Dartmouth is arguably the most well-rounded team through twelve games, with an NCAA 1st scoring defense and 3rd scoring offense, thanks to numerous factors.
It is no exaggeration: It is the Big Green’s world, and we are just living in it.
You’re reading this article likely on Christmas (Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all), and still to this point, Dartmouth has yet to even lose a game in regulation.
In our series of biggest surprises here on The Hockey News, this one has the layout to be the country’s best.
Dartmouth, who was projected 4th/12 in the NCAA's biggest conference, the ECAC, has not only risen to the top, but in emphatic fashion as well. They did not have one first-place vote from the coaches poll; those only shared by Quinnipiac, Cornell, and Clarkson.
The Big Green remain the only undefeated team in ECAC play at 6-0-0, while their overall record is nearly just as good at 11-1-0, with the singular loss coming in overtime against New Hampshire in their most recent affair.
With unexpected undefeated teams, there’s usually a ton of close games and even some luck sprinkled in there. If you told me Dartmouth was undefeated until December 14th, I would have suspected maybe there would be luck factored with their expectations.
Well, I would have been dead wrong.
Dartmouth is not just winning, but dominating, especially in the ECAC. Through six conference games, they are outscoring their opponents 28-8, with some strong wins of four or greater against Yale, Brown, and St. Laurence.
And although the teams listed above are three of the bottom five in the ECAC, that has not stopped Dartmouth from playing at the level of top teams, downing Cornell back in November 2-1, when the Big Red were ranked 17th nationally back then and as well as now.
When it comes to Dartmouth’s national status, they are getting the recognition they deserve, holding the #8 rank, above sensational teams like Penn State, Quinnipiac (who was projected to win the ECAC), UConn, Boston College, and more.
What has resulted in this success? On a Christmas list length of reasons, it is pretty easy to point out the favorite. That would be the best defense in NCAA Division 1, at a team goals allowed average of 1.33.
A one-two punch of goalies for one team like we’ve never seen before. A pair of Canadian juniors, Emmett Croteau and Roan Clarke, could not be performing any better.
A ridiculous but true stat, the two netminders for Dartmouth, each playing six games, have the first and second best goals against averages in all of America. Croteau leads the pack with a 1.16, while Clarke isn’t far behind at 1.51. The next team to have two goaltenders in the leaderboard is North Dakota, who take the #6 and #34 spots in that statistic, which just goes to show the unbelievable shared talent in the Big Green program.
A Clarkson transfer after his first year, Croteau was a 2022 6th round draft pick to the Montreal Canadiens, while Clarke is gaining potential professional recognition with a huge improvement from last season.
The train doesn’t stop on the offensive end. Sophomore from Columbus, Ohio, Hayden Stavroff is a pure goal scorer, with a nation’s best 1.08 goals per game average. 13 total on the season is more than double any other individual on the Big Green roster.
A quick test after Christmas, Arizona State comes into New Hampshire to take on the still unbeaten in regulation squadron for two games starting Saturday December 27th, with a good test on hand against one of the NCHC’s best on paper.