On Saturday, Oct. 29, the Hobart College hockey team will begin its 34th season, and it's 12th under the guidance of Head Coach Mark Taylor. The Statesmen return 18 players from last season's roster and welcome 12 first-years to the squad.

Last year, the Statesmen produced a school record ninth consecutive winning season with a 15-10-2 overall mark. Hobart also made history, defeating the top-ranked team in the country for the first time with a 5-2 win over Oswego State on Dec. 11. The Statesmen edged No. 12 Manhattanville 1-0 in the first round game of the 2011 ECAC West Tournament, but fell to No. 7 Elmira in the semifinal game.

Despite losing a strong class of seven seniors to graduation including first team All-American Matthew Wallace '11, Coach Taylor and the Statesmen are ready to start a new season.

“It's a new season, but we have the same goals that we have every year,” Taylor said. “With a lot of familiar names gone to graduation, this season will bring some renewing of the program. For me this is exciting, someone always emerges from the opportunity to step up and it's rewarding to see who takes full advantage of that.”

Here is a position by position look at the 2011-12 Statesmen:

DEFENSE

Defense will once again be a strong point for the Statesmen. Hobart returns experienced and proven defenders this year. “I'm as excited about this group as any group I've ever had, and that is a strong statement, because we've had some outstanding defensive groups in years past.” Taylor said.

In 2010-11, Hobart ranked first in the ECAC West in penalty killing (85.2), and this year juniors Harry Radovich, Ryan Corcoran, Brad Richard and Mike White will be back as the veteran defensive unit. Richard, a co-captain and All-ECAC West Second Team selection, played in 26 games and posted four goals and 11 helpers. White played in all 27 games, tied for second on the team with 15 assists and posted two goals. He ranked third in the ECAC West in defensemen scoring, while Richard was tied for fifth. 

Radovich and Corcoran played in all 27 games last winter. Radovich recorded two goals and nine assists while Corcoran added five goals and eight assists.

Coach Taylor brought in a strong, solid group of six first-year defenders: Terrence O'Neill, Ian Coleman, Bronson Kovacs, Ryan Michel, Peter Ryan and Mike Malady. They will each have the opportunity to make an immediate impact.

FORWARD

Ten Statesmen return at the forward position. The Hobart offense will look to senior co-captain Greg Ciciola for leadership. Ciciola was second on the team and seventh in the ECAC West with 26 points on 11 goals and 15 assists at the end of last season. He was tied for eighth in the conference in goals and tied for seventh in assists.

Junior Frank Salituro finished last season tied for second in the conference with three game-winning goals, and registered nine goals and six assists. Ciciola and Salituro as well as junior Bobby Hannah have looked great together so far in practice. Hannah played in 24 games last winter and recorded two goals and six assists.

Senior Rick Longobardi, one of just two seniors, has had an injury plagued career, but is 100 percent healthy and ready for the 2011-12 season. Juniors Cam Miller and David Stevens and sophomore Tommy Fiorentino will be the foundations of the Hobart lines. Miller played in all 27 games last season and registered seven goals and four assists. Stevens recorded four goals and two assists in 20 games. Fiorentino will look to build on a solid rookie season. He scored five goals and earned three assists, earning a spot on the ECAC West Weekly Honor Roll twice.

Sophomores Tom Rush (2-4-6), Keith Clarke (1-2-3) Brett Riley (1-1-2), and Greg Kreisinger will be working hard to build on their first-year seasons and get even more experience this winter. First-years Tommaso Taversa, Brendan Fitzgerald and Peter Quigley are expected to make contributions right away. Fellow classmates JD Steele and George Welles will also be needed to factor into the offensive depth for the Statesmen.

GOALTENDING

Hobart returns All-ECAC West Second Team selection, junior goaltender Nick Broadwater. He was named ECAC West Goalie of the Week six times last winter, posting a 2.45 goals against average. Broadwater finished last season ranked second in the conference with a .926 save percentage. He stopped 764 shots including a season high of 43 in a 3-2 win over Morrisville.

Also returning is junior goaltender, Marty Ausserhofer. In 2010-11 he saw time in four games, starting two. He recorded a 2.86 goals against average and a.895 save percentage.

Sophomore Max Wopperer returns and first-year goalie William Burke will also join the Statesmen.

SCHEDULE

After taking on the Red Dragons this Saturday, the Statesmen will travel to play Manhattanville in their first ECAC West game of the season on Friday, Nov. 4. The Hobart schedule is once again loaded with tough teams, including three opponents ranked in the USCHO.com preseason poll. The Statesmen will play three games each against conference foes No. 11 Neumann and No. 6 Elmira. On Nov. 26-27, the Statesmen will take part in the 2011 Cape Cod Lighthouse College Hockey Invitational Tournament. On Nov. 26, Hobart will play Babson at 5 p.m. in Hyannis, Mass., and then will play either Amherst of Salem State the next day. Hobart will also take on NCAA Tournament semifinalist No. 2 Oswego State on Dec. 10.

The Statesmen will play their home opener on Nov. 11, when Neumann comes to The Cooler for a conference game beginning at 7 p.m.