Team Notes: Dartmouth Ready for First Road Trip

HANOVER, N.H. - The Dartmouth women's hockey team travels to Colgate and Cornell on Friday and Saturday. Colgate enters the weekend 3-5, while Cornell is the second-ranked team in the nation and is 4-1.

HOME SWEEP
Dartmouth opened the 2010-11 season last weekend with victories over Brown and Yale. Against Brown on Friday, four different Big Green players scored with the team tallying 10 total points in the 4-2 victory.

In the game against Yale, Dartmouth controlled the contest from start to finish in the 4-1 win. Senior Amanda Trunzo (Andover, Minn.) scored two of the four goals and freshman Lauren Kelly (Milton, Ont.) recorded her first goal and assist of her career.

SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN
The Big Green enter the second weekend of the season a perfect 2-0 on the year. The last time Dartmouth was undefeated after two games was the 2008-09 season. That year, the team won its first five games before losing at St. Lawrence.

Dartmouth has found it relatively easy to score with an average of four goals per game. The defense has matched the offense with the Big Green allowing 1.50 goals per game. The team has put pressure on the opposing team's goaltender with 37 shots on goal per game. Dartmouth is also averaging six assists per game and 10 points. The Big Green have been strong on the power play, converting two of their nine chances for goals. Conversely, Dartmouth has not allowed a power play goal.

Sally Komarek (Minneapolis, Minn.) is leading the team in points despite not having scored a goal. The sophomore recorded two assists in each of the games this weekend and has four total points. Sophomore Camille Dumais (Beaconsfield, Que.) is second on the team in points (three) with a goal and two assists. Senior Amanda Trunzo is the only Big Green player with multiple goals. The forward has two scores on 10 shots on goal. Four players have two points. Three of the four have recorded one goal and one assist, which include, Junior Kelly Foley (Boston, Mass.), sophomore Sasha Nanji (Markham, Ont.) and freshman Lauren Kelly. JuniorGeneva Kliman (Toronto, Ont.) is the fourth player with two points, but got to the total on two assists.

In net, sophomore Whitney Woodcox (Oshawa, Ont.) and freshman Lindsay Holdcroft (Pittsburgh, Pa.) have each started one contest. Woodcox played against Brown and recorded 12 saves with a .857 save percentage. Holdcroft made the start against Yale and also made 12 saves with a .923 save percentage.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
It is only two games into the season, but for at least one week sophomore Sally Komarek leads the nation in assists. The forward is averaging 2.00 assists per game, which ranks her in the top spot. Laura McIntosh of Ohio State is second at 1.62 A/Gm. Komarek is also tied for sixth in points per game with 2.00.

COLLEGIATE FIRSTS
Freshman Lauren Kelly made a big impression in her first two games for the Big Green. The defenseman scored a goal and added an assist against Yale on Saturday. She assisted on Dartmouth’s first goal of the contest, and then scored a goal with just over two seconds remaining in the first period.

Another freshman to make an impression on the Big Green was goaltender Lindsay Holdcroft. The netminder played in her first game against Yale, recording 12 saves in the 4-1 victory.     

ECAC LEADERS
The Big Green are represented prominently in the ECAC statistical leaders. Sally Komarek is tied for second in points per game (2.00) with Camille Dumais tied for fifth (1.50). Amanda Trunzo is in a nine-way tie for second in goals with two. Komarek is tied for first in assists with four and freshman Lindsay Holdcroft is tied for fourth in goals against average at 1.00.

The team is also faring well in the statistical categories. Dartmouth’s scoring offense (4.00) is second in the conference behind Cornell at 5.00. The Big Green’s scoring defense is currently in a three-way tie for third allowing 1.50 goals per game. Clarkson leads the conference giving up 0.50 G/Gm and Cornell is second at 1.00.

KILLING THE POWER PLAY
With one man down this season, the Big Green have been able to keep the opposition off the scoreboard. Dartmouth has committed five penalties on the season, but have not allowed a power play goal. The penalty kill unit was really put to the test against Brown. Dartmouth had two penalties within a minute of each other and were down two players, but still were able to keep the puck out of their own net.

HORNER FINALLY BREAKS THROUGH
It only took 79 career games, but senior captain Katie Horner (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) scored her first career goal on Friday against Brown. The defender came into the season with seven career points, all on assists. She scored with time winding down in the third period. Her shot ricocheted off a defender and past the goaltender for the Big Green’s fourth goal of the contest.

ON THE BUS
The Big Green go on the road for the first time this season when they travel to Colgate. It is the start of four consecutive road games, and will be the longest stretch this season away from home. Last season, Dartmouth was 5-7-2 away from Thompson Arena.

OCTOBER
Dartmouth went undefeated in October in the regular season. The Big Green hosted Brown and Yale and scored four goals in both victories. Against Brown, four different players scored a goal, with the team tallying 10 total points in a 4-2 victory. Against Yale,Amanda Trunzo scored two goals and Lauren Kelly scored her first collegiate goal with Dartmouth winning, 4-1. Dartmouth also played an exhibition game in October. The Big Green hosted McGill and lost 3-2 when the Martlets scored a goal with 1:20 left to win the game.

