0-1) over the Bears.

McNALLY'S TALLIES
Freshman Brandon McNally (Saugus, Mass.) provided the only Dartmouth offense against the Dutchmen and Engineers. The first-year winger netted the only goal of each game, scoring both in the second period on Friday and Saturday nights.

WALTER BROWN AWARD
Team captain and junior defenseman Mike Keenan (South Weymouth, Mass.) was named to the list of 21 semifinalists for the 60th Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the top American-born collegiate player in New England. Joining Keenan on the list of 21 was Yale's Andrew Miller and Brian O'Neill, as well as Brown's Clemente from this weekend's opponents.

STILL STUCK
An assist 9:51 into the first period against Yale on Jan. 28 gave senior Doug Jones (Marietta, Ga.) 99 career points and moved him into a tie for 10th all-time at Dartmouth with 74-career assists. That was the last night Jones' name found its way to the scoresheet. The senior has been one-point shy of becoming the 36th player in program history to reach the century mark in points since that night, a span of five games now.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
In need of offensive firepower, it appears that Dartmouth will once again be without two of its most talented forwards again this weekend. Sophomore Matt Lindblad (Winnetka, Ill.) missed the team's most recent games against Union and RPI with a hand injury, while junior Dustin Walsh (Shannonville, Ontario) has been out of the Big Green lineup since Jan. 7. Lindblad is tied for the team lead with 17 points, including a team-best 14 assists. In just nine games this season for the younger Walsh, he has three goals and seven assists and had notched points in all but two contests before battling nagging injuries that have limited his time.

SEVEN D
For just the second time this season, Dartmouth dressed seven defensemen for a game when head coach Bob Gaudet inserted freshman Andy Simpson (Chesterfield, Mo.) back into the lineup against RPI. Simpson rotated through several partners during the game, but logged the most time with Keenan. The other instance when the Big Green had seven D-men dressed came at Union on Jan. 7 when senior Dan Nycholat (Calgary, Alberta) was added, but played several shifts on the team's fourth forward line.

A COUPLE OF PIMS
Dartmouth was called for just seven penalties last weekend against the Dutchmen and Engineers, including just two against Union. Those seven combined penalties are tied for the second fewest in a two-game stretch this season. Against Harvard and Vermont on Nov. 25 and 27, Dartmouth was called for just six infractions (2 vs. Harvard, 4 at Vermont)

BACK-TO-BACK FRESHMAN
McNally's two goals last weekend was the fourth time in 2011-12 that a Big Green freshman found the back of the net in consecutive games. Tyler Sikura (Aurora, Ontario) has accomplished the feat twice against Cornell (Nov. 12) and St. Lawrence (Nov. 18) as well as against Brown and Yale last time out (Jan. 27-28). Jesse Beamish (Mississauga, Ontario) also scored in back-to-back games, albeit 19 days apart in doing so against Sacred Heart (Dec. 11) and Holy Cross (Dec. 30).

IVY LEAGUE STANDINGS
Dartmouth and Yale may be tied in the ECAC Hockey standings, but in the Ivy League, the teams are separated by just one point. Having played one more game than the Bulldogs (3-4-0), the Big Green (2-3-3) have a 7-6 edge in points to sit third to Yale's fourth. Brown (2-5-0) is sixth in Ivy play with just four points. Cornell locked up its first Ivy League title last week with its win over Yale, claiming the championship for the first time since 2005.

MELLO IN NET
After fellow senior goaltender Jody'O'Neill (Nepean, Ontario) made four straight starts in the Dartmouth net, Mello was given the nod as the starter vs. RPI. After coming in to replace O'Neill in the first period against Union, Mello stopped 28 Dutchmen shots in 54:32 of action. Against the Engineers, Mello was beaten on just two shots and turned aside 26 others in being saddled with the loss.

SIX STRAIGHT
The weekend sweep at home was the second time this season that opponents came into Thompson Arena on consecutive nights and swept the Big Green. Colgate (4-0) and Cornell (3-2) did so on Nov. 11-12 before Union and RPI did the same last week. The two losses push Dartmouth's winless streak to six games (0-4-2); it's longest such stretch since opening the 2009-10 campaign with six straight losses.

Schedules