Unlike the hotly contested battle between Vice-President Al Gore and Governor George W. Bush in the 2000 Presidential campaign, there is nothing but consensus as the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) women's hockey coaches get ready for the 2000-01 season: Dartmouth will be tough to beat.

The Big Green, which beat Harvard three times last season, returns its entire roster from a team that surprised everyone last year in reaching both the conference finals and the AWCHA Final Four. This year, Dartmouth is expected to be one of the four teams invited to the first-ever women's hockey NCAA tournament.

After Dartmouth, however, the ECAC appears to be a crapshoot. The traditional powers have all lost at least one key contributor--either to graduation or to the U.S. National Team--while upstart programs such as Niagara and St. Lawrence could still be too young to challenge for the conference title.

The good news for Harvard is that everyone, save Dartmouth, will in comparison have a relatively inexperienced roster. But the unanswered question is which one of those teams will step up to the plate this year. Here is the official forecast, according to the preseason coaches' poll.

1. Dartmouth

Dartmouth clearly had potential last year. The Big Green (21-12-0, 17-7-0 ECAC) defeated Harvard, the defending national champion, three times, including an overtime victory in the ECAC semifinals. With everyone back this season, Dartmouth's rosy outlook knows no bounds.

While the Big Green lacks a flashy scorer, it prides itself on an aggressive defense and an offense that capitalizes on its opportunities. Physical blueliners like junior Correne Bredin (11 goals, 35 assists) and senior Liz Macri (9 g, 22 a) anchor the rugged defense, while sophomore forward Carly Haggard (24 g, 17 a) is the speedster who likes to score on the breakaway.