Dartmouth Opens 2016-17 with Two-Game Homestand

GAME 1
Dartmouth (0-0-0) vs. Northeastern (4-2-1)
Date: Friday, Oct. 21
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Thompson Arena
All-Time Series: Northeastern leads, 29-9-3
Live Stats
Video

GAME 2
Dartmouth vs. Harvard (0-0-0)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 23
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Thompson Arena
All-Time Series: Dartmouth leads, 46-44-4
Live Stats
Video
ESPN3

THIS WEEKEND
The Dartmouth women's hockey team will officially open the 2016-17 season this Friday with a 7 p.m. game against Northeastern. Two days later, the Big Green will be back at Thompson Arena to play an ECAC Hockey and Ivy League matchup against Harvard at 3 p.m. Both games can be watched on the Ivy League Digital Network, while the one against the Crimson will also be available for viewing on ESPN3.

LAST TIME OUT
Dartmouth got a little practice for the upcoming season with an exhibition game against McGill on Sunday afternoon, skating to a 2-2 overtime draw. Kennedy Ottenbreit and Christina Rombaut were a force to be reckoned with, each scoring a goal and assisting on each other's tallies. Emma Korbs picked up the second assist on Rombaut's marker. The Martlets outshot the Big Green, 10-4, in the first period, and that advantage paid off when the visitors got their first goal at 14:49, a power-play tally scored by Olivia Atkinson. A mere 39 seconds into the second period, Ottenbreit's shot was saved by netminder Tricia Deguire, but was immediately swept into the net by Rombaut to make it a 1-1 game. Less than two minutes later, Ottenbreit made it 2-1 in Dartmouth's favor on a wrap-around. The Big Green enjoyed a one-goal lead until 11:32, when Melodie Daoust scored the Martlets' second power-play goal of the afternoon to make it a tied game. McGill had five shots to Dartmouth's three in the five-minute overtime period, but none would stick. Shannon Ropp was quick on her feet to make two huge saves halfway through, but time ran out before either team could make a move.

SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
By the time the Huskies arrive in Hanover, they will be almost a month into their season. They opened the year at the end of September, falling to St. Lawrence in a pair of games (5-0, 6-5) before turning around and defeating Lindenwood in two (5-0, 4-1). The following weekend, Northeastern played two against Syracuse, tying the Orange, 2-2, in the first and winning, 1-0, in the second. The Huskies' seventh game – and fifth home contest – was a Hockey East matchup with Boston University on Tuesday and that ended in a 6-2 victory for Northeastern. Fifteen players have at least a point to their name so far. Denisa Krizova leads the team with her four goals and four assists for eight points, while McKenna Brand is right behind with seven points on four markers and a trio of helpers.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE HUSKIES
Dartmouth dropped its first game of the New Year to No. 8/7 Northeastern, falling by a score of 5-2 at Matthews Arena on Jan. 2. Kendall Coyne tested Dartmouth the whole game, setting the pace by hitting the pipe early in the first period on a shorthanded breakaway. Although the Huskies led in shots, 13-6, it was Dartmouth that struck first. At 16:15 in the first, Ottenbreit got the puck from Catherine Berghuis and shot from the right circle and to the left of netminder Sarah Foss. Robyn Chemago was on point, stopping all 13 shots to keep Northeastern at bay. The Huskies pressured the Big Green and, as a consequence, scored three times in the second to take the lead. Kassidy Anderson had the tying goal at 12:47, Coyne got the go ahead at 17:50 and Krizova added another at 19:09. Dartmouth got one back at 3:12 in the third when Foss saved Tess Bracken's shot but lost track of the puck as it slowly slid into the center of a wide open net, giving Bracken her first collegiate goal. Shelby Herrington and Coyne added one more each at 4:30 and 12:17, respectively, to close scoring.

SCOUTING HARVARD
The Crimson will be opening their season at Thompson on Sunday, giving the Big Green a one-game advantage. Harvard faced McGill in an exhibition game over the weekend, falling to the Martlets by a score of 3-0.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE CRIMSON
The Big Green went 1-1 against the Crimson in 2015-16, rocking the fifth-ranked team in the nation with a 2-1 victory to open the year, and falling, 2-0, on the road three months later. In the game on Jan. 23, Dartmouth looked to make moves early on, as Laura Stacey fired at netminder Emerance Maschmeyer from the right circle just four seconds after the first faceoff, but the Crimson goalie was able to make the save. It was Harvard that struck first, getting on the board at 9:02 with a Karly Heffernan marker. Another tally for the home team at 2:11 in the second, this time by Lexie Laing, gave Harvard a 2-0 lead. The Green picked up the pace near the middle of the period and threatened with a couple of shots from Stacey, Devon Moir and Caroline Shaunessy, but Maschmeyer managed to stop each one. The Big Green and the Crimson took an even 11 shots throughout the second. Chemago stood her ground in the third, acting quickly and aggressively to save every shot sent her direction.

SCHULER AND CO.
The team has a completely different look behind the bench following the addition of three new coaches. Laura Schuler is in her first season at the helm of the program after spending 2015-16 as head coach of the Canadian National Women's Hockey Team, a role she will reprise this season. She is assisted by Chris Cobb, who comes to Dartmouth from ECAC Hockey rival Union, and Courtney Sheary, who spent five years coaching hockey at the Cushing Academy and was a former UNH standout.

CAPTAINS
The Big Green are led by Mackenzie St. Onge, who is in her final year at Dartmouth. It is just the second time since the 2010-11 campaign that a lone player is wearing the 'C' on their sweater. Classmates Ottenbreit and Eleni Tebano are reprising their roles as alternate captains, after serving in that capacity last year.

CLASS OF 2020
There were six additions to the roster this season: Bailee Brekke, Rose Falzone, Sydney Hill, Sabrina Huett, Cecilia Lopez, Sara López-Wheeler and Rombaut. Four of them are forwards (Falzone, Huett, Lopez and Rombaut), while the other three are defenders (Brekke, Hill and López-Wheeler), but all are looking to make an impact on the ice.

AND IN NET…
All three goaltenders from last season are returning for the 2016-17 season. Last season, Chemago appeared in 25 games and started all but one, playing 1,698 minutes between the pipes. She made 649 saves, allowed 57 goals, had a .919 save percentage and 2.30 goals against average. Her save percentage has her tied for eighth in Dartmouth's all-time record book. Christie Honor played 136 minutes in her first season on the team, making 51 saves and allowing eight goals for a .864 save percentage and 3.52 goals against average. Ropp appeared in net for 59 minutes, making 24 saves and allowing just five goals for a .828 save percentage and 5.08 goals against average.

ILDN/ESPN 94.5
Every home game (and Ivy League road contests) can be watched on the Ivy League Digital Network (ILDN) with a subscription. For the second year in a row, Rob Kennedy will be back on the call. Select games will be broadcast on ESPN 94.5 FM, as well as online at 945espn.com.

FOLLOW ALONG
As well as being able to watch the games on the ILDN, live stats will be provided for every event on DartmouthSports.com. For live in-game updates on the team, follow its new official Twitter: @Dartmouth_WIH.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Dartmouth will head to New York for its first road trip, facing conference rivals St. Lawrence and Clarkson on Oct. 28 and 29.

Schedules