Madeline Hubbard ’19 | Sports Editor
This Sunday, Smith College Ice Hockey traveled up to Hanover, NH to face off against Dartmouth College at the Thompson Arena. The team arrived with a 4-3 record to play against Dartmouth with a 3-3 record. Earlier in the season, Smith beat Dartmouth 7-1 at home. Dartmouth arrived with only six skaters, and Smith was able to tire out the team and keep up the momentum through all three periods. The odds were a little more even with Dartmouth at home, with their whole roster of 10 and a small fan base to cheer them on.
The first period started after a long warm-up, where Dartmouth failed to get the game up and running. Smith scored the first goal, anxious to keep the energy up and stay on the road to playoffs. Defenseman Rebecca Schaffer ’19 stopped a lifted puck with her body, keeping it in the zone and sending a swift wrister, which fell gracefully behind the keeper in the back-right corner of the net. With the momentum up, the next goal came from Smith on a breakaway by Kate Ginder ’21 as she skated around the D and threw the puck in backhand. When the first line came out again, Ginder scored off of a rebound that bounced off of the goalie’s pads due to a hard shot from Schaffer at the point. Smith managed to control the puck for most of the period and ended 3-0.
The second period started with an intense battle as Dartmouth came out eager to shift the tides. Sophie Ragg ’22 scored off of an assist by Dartmouth defender Amanda Sload ’19. Riding that energy, Dartmouth was able to gain a breakaway, and Gracelyn Campbell ’22 slipped one in behind Smith goalie Anna Freund ’20. Unwilling to end the period in a shutout, Defenseman Sid Joyce-Farley ’20 answered with little time remaining in the second. Joyce-Farley snagged the puck in the defensive zone and skated it down, creating a 1-on-0 to pull around the goalie and slide the puck in the back of the net. The second period ended 4-2 Smith, and the teams headed to the locker rooms to regroup before the third.
In the beginning of the third period, the Big Green came out with a new passion, scoring within the first minute of the face-off. Sload managed to slip one past the keeper off of a pass from Zoe Yu ’19. Within the next two minutes, Dartmouth used their momentum to score another goal on Smith. The goal was scored, unassisted, by Hanover Vale ’20 on the Dartmouth squad. With the game now tied, Smith was backed into a corner and desperate for the win. Joyce-Farley joined the forwards for a battle in front of the Dartmouth goal after a stymied wrap-around attempt and managed to poke the puck five-hole for the point. To secure the win, Eleanor Donaher ’20, who had been foiled repeatedly throughout the game by Dartmouth defenders, managed to break past the defensive line, pull around the goalie and bury the puck top shelf to secure Smith a 6-4 victory over Dartmouth.
To comment on the game, sophomore captain Sophie Guthrie ’21 said, “After four lengthy hours in the sweat-filled, crowded van and a long and arduous match against the Dartmouth ‘Big Green’ hockey team, our Smith hockey squad emerged victorious and tired.” Smith Hockey now boasts a 5-3 record and stands in second place, below Norwich, in the IWCH League standings for the Adirondack Division-West. This weekend, Smith has an away game against Union College Saturday evening, Feb. 9. Hoping to secure their playoff spot, SCIH’s last home game—and senior game—is against Keene State College at noon Sunday, Feb. 10. Come watch the Pioneers face off against the Owls in what should be a tight game as Smith battles for redemption against Keene after their 6-3 loss away in early November.
