With four games left and four wins needed, the men's hockey team heads for the hills of New Hampshire this evening to take on ECAC Ivy Division leader Dartmouth.

Coming off a weekend which included a 6-6 tie with Yale and a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Colgate, the icemen, 6-9-2 in ECAC play, go up against an aggressive Big Green team, ranked seventh in the nation and featuring senior center Ross Brownridge. Brownridge tops the ECAC Division One scoring chart with 24 goals and 19 assists.

The Big Green, 14-5-1 ECAC, also relies on tough defense, headed by junior goaltender Bob Gaudet, the ECAC's top goalie last year, and senior defensemen Dennis Murphy, the most recent ECAC defensive player of the week. Gaudet repeatedly denied Crimson forwards scoring chances in Dartmouth's easy 5-1 win over the icemen at Bright Center earlier this year.

Defensive Concern

Defense may spell worries for the Crimson tonight. Junior Bobby Fowkes, who also missed the weekend games with Yale and Colgate, has been declared academically ineligible for the remainder of the season.

In addition, freshman blue-liner Scott Sangster, who suffered a severely sprained ankle two weeks ago in the Beanpot game with B.U., will not make the trip to New Hampshire. Sangster returned to action for the two weekend games, but aggravated the injury and will not lace up the skates again until Thursday.

On offense, the icemen will look for help from freshman Greg Olson (14 goals and a hat trick in Saturday's game with Yale), sophomore Dave Burke (15 assists) and freshman defenseman Mark Fusco (11 goals), all tied with a team-leading 23 points.

Regular netminder Wade Lau, who rested during Sunday's Colgate game, will return to the twines for tonight's contest.

A win in tonight's game could mean post-season play for the icemen. A loss, and they may have to wait until next year.