STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.—For the second time this week, first-year attackman Chris Aslanian scored in overtime to lift Hobart College to victory. Today, his third goal of the game came 1:08 into the third overtime period as the Statesmen won their Northeast Conference opener 10-9 at Wagner College.
 
Sophomore J Andrew Spallanzani won the faceoff for Hobart to start the third overtime. The Statesmen worked the ball around the outside of the attacking zone looking for a soft spot in the Seahawks' zone defense. Shortly after the officials put Hobart on the shot clock, junior midfielder Mark Darden fed Aslanian, who fired home his third goal of the game (12th of the season) from 10 yards out to the left of the goalie.
 
The Statesmen (5-3, 1-0) have played seven double overtime games in their long history, but this is the first Hobart contest to stretch to three OTs. Aslanian also scored the game winner in the second overtime on Tuesday night at Canisius.
 
Junior attackman Frank Brown led the Statesmen with three goals (all in the first half) and an assist for four points. Junior midfielder Max Romm added a pair of goals, while first-year midfielder Bryan Hancock and sophomore defenseman Christopher Willman each scored once. Willman also picked up a game-high five ground balls and caused two turnovers. Spallanzani was 10-of-19 at the faceoff X with two ground balls and a caused turnover.
 
In goal, junior Jackson Brown made 11 saves, including one in each of the first two overtime periods.
 
Wagner (4-5, 0-1) got three-point games from junior midfielder William McMenamin (2g,1a), sophomore attackman Andrew Streilein (1g,2a), and junior attackman Patrick McMenamin (1g,2a). Junior Anthony LaBetti won 7-of-11 faceoffs for the Seahawks. First-year defenseman Riley Owens had a game-high three caused turnovers.
 
First-year goalie Matt Sefcik made 10 saves, nine in the second half and one in the first overtime.
 
The Seahawks came into the game 10th in the nation in extra-man offense, scoring on 50 percent of their opportunities. However, Hobart's man-down defense entered the contest fourth in the nation and won the day, killing off all three of Wagner's extra-man opportunities.
 
Romm opened the day's scoring with about six minutes left in the first quarter, but the Seahawks countered with three straight goals, spanning the first and second quarters to build a 3-1 lead. Frank Brown started a five-goal Hobart run with just under six minutes left in the half.
 
Less than a minute later, Hancock followed with an extra-man goal. Frank Brown scored twice more before the half expired, the second time off an assist from senior midfielder Cooper Stefaniak with 0.2 seconds remaining in the second quarter for a 5-3 halftime lead.
 
Aslanian notched the first goal of the second half to give Hobart a 6-3 edge, the largest advantage of the game for either team. The teams alternated goals for the rest of the third quarter, heading to the fourth with the Statesmen in front 8-6.
 
The Seahawks made it a one-goal game with 12:33 left in regulation, but Brown set up Aslanian just over three minutes later to make it 9-7. With about six and a half minutes to go, senior midfielder Gavin Llewellyn appeared to give Hobart a three-goal lead, as his shot trickled across the goal line—at least from the perspective of the WEOS radio broadcast team—but the official on the field ruled that Sefcik got the ball before it enter the cage. Wagner took advantage of the break as Streilein and William McMenamin scored at 5:14 and 1:42, respectively, to tie the game.
 
Both teams put a shot on goal in the first overtime, but both keepers made the stop to force another four-minute period. The Statesmen didn't put a shot on goal in the second overtime, but Jackson Brown made a stop at the end of the stanza to extend the game for Aslanian's heroics.
 
Hobart will return home on Saturday, March 26, when the Statesmen host NEC rival Saint Joseph's. Faceoff at Boswell Field is scheduled for noon.
 
GAME NOTES
Hobart has played four consecutive one-goal games, posting a 3-1 record. … The Statesmen improved to 15-4 under third-year Head Coach Greg Raymond when holding the opposition to nine goals or less. … Hobart improved to 10-7 in games decided by two goals or less during the Raymond era. … The Statesmen are 9-2 in their last 11 overtime games. All-time, Hobart is 18-31 in overtime. … This is the second consecutive year that Hobart and Wagner have gone to overtime. Last year, attackman Sean Donnelly scored the game winner with one second remaining in the first overtime period for a 7-6 victory on Boswell Field.