12. Dartmouth Big Green
Record: 11-8-4
Series Record: 77-43-4 Cornell
Friday February 15, 2013
Last Meetings:
Saturday, November 17
The last time the Big Red and Big Green clashed was this season at Lynah where they skated to a 1-1 tie. The game was tight and scoreless through two when the only scoring of the night occurred. Cornell got on the board first with just over half the period left. Dustin Mowrey put it in net after a beauty of a pass from Brian Ferlin while the play was begun by Nick D'Agostino. It looked like the Big Red would be able to split the weekend as it was able to hold Dartmouth for almost ten minutes when the Big Green made their final push for a tying goal. They scored with less than a minute left, pushing the game into overtime. The Big Red had the edge on shots in the final five minutes, but the game ended in a tie with the shots evenly distributed 27-27.
This Season:
Dartmouth went on an unbeaten streak early in the season before it met Cornell and Colgate. It has since suffered streaks of winning and losing, in small measure. Since the break it has been 3-5-2 in ECAC play, pushing Quinnipiac into overtime. In fact, Dartmouth has played five games this season in overtime, with an overtime record of 0-1-4. Most recently they skated to a 1-1 tie with Harvard.
Keys to the Game:
The last game played between these two schools saw Charles Grant start against Andy Iles. It appears that Cab Morris is their main starter with the better numbers and record, so it is entirely likely that he will get the starts this weekend, especially given that Morris has started the last four games. Dartmouth still has one of the best penalty-kill units in the country, killing just under 90 percent of all penalties, though they only convert on 18.2 percent of power plays. Special teams will need to be sharp in order to hold an edge this game. However, in all likelihood, this will not come down to a special-teams battle. Should Cornell play the way it wants to, it will be an even-strength battle. Dartmouth scores 2.93 goals per game while allowing just 2.30. In its previous game, Cornell kept Dartmouth to a single goal, almost three times smaller than its average. Cornell will need excellent netminding and the ever-illusive ability to find the back of the net against a relatively stingy defense and a more than solid goaltender.
Historical Dimensions:
Dartmouth is a program with history, but relatively little tournament success. In fact, even though they held a share in the Cleary Cup in 2006, they did not make the national tournament. The last time they made the national tournament was also the last time the US won an Olympic gold in ice hockey: 1980. Dartmouth has made the tournament four times in its existence (1948, 1949, 1979, 1980), making the Frozen Four as many times. It should be noted that in the first two tournaments it made, it was a four-team tournament and the final two times it was a five-team tournament. Their record in their first two tournaments saw them making the national final game and losing to Michigan and making the national final game and losing Boston College. In the later tournaments they lost in the semifinals, but won both consolation games, against UNH and Cornell. The last game that Dartmouth played in the NCAAs was a win against Cornell. Not many teams that did not win national championships can say that.
Record: 11-8-4
Series Record: 77-43-4 Cornell
Friday February 15, 2013
Last Meetings:
Saturday, November 17
The last time the Big Red and Big Green clashed was this season at Lynah where they skated to a 1-1 tie. The game was tight and scoreless through two when the only scoring of the night occurred. Cornell got on the board first with just over half the period left. Dustin Mowrey put it in net after a beauty of a pass from Brian Ferlin while the play was begun by Nick D'Agostino. It looked like the Big Red would be able to split the weekend as it was able to hold Dartmouth for almost ten minutes when the Big Green made their final push for a tying goal. They scored with less than a minute left, pushing the game into overtime. The Big Red had the edge on shots in the final five minutes, but the game ended in a tie with the shots evenly distributed 27-27.
This Season:
Dartmouth went on an unbeaten streak early in the season before it met Cornell and Colgate. It has since suffered streaks of winning and losing, in small measure. Since the break it has been 3-5-2 in ECAC play, pushing Quinnipiac into overtime. In fact, Dartmouth has played five games this season in overtime, with an overtime record of 0-1-4. Most recently they skated to a 1-1 tie with Harvard.
Keys to the Game:
The last game played between these two schools saw Charles Grant start against Andy Iles. It appears that Cab Morris is their main starter with the better numbers and record, so it is entirely likely that he will get the starts this weekend, especially given that Morris has started the last four games. Dartmouth still has one of the best penalty-kill units in the country, killing just under 90 percent of all penalties, though they only convert on 18.2 percent of power plays. Special teams will need to be sharp in order to hold an edge this game. However, in all likelihood, this will not come down to a special-teams battle. Should Cornell play the way it wants to, it will be an even-strength battle. Dartmouth scores 2.93 goals per game while allowing just 2.30. In its previous game, Cornell kept Dartmouth to a single goal, almost three times smaller than its average. Cornell will need excellent netminding and the ever-illusive ability to find the back of the net against a relatively stingy defense and a more than solid goaltender.
Historical Dimensions:
Dartmouth is a program with history, but relatively little tournament success. In fact, even though they held a share in the Cleary Cup in 2006, they did not make the national tournament. The last time they made the national tournament was also the last time the US won an Olympic gold in ice hockey: 1980. Dartmouth has made the tournament four times in its existence (1948, 1949, 1979, 1980), making the Frozen Four as many times. It should be noted that in the first two tournaments it made, it was a four-team tournament and the final two times it was a five-team tournament. Their record in their first two tournaments saw them making the national final game and losing to Michigan and making the national final game and losing Boston College. In the later tournaments they lost in the semifinals, but won both consolation games, against UNH and Cornell. The last game that Dartmouth played in the NCAAs was a win against Cornell. Not many teams that did not win national championships can say that.
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