Women: Dartmouth preview

As the Winter Olympics are getting underway, the regular season is winding down for the women. With just four games remaining, they to New Hampshire to play Dartmouth, looking for a huge two points. SLU already defeated the Big Green this year, winning 4-1, with two quick goals from freshman Alex Moore. Now, they are battling Quinnipiac for the final home ice spot in the ECAC tournament.

Dartmouth ranks 11th in both goals per game, and goals against per game. Despite the weak offense, they still have a dangerous scorer in Lindsey Allen, who has 20 points. I wouldn't be too concerned about the Saints being outscored by Dartmouth though, given their stagnant offense, and the fact that Carmen MacDonald will be in net. 

SLU's offense has been a little less consistent, but the big players have been scoring of late. Rylee Smith has two goals in the last four games, one of which was the 50th of her career, and Mel Desrochers has continued to put up points, tying the record for most career goals by a SLU defensemen with 25 in the win over Quinnipiac. Kailee Heidersbach has three goals in the last four, and players like Brooke Webster, Kayla Raniwsky, Jess Hon, and Dayle Wilkinson are always threats as well.
They key for this game is just to get quality scoring chances, something the team has been focusing on in practice. It doesn't matter if you put 100 shots on net, if they aren't good scoring chances, they're pretty much useless. Against a weak defensive team like Dartmouth, scoring chances are paramount, and if SLU can work the puck to the middle of the ice and get some traffic in front of the net, they should get plenty. 

Head coach Chris Wells has his team playing well of late, and they are eying home ice advantage in the first round of the ECAC tournament. A win at Dartmouth is very likely, and will go a long way to help their chances.
Puck drops at 7:00