The Hobart College ice hockey team begins the 2017-18 season on Friday, Oct. 27. This year Hobart will play its inaugural season as a member of the New England Hockey Conference, but it starts the year with a traditional opponent in Elmira. Hobart takes on the Soaring Eagles in Elmira at 7 p.m.
 
Head Coach Mark Taylor begins his 18th season at the helm of the program. He returns 17 players from last year's roster and welcomes 12 newcomers to the team. The Statesmen posted a 20-5-4 overall record last year and went 9-4-1 in the ECAC West. Hobart captured its third straight ECAC West tournament title and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row and seventh time in program history. The Statesmen start 2017-18 the year ranked No. 9 in the D3hockey.com preseason poll and No. 10 in the USCHO.com preseason poll.
 
"Our goals are exactly the same as every year," said Taylor. "How we get there will be different as it is every year. We graduated a big class that had a lot of success and the good part of that is it just raises the bar for the guys behind them. We bring in a number of new players this year. There are 12 new names on a roster of 29. I look at that as one third of our team is young and hungry and to me that's a positive."
 
GOALTENDING
 
Hobart brings back two goaltenders in senior Frank Oplinger and sophomore Alexander Connal and adds first-year Ethan Domokos to the roster.  Oplinger had an 11-5-2 record in 2016-17. He sported a 2.43 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. Connal was 7-0-2 last year with a 1.83 goals against average and a .935 save percentage. Domokos comes to Hobart after playing for Milton Academy.
 
"I couldn't be happier with the group of goaltenders we have," said Taylor. "We return two proven goalies and recruited another who has proved himself in his play before coming here. We will definitely be able to build up from the net."
 
DEFENSE
 
The Statesmen have five returners on defense. In 2016-17, the Hobart defense sat atop the ECAC West in scoring defense (2.38 ga/gm). The Statesmen also led the league on the penalty kill (87.7%).
 
Junior alternate captains Jack Macnee and Tanner Shaw bring leadership on defense. Shaw dished out a team-high 19 assists and added two goals in 2016-17. Macnee played in 28 games and recorded three goals and five assists for eight points. Classmate Matt Pizzo returns after playing in 10 games last winter and logging two goals and three assists. Sophomores Julien Denicourt and Colin Merrill round out the returners on defense. Denicourt played in 22 games and notched three goals and six assists, while Merrill saw time in 14 games and posted a goal and three assists. First-years Mitchell Spring, TJ Schultz, and Mike Faulkner will be the new faces defensively and are expected to contribute immediately.
 
"I feel positive about the group we return on defense," said Taylor. "We return experience and will have impactful first-years so if everyone plays to their potential we should have a really solid defensive corps every night."
 
FORWARD
 
"We return a group of forwards that have experienced success in their careers," said Taylor.  "As on defense, we bring a solid group of new players that will be counted on and our expectations for them are high."
 
Hobart has five senior forwards in captain Andrew Silard, captain Ben Greiner, and alternate captain Jordan Haskell, Vincent Russo and Tyler Wolf. Juniors Brandon Bistodeau and Cam Shaheen and Jonas Toupal who transitioned from defense to forward bring additional experience on the offensive end. Silard played in 19 games and posted three goals and four assists, while Greiner, the 2017 ECAC West Tournament MVP, recorded seven goals and nine assists in 28 games. Haskell played in 20 games and logged five goals and seven assists, while Russo tallied nine goals and four assists in 23 contests. Wolf added 13 points on two goals and 11 assists in 26 games. Toupal ranked second on the team last year with 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists. In 18 games, Bistodeau produced three goals and eight assists and Shaheen registered four goals and five assists in 19 games.
 
Sophomores Zach Sternbach and Lawson MacDougall look to build on solid rookie seasons. Sternbach ranked fifth on the team last year with 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists in 27 games. MacDougall played in 20 games and logged six goals and nine assists for 15 points.
 
First-years Travis Schneider, Ryan and Kyle Lynch, Alec Robitaille, Andrew Longo, Phil Satin, Mark Benemerito and sophomore transfer Will Harrison will look to make an impact for Hobart right away.
 
SCHEDULE
 
"Competing in the new conference this year is exciting," said Taylor. "First we have a chance at an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Second, it's a very strong league from top to bottom. Third, it exposes us to one of our prime recruiting markets and a strong alumni base. The move was right from our program any way you slice it."
 
The Statesmen schedule features three teams ranked in the USCHO.com preseason poll, No. 1 Norwich, No. 4 Trinity and No. 7 Oswego and three more that are receiving votes in New Englanc College, Babson and Elmira.
 
After taking on Elmira, Hobart will host Oswego on Sunday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m. for its home opener. The next weekend, the Statesmen begin NEHC play traveling to take on the University of Southern Maