Team Notes: Big Green Begin League Stretch Run
HANOVER, N.H. – On the heels of its second national ranking of the season, the No. 18 Dartmouth men's hockey has played its last non-conference game and is now ready for a 12-game ECAC stretch. The Big Green travels to Albany to face Union and Rensselaer this weekend beginning with the Dutchmen on Friday evening at 7 p.m. and then the Engineers on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. Dartmouth sits in fourth place in the ECAC Hockey standings with 13 points, two away from Union in second and three ahead of RPI in seventh.
The Big Green is coming off an important win over in-state rival New Hampshire on Jan. 15. The 5-4 victory was Dartmouth's first over UNH since 2008 and helped the Big Green capture just its third RiverStone Cup trophy in the annual matchup. Doug Jones (Marietta, Ga.) was named the player of the game after notching the game winning goal with 1:10 left in the contest.
Jones is one of three players who lead with 12 assists while also notching 15 points. Scott Fleming (Plainfield, Ont.) is the team's leader with 20 points as he's just five away from becoming the 34th player in Dartmouth history to tally 100 or more points. Linemates Adam Estoclet (Orono, Minn.) and Matt Reber (Edina, Minn.) each have 16 points as the three seniors have scored at least a point in eight of Dartmouth's last nine games.
Union comes into the weekend on a four win streak, taking five of its last six contests. The Dutchmen sit in a tie for second place in the ECAC Hockey standings with Princeton with 15 points. Union has five players who have tallied 20 or more points already this season. Jeremy Welsh is leading the squad with 28 while Daniel Carr is second with 26. The Dutchmen also have four freshmen who have scored in double-figures to figure in as some of the top players for Union. In net Keith Kinkaid has played the majority of the time with 22 appearances. He has a 1.91 goals against average and a .921 save percentage, he’s won 14 games this year.
Union came into Thompson Arena on Nov. 6 and each team's respective goalies, James Mello and Keith Kinkaid proved very tough as the two backstopped their teams to a 0-0 draw. It was the second time in school history that Dartmouth has played to a scoreless tie with the Dutchmen. Union outshot the Big Green, 37-29 but neither team could capitalize.
Rensselaer is currently tied for seventh in the ECAC Hockey standings with 10 points. The Engineers have won or tied seven of its last nine games and earned a split with Cornell and Colgate last weekend. RPI is being led by senior Chase Polacek with 30 points. Seven players are scoring in double figures with Nick Bailen and Tyler Helfrich tallying 24 and 20 points, respectively. Allen York has carried the bulk of the load for RPI between the pipes. He’s played in 21 games and has a 1.98 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. He’s won 12 games and has recorded one shutout.
On Nov. 5, Rensselaer traveled to Hanover and came away with a 4-1 victory. Jason Bourgea (South Burlington, Vt.) scored the only goal for the Big Green. The sophomore forward tied the game midway through the first period but the Engineers scored once more in the second and two in the third to put the game away.
Next weekend Dartmouth will be back in action with its first matchups against Cornell and Colgate for games that will count in the ECAC standings. This will be the first time the Big Green and Big Red will be meeting in 2010-11 but the second time for Dartmouth and Colgate. Game time on Jan. 28 and 29 will be 7 p.m. both nights.
