Big Green Host ECAC Hockey and Ivy League Rivals

Game 24
Brown Bears (4-16-1, 3-13-0 ECAC Hockey/ 1-6-0 Ivy League) at
Dartmouth Big Green (12-7-4, 7-6-3 ECAC Hockey / 4-2-1 Ivy League)
Friday, Feb. 8 - 7 p.m.
Hanover, N.H. - Thompson Arena (4,500)

Game 25
Yale Bulldogs (4-17-2, 3-11-2 ECAC Hockey/ 1-6-0 Ivy League) at
Dartmouth Big Green (12-7-4, 7-6-3 ECAC Hockey / 4-2-0 Ivy League)
Saturday, Feb. 9 - 4 p.m.
Hanover, N.H. - Thompson Arena (4,500)

Home Sweet Home
After skating to a 2-2 tie with No.3 Harvard inside Thompson arena last weekend, Dartmouth heads into this weekend's ECAC Hockey and Ivy League showdowns with Brown and Yale riding a five-game unbeaten streak in Hanover. The team welcomes the Bears and Bulldogs to the Upper Valley where it is 4-1-4 this season, having registered at least one point in eight of the last nine home contests. In 2013, they are making the most of having the final change, scoring first in four of its last five home games.

Fast Starts
During their five-game unbeaten streak at home, the Big Green have scored nine goals in the first period. Only once have they failed to hold on to the first period lead as the Engineers rallied to score a pair of third-period markers to force overtime and the eventual tie on Jan.19. The team from the Upper Valley has scored first in six of their nine home games in 2012-13, while outscoring their opponents, 9-3, in the opening period over the last five at Thompson Arena. During the streak, only No. 3 Harvard has led after the first period against Dartmouth.

Super Seniors
Dartmouth is led by a strong core of experienced seniors, with eight players seeing action in over 100 contests. The class of 2013 paces a balanced offensive attack for the Big Green as four of the team's six leading scorers are set to graduate. Co-captain Reagan Fischer leads the team with 13 markers, while Camille Dumais has a team-best four power-play goals. Co-captain Jenna Hobeika is second on the team with 12 helpers and defenseman Sasha Nanji has found the back of the net in three of the last five home contests. During her run, the Markham, Ontario, native has had a pair of multi-point games, while scoring all three of her markers in the first period.

Top of the Line
Dartmouth's top line of Hobeika, Fischer and Dumais has carried the offensive load for the team over the last seven games, tallying 11 of the squad's 19 goals. When the trio skates together this season they have produced 44 points (20g-24a), while leading the team to a 7-3-2 mark. Over the last seven games, Fischer has five tallies and two multi-point contests. In her final season on campus, the Irma, Alberta, native is averaging a point a game, while racing up the program's career points list (she currently is tied for 27th with 109 points). Not to be outdone, Dumais is putting an exclamation point on her career, currently sitting in 20th on the all-time list with 124 points.

Holding Down the Fort
Junior netminder Lindsay Holdcroft is coming off one of her strongest performances on the season, making 41 saves against the Crimson. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native turned aside 40+ shots for the second time this season and the third time in her career. After helping the Big Green earn a much-needed point in conference play, Holdcroft lowered her goals-against average to 2.19, while upping her save percentage to .908.

Freshman Firepower
The Green and White boast a strong core of first-year players led by Laura Stacey. Through the first 20 games of her collegiate career the Kleinburg, Ontario, native has five tallies and a team-leading 13 assists. Stacey has five multi-point games this season and has registered points in four straight home games. Stacey is the top-scoring freshman in Ivy League game this season scoring two goals with four helpers. Other newcomers making an impact this season are Ailish Forfar and Lindsey Allen. Forfar has twice been named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week and leads all freshmen in the conference with three game-winning goals, while Allen is fifth on the team with 13 points (6g-7a). Allen and Stacey each found the back of the net against the Crimson.

With the Man Advantage
Dartmouth's power play had a strong game against the top penalty-killing unit (Harvard 94.0%) in the country last weekend. The Big Green went 1-for-4 with the man-advantage. Stacey's power-play goal early in the second snapped an 0-for-23 drought for the Green and White. In Ivy League games this season, Dartmouth has the most efficient power-play unit at 16.7 %. Head coach Mark Hudak's squad is 6-for-36 this season and they have scored power-play tallies in four of seven Ivy League games. They are 3-0-1 in those games, while going 1-2 when not scoring when a man up.

Special Teams
The Green and White's penalty killers continued their impressive run, killing all four penalties last weekend. They have now killed off 29-of-31 power-play chances over the last five games. The special teams rank third in ECAC Hockey, killing 87.6% of opponents' man-advantage opportunities this season. They are also the fourth-most penalized team in the league with 246 penalty minutes through 23 games.

First 40 Minutes
The key for the Big Green is to hold a lead after 40 minutes of play. When leading through two periods, the Green and White are 11-0-1 this season. RPI is the only team all season to battle back from a second-period deficit against the Green and White to earn a point. On the other hand, when trailing after two periods Dartmouth is 0-5-1. When the team is tied after two periods this season they are 1-2-3, a figure that reached its current state after skating to a 2-2 draw with the Crimson. The Big Green haven't won when trailing after two periods since Feb. 27, 2011, when they rallied to beat Clarkson, 4-3, in overtime.

Scouting the Bears
Brown travels to Hanover having lost seven of its last eight ECAC Hockey games dating back to Jan. 11. The lone win during that stretch came at home against Yale on Jan. 19. The last road conference win for the Bears came at Union on Dec. 8. Their last road Ivy League win came on Jan. 4, 2012, against Yale. Last weekend Brown was swept on the road by Quinnipiac and Princeton, while getting outscored, 11-1. The team from Providence's East Side is led offensively by senior Alena Polenska, who has a team-best seven goals and five assists. Classmate Laurie Jolin is the only player on the team with 10+ points. Jolin has a team-high three power-play goals. Between the pipes, Aubree Moore has seen a majority of the time this season, going 2-10-1 with a 2.43 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.

Scouting the Bulldogs
Yale enters the weekend having earned points in two of its last three conference games. Last time out, the Bulldogs surrendered a two-goal third period lead against Quinnipiac en route to a 2-2 tie. Yale has lost three straight Ivy League games and it hasn't won an Ivy League game on the road since Feb. 1, 2011. However, the future is bright for the Bulldogs as their three top scorers are freshmen. The trio are the only players on the team with at least 10+ points and have been a force with the man advantage scoring 10 of the team's 11 power-play goals. Jamie Haddad has a team-high seven goals, while Kate Martini leads the team with eight assists. Janelle Ferrara rounds out the scorers in double digits with six tallies and six markers. In goal, Jaimie Leonoff has amassed a record of 4-16-2 with a save percentage of .923, while making a league-high 756 saves.

Against the Teams Earlier this Season
Early in the season, Dartmouth traveled down I-95 to face Brown and Yale. The trip was fruitful, as the Big Green earned four points in a road conference weekend, the lone instance of 2012-13 for the team. On Nov. 2, the Green and White scored a 5-4 come-from-behind overtime victory over the Bulldogs as Morgan Illikainen scored the game-winner. The following afternoon, Camille Dumais scored the game's only goal in a 1-0 triumph over the Bears.

All-Time Record
Dartmouth is 40-28-8 all-time against Brown and 15-2-2 under head coach Mark Hudak. The Big Green are 67-4-2 all-time against the Bulldogs, while a posting a record of 19-1-1 during Hudak's tenure.

Schedules