Full disclosure, if you asked me what icing, off sides, or deking was a week ago, I would think you were out of your mind for asking me of all people in the first place. That being said, I have watched The Mighty Ducks multiple times, have vague memories of hockey games being in the background, and always had a fondness for the ice, so I am obligated to give my opinion.

Coincidentally the game I went to on Wednesday, December 20, student tickets were free, so I was expecting Hetland to be filled to the rim; surprisingly it was sparse, good for writing, bad for business. Hetland itself was warmer than expected, as was the general demeanor of the crowd: lukewarm stragglers who were 50/50 parents-students: rare for games. Clearly Dartmouth didn’t have the energy around hockey it did football. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this game far more than any football game I attended. 

The team itself was good— at least individually. Before we even started, a player from Dartmouth wiped out, as Bridgewater-Raynham skated cyclically on their half like synchronized swimmers: and that summed up the game perfectly.

Dartmouth won by a landslide, but more than once the team’s inability to think ahead and keep other players in mind was glaringly evident. My first thought was that the team would benefit from mics, because every player seemed to be waging his own individual war.

Of course every new season the team has to calibrate to one another, but this seemed like a deeper-rooted problem. Frequently passes would be made to no one in particular with the puck only heading in one direction: away from our goal, and towards theirs. Which isn’t ineffective, but limiting to the plays the team can make. With no communication, opportunities are missed, with no higher level thinking: where I am, in relation to the puck, to players on my team, and players on the opposition, it can feel like air hockey: who can hit harder, faster.

Contrastingly, Coach Mark Rossi was stoic. Perhaps he too communicated primarily by looks. It’s rare to see a coach so nonplussed by a game, as most coaches are often the booming voice above the chaos. Perhaps this is a strategy to encourage players to listen to their own instincts, but again, perhaps not. 

The players are talented, but based on observation, they lack synchronicity, and right now that may not be the biggest problem, but like most foundational issues, they can be fatal in the future.

Still it’s shocking to see the low turnout, even when tickets are free, because the hockey team is underrated. I am intrigued to see how the players and coach will grow as a team. Honest advice: practice mic’d up. I work that way, and although a burden on the ears and basilar membrane, it did teach me valuable communication lessons, and maybe it will instill more rigid formations, until the team can be synchronized without them.