GAME 12
No. 10/10 Dartmouth (7-2-2) vs. No. 2/2 New Hampshire (11-2-2)
- Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012 - 7:05 PM - Hanover, N.H.
- Thompson Arena (4,500)
- All-Time Series: UNH, 33-18-2 (54th Meeting)
- Last Meeting: Jan. 14, 2012 (Manchester) - L, 4-1
- Streak: 0-1-0
GAME 13
UMass (5-9-2) OR Bemidji State (5-8-3)
- Monday, Dec. 31, 2012 - 7:05 PM - Hanover, N.H.
- Thompson Arena (4,500)
- All-Time Series: 2-0-0 vs Bemidji / 16-3-2 vs. UMass
- Last Meetings: Dec. 29, 2008 (W, 4-2) vs Bemidji / Dec. 28, 2003 (T, 3-3) vs. UMass
- Streak: 2-0-0 vs. Bemidji / 0-0-1 vs UMass
MEDIA CENTER | ||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Live Stats | Live Video ($) | Live Audio Chris Garret (PbP) |
FOR COMPLETE WEEKEND COVERAGE: |
COMPLETE SCHEDULE
Sunday,
December 30
4:00 p.m. - UMass vs. Bemidji
7:00 p.m. - Dartmouth vs. UNH
Monday,
December 31
First game winners meet in championship; first game losers meet in
consolation.
4:00 p.m. - UNH vs. Bemidji or UMass
7:00 p.m. - Dartmouth vs. Bemidji or UMass
THIS WEEKEND
Dartmouth will end its 25-day hiatus with a Sunday night
meeting against in-state rival New Hampshire as part of the 2012 Ledyard
Classic. Bemidji State and UMass will make up the other half of the tournament.
Regardless of the outcome between the Big Green and Wildcats, Dartmouth will
play at 7 p.m. on Monday night with UNH playing the 4 p.m. game.
LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Green took to the ice came on Dec. 5 in a
nationally-televised game against regional rival, Vermont. Dartmouth dispatched
the Catamounts, 4-2, in front of more than 4,100 fans at Thompson Arena thanks
in large part to the play of the team's top line that combined for six points
on the night.
TOP LINE SUCCESS
Senior Dustin Walsh scored twice in the second period, while
linemates Tyler Sikura (1g/1a) and Matt Lindblad (2a) also had multi-point
efforts in the win.
AGAINST THE WILDCATS
For the first time in 12 years, the two Granite State teams
will not meet in Manchester as part of the Battle for the RiverStone. UNH holds
a 33-18-2 advantage over Dartmouth in the all-time series with each splitting
the last two year's contests. The Wildcats won last season's meeting, 4-1,
thanks to then-senior Stevie Moses' four-goal effort. The Green won two seasons
ago in Manchester, 5-4, just the fourth victory in 12 games against UNH since
2000.
LAST TIME THEY WERE
HERE
For New Hampshire, this marks the first trip to Hanover
since Dec. 29, 2000 when it fell to the Green, 6-3. UMass and Bemidji State
have been here more recently, playing one another in the 2008 Ledyard Classic.
The win by the Beavers in that first-round contest is the only game ever played
in the all-time series between the two programs.
STILL NEARLY PERFECT
Dartmouth's penalty killers hit the winter break the best in
the nation so far this season (39-40; 97.5%). An 0-for-4 showing by the
Catamounts' power-play unit pushed the Big Green's stretch of consecutive kills
to 30. The last time a team scored against Dartmouth on the man-advantage was
Nov. 2 against Yale, a streak of 512:25 without a PPG against.
WHERE WE RANK THIS
WEEK
Two sets of polls have been released since the Big Green's
last outing. In both USCHO.com Division I men's rankings, Dartmouth has held
firm at No. 10, a place they have held since Dec. 3. The USA Today/USA Hockey
Magazine rankings dropped the Green and White to No. 11 on Dec. 10 before
moving them back up to 10th in the most recent release (Dec. 17).
LEDYARD FACTS
The 2012 Ledyard Classic will be the 24th for Dartmouth
since it began in 1978 (then known as the Auld Lang Syne Tournament). New
Hampshire is 11-6 and has claimed the title four times, the last coming in
1986. UMass is 1-1 with a 4-2 loss to Bemidji State and a 4-1 win over Army in
the Consolation Game in 2008. Bemidji knocked off the Minutemen only to lose to
Dartmouth, 4-2, in that 2008 title contest, the Green's last tournament win.
