The Dartmouth club hockey team closed out their fall season with three wins in four days
to secure an 8-0-1-0 record. The Big Green took an overnight trip to Waterville, Maine to play
Thomas College on Saturday and Colby College on Sunday and hosted Colby-Sawyer on
Tuesday.
On Saturday, A laser light show and a rabid crowd of Terriers fans got Dartmouth amped
up for an important league game. Despite some slow legs and stiff hands from a long bus ride,
the Big Green were able to establish a standard of puck possession in the first period that would
hold throughout the game. Outshooting Thomas by more than two to one, a quick wrister from
Trey Croddick and a spinning backhand from Jack Dimarzo put the Big Green up 2-0 at the end
of the first. To start the second, a textbook tip by Dylan Witzke off a well-placed shot by Jack
Wright gave the Big Green a more comfortable 3-0 lead. Shortly thereafter, Thomas found an
answer, but Croddick maintained the gap thanks to Luke House’s second assist of the game.
House’s return over the weekend was much anticipated for the Big Green and they will have
him back in full force for winter games. In the closing minutes of the second, Thomas pulled
back to within two, but a scoreless third period would make it a 4-2 final score. Thomas’
seven penalties allowed the Big Green to dominate the offensive zone, but in a rare slump from
the power play, Dartmouth could not find paydirt on a single opportunity.
The next day the team traveled to Colby to play at the gorgeous Jack Kelley Rink. The
game quickly turned into a war of attrition as the Mules’ goalie pitched a 28-save shutout in the
first period. The second period was similarly lopsided, but the Big Green’s power play woes
continued as they went 0-5 through both periods. After two, the score remained 0-0. Finally,
seven minutes into the third Luke House broke the stalemate by tallying his first goal of the season
on Dylan Witzke’s 20th assist. Five minutes later, Jake Zrihen also found the back of the net for
his first ACHA goal to lift the Big Green to a two-goal lead. A six-on-four goal for Colby with 28
seconds remaining made the final 2-1.
To cap off the fall campaign, Dartmouth hosted Colby Sawyer who had yet another
outstanding goaltender. The Big Green outshot the Chargers 27-1 through the first, but 27
saves later the score was still 0-0. In the second the Big Green finally broke through with back-
to-back goals from Spencer Watson and Heath Monsma to start the onslaught. The score was
5-0 at the end of the period and despite over 60 saves from the Colby-Sawyer goalie, three
more got past him in the third for an 8-0 final. In what is becoming a record-breaking season,
Dylan Witzke added four more assists to make an average of 2.66 apples a game. With those
points alone, he would be tied for first in ACHA division three for points per game amongst
players who’ve skated more than five games. However, taking into account his seven goals
gives him a nation-leading 3.38 points per game.
While school is out for the next six weeks, Dartmouth will come roaring back to
competitive hockey as they fly down to Fort Myers, Florida for a doubleheader against a strong
FGCU team on January 12 and 13.