The women's ice hockey team's road to the ECACHL playoffs has gotten off to a rough start. The Bears played two games this past weekend, tying Yale, 3-3, and losing to Princeton, 4-3.
"We're going to stick to the game plan; we saw a lot of good things this weekend," said Head Coach Digit Murphy. "We will probably focus a little more on our forechecks and our positioning on the ice."
The team felt both of these ECACHL matchups were important in determining the course of the rest of the season.
"Princeton was most definitely a disappointing loss (considering) the weight it has on the ECAC standings," said Myria Heinhuis '06.
Brown has faced a lot of competition from traditional pushovers this year and has struggled against teams that have typically been weak.
"A lot of teams are getting better in the last couple of years," Heinhuis said.
This weekend the team will face second-ranked Dartmouth on Friday and the University of Vermont on Saturday. Dartmouth will be a rough game for the struggling Bears, who have traditionally been competitive with the Big Green. However, the combination of Brown's current season and Dartmouth's eight-game winning streak could prove to be a roadblock for Bruno. Brown faces them this weekend and again in their final regular season game in three weeks. The Big Green is currently 12-0-0 in the ECAC and 19-1-0 overall, with their one loss to top-ranked University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in December.
"To play a great team is always a test of your own mettle," Murphy said. "When you go up against those teams and you play well, it just gives you more confidence to build on and that is what we're looking for this weekend."
Dartmouth had last weekend off, and will be completely fresh for its game against Brown on Friday. The Big Green are led by junior Cherie Piper, who has 19 goals and 27 assists. Piper is not Dartmouth's only strong player, which the Big Green proved by beating Colgate 3-2 while Piper was in Calgary for the Canadian National Team camp.
"To play well against Dartmouth and come away with a victory would put our confidence back on the map," Murphy said. "I think this season there have been some chemistry issues and some injuries, and it has been tough to get a flow."
Dartmouth is heavily favored on Friday, but if the Bears can win, tie or simply hold their own on the ice, they will regain some respect.
"I still think that player for player, we have great talent and if our team comes together and we're healthy and we're on the same page we're one of the best teams in the league," Murphy said.
On the other hand, the University of Vermont is one of the weaker teams in the ECACHL. They are 5-18-3 overall and 3-9-0 in the ECAC, with all three of their ECAC wins came in the last three games. Yet their goalie, Kami Cote, was the U.S. College Hockey Online Player of the Week this past week. The Catamounts' recent success could make the Bears' job on Saturday a little harder.
After Dartmouth and Vermont, the Bears have a two-game home stand against Mercyhurst College. These games seemingly pale in comparison with the following weekend's, when Brown goes on the road to face St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
St. Lawrence is 9-2-1 in the ECACHL and was ranked fifth in the country in the USCHO Poll last week. Clarkson is less of a threat with a 4-7-1 ECACHL record, but a loss to them would seriously hurt Brown's record and impact their seeding for the ECACHL playoffs.
"Watching the tape and watching my team, we are right there," Murphy said. "We just need to make a few adjustments and stay positive. The league is competitive and one goal can make or break you."