WALSH STEPS UP
Walsh's two-goal performance against UVM was just the second
multi-goal game of his career. The senior from Shannonville, Ontario, previously
scored twice in a come-from-behind win against Princeton at home on Nov. 5,
2011.
30 FOR CHUCK
Freshman goaltender Charles Grant turned aside 30 Vermont
shots in the 4-2 non-conference win, his third of the season (3-1-1). It was
just the second time this season that a Dartmouth goalie needed to make 30 or
more saves in a game. Grant had the other, stopping 35 in a 7-4 win against
Yale on Nov. 2.
STREAKING
Lindblad has had three straight games of two or more points
as the Green hit the holiday break. Walsh has multiple points in each of the
last two and currently has a team-best five-game scoring streak. Overall, Tyler
Sikura and Eric Robison have season-best seven game stretches with at least a
point as both opened the year on a hot streak. Sikura has at least one point in
all but one of the team's 11 contests this year.
KEENAN CONTINUES
CAPTAINING
Mike Keenan scored his second goal of the season just 2:33
into the Vermont game to give his team the 1-0 lead. He later assisted on
Sikura's insurance marker early in the final frame for another two-point night.
He registered two assists against Bentley just four days before and currently
has a four-game point streak.
THOMPSON
TOUGH
After the win over Vermont, Dartmouth has not lost in its six home games
so far this season. In those six victories, the Big Green are averaging 4.2
goals per game while allowing just 1.8, more than a half a goal better than its
overall averages in each. After allowing Yale to score four in a 7-4 win, the
Green and White have held their last five home opponents to just seven goals,
including a 4-0 shutout of Rensselaer.
1-2 PUNCH
Grant and junior Cab Morris have made up one of the best
goaltending tandems in the nation this season. Both have goals-against marks of
below 2.50 (1.97 - Morris; 2.38 - Grant) and both have save percentages better
than .915 (.921 - Grant; .917 - Morris).
They both have just one loss and one tie to their records, while
recording at least three victories for winning percentages above .700 (.750 -
Morris; .700 - Grant). No other team in ECAC Hockey has more than one goalie in
the top-10 in any of the three categories, while Dartmouth's two netminders are
ranked no lower than eighth in all three.
SCOUTING NEW
HAMPSHIRE
The Wildcats come to Hanover as the No. 2 team in the
nation. Sporting an 11-2-2 record, UNH went into the break with a 3-2 loss to
No. 7 Boston University while in its first week as the No. 1 team in the
nation. A 2-2 exhibition tie with the US U-18 National Team followed just two days
later. UNH's 96.3% penalty kill success rate ranks second in the nation,
trailing only Dartmouth, while its offense (3.60) ranks third and defense
(1.80) ranks fourth.
SCOUTING BEMIDJI
STATE
The Beavers return to Hanover four years after their first appearance
in the Upper Valley. Sporting a three-game unbeaten stretch, the team is coming
off a 5-1 win over No. 11 Denver on Dec. 15. The night before, Bemidji battled
back with a late third-period goal to tie the Pioneers, 1-1, and earn three of
a possible four WCHA points on the weekend. The Beavers defeated Minnesota
Duluth, 2-1, to start the current three-game run.
SCOUTING UMASS
The Minutemen will probably be looking forward to a game
with Bemidji rather than Dartmouth after dropping three straight to ECAC Hockey
teams to end the first half. Home losses to Colgate and a road defeat at Yale
saw UMass drop its overall mark at the break to 5-9-2 under first-year head
coach and Dartmouth Alum, John Micheletto '90.
PIMs
Only Holy Cross (8.1) plays a more disciplined game this
year than the Big Green. The team averages just 8.4 penalty minutes per outing,
fewer than all but one program in the nation (59 Div. I programs). The six
penalties and 12 PIM against Bentley matched a season high for the home team.
However, Dartmouth is actually 6-0-0 when being whistled for the same number or
more penalties than its opponents and 1-2-2 when being called for fewer
infractions. The win over Vermont was the first time this season winning a game
when going to box less than an opponent.
AGAINST HOCKEY EAST
The game with the Wildcats marks the third time in four
outings against Hockey East opponents for Dartmouth. The Green and White are
just 8-16 against Hockey East programs since the current layout of the league
came to be in the 2005-06 season.
WHAT'S AHEAD?
It will be a short break for the Big Green as they play
Sunday and Monday only to turn around and play road contests at
conference-leading Quinnipiac Friday, Jan. 4 and Ivy League foe Princeton the
following night. The game in Hamden will be broadcast live on NESN.