REACHING MILESTONES
Amanda Trunzo is moving closer and closer to joining the Big Green’s 100-point club. For her career, the senior has 53 goals and 41 assists for 94 career points. If she reaches the mark she will be the 32nd player in the program’s history to total 100 points. The last two players to score 100 were Trunzo’s frontline teammates, Sarah Parsons ‘10 and Jenna Cunningham ‘10, last season. Trunzo is also within shouting distance of putting her name on the career goals scored record book. The forward needs 13 goals to tie for tenth place all-time. She scored 18 goals last season.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Colgate enters the weekend with a 3-5 record overall and are 1-1 in the ECAC. The Raiders have lost four of their last five and are only 2-4 on home ice.

Last weekend, Colgate played its first road games of the season at Princeton and Quinnipiac. At Princeton, the Tigers controlled the contest and won 2-0. Colgate goaltender Kimberly Sass made 26 saves in the loss. In the game at Quinnipiac, the Raiders ended their losing streak with a 2-1 overtime victory. Sophomore Jenna Klynstra was the star of the show with both of the Raider goals. She scored the game winner in overtime off assists from Jessi Waters and Hannah Milan. Klynstra scored the first goal in the first period off an assist from Amanda Kirwan.

Five players are tied for the team lead in points with four. Klynstra headlines the group with four goals in eight games. Sophomore Brittany Phillips has four points on two goals and two assists, freshman Jocelyn Simpson has recorded four points on three assists and one goal. Sophomore Jordan Brickner also has four points on four assists and Kirwan rounds out the four-point scorers with four assists.

In net, two Raiders have played four games each. Senior Lisa Plenderleith has played 244:36 minutes, allowed 11 goals, made 113 saves and has a 2.70 goals against average. Junior Kimberly Sass has played 240:35 minutes, allowed 10 goals, made 108 saves and has a 2.49 goals against average.

The team is averaging 1.50 goals per game, while giving up 2.62 goals per game. Colgate has converted 9.3 percent of its power play chances and has a penalty kill of 80.5 percent.

SERIES HISTORY
Friday will mark the 33rd match up between the two schools. The Big Green have controlled the series with a 25-5-2 record. The two teams first met on February 17, 1978 at Colgate, with Dartmouth winning, 8-0. The squads played twice in the 70’s, but then didn’t play each other again until 2002. The Big Green won the first 16 games in the series, but the Raiders won the season series last year, 1-0-1. The teams tied at Colgate, 5-5, and then the Raiders won at Thompson Arena, 6-4. Dartmouth has a 7-1-2 record all time at Colgate, but have not won there since the 2007-08 season.

SCOUTING THE BIG RED
Cornell comes into the contest ranked second in both the uscho.com poll and the USA Today/Espn the magazine national poll. The Big Red have a 4-1 record overall and a 2-0 record in ECAC play.

Cornell suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday when it lost at home in overtime to fourth-ranked Mercyhurst, 4-3. Brianne Jenner had a pair of goals and an assist to lead the Big Red. Jessica Campbell also contributed with a pair of assists. Last weekend, the Big Red played at Quinnipiac and at Princeton. Against Quinnipiac, Cornell cruised to a 5-1 victory. In the win, Campbell scored a pair of goals while Chelsea Karpenko and Rebecca Johnston both had a goal and an assist. At Princeton, The Big Red got the best of the Tigers, 5-1. Jenner led the squad with two goals and an assist. Goaltender Amanda Mazzotta made 18 saves in the victory.

Scoring has come relatively easy for Cornell with four players with at least seven points in only five games. Jenner leads the squad with 11 points on five goals and six assists. Campbell is the team leader in goals with six. She also has two assists for eight total points. Rebecca Johnston also has eight points on three goals and five assists. Karpenko has seven points on the year with four goals and three assists.

Mazzotta has been the only goaltender for the Big Red this season, starting all five games. She has allowed nine goals, made 85 saves, and has a 1.79 goals against average.

Cornell averages 5.00 goals per game, while giving up only 1.80 goals per game. The Big Red convert 31.8 percent of their power play opportunities and has a penalty kill of 88.2 percent.

SERIES HISTORY
Cornell and Dartmouth will meet for the 68th time on Saturday. The Big Green hold the advantage, 39-22-6. The first meeting took place on February 16, 1979 at Thompson Arena, with the Big Red earning an easy victory, 8-1. Dartmouth didn’t get its first victory in the series until 1983 in a 3-0 victory at Cornell. The Big Green dominated the series in the 2000’s with Dartmouth winning 19 in a row that ended on February 14, 2009, when the two teams tied at Cornell. The Big Red won both contests last season. Cornell won at home, 3-0, and at Dartmouth, 3-1.