GENEVA, N.Y.—Hobart hockey sophomore goaltender Frank Oplinger earned his third career shutout and senior Brad Robbins logged a hat trick as the Statesmen defeated visiting Nazareth 3-0 tonight in an ECAC West game played tonight at The Cooler.
 
Hobart (13-2-2, 6-1-0 ECAC West) extended its unbeaten streak to nine and has now won six games in a row. The Golden Flyers drop to 5-8-4 overall and 2-4-1 in the conference. Oplinger turned aside all 27 shots he faced to earn the shutout. His third career shutout ties him with Dimitri Papaevagelou for third on Hobart's career shutout list. Senior Ben Gamache chipped in three assists, while sophomore Vincent Russo added two.
 
Hobart took a 1-0 lead on Robbins 10th goal of the year 4:10 into the opening period. Gamache pushed a pass from the deep right corner to find Robbins out in front. He slid his shot just inside the left post. Russo also earned an assist on the play. At 3:46 into the second period, Robbins struck again to make it 2-0. This he drilled his shot after assists from Gamache and Russo. With 44 seconds left in the game, Robbins completed his hat trick with an empty net goal off an assist from Gamache. He now leads Hobart with 12 goals this season.
 
One of Nazareth's best scoring chances came in the second period. With 6:30 on the clock, and in a flurry of action in front of the goal, J.R. Wojciechowski drilled a shot on goal, but Oplinger denied the chance with a blocker save. Oplinger improves to 5-1-0 in goal this year. In the final minutes, the Golden Flyers pulled goalie Ed Zdolshek a couple times to try to get on the board, but they were unable to find the back of the net. Zdolshek finished with 35 saves.
 
The Statesmen finished with a 38-27 advantage in shots. Hobart went 1-for-3 on the power play and killed all four of Nazareth's power-play opportunities.
 
The Statesmen and the Golden Flyers will meet again tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. for another ECAC West contest in The Cooler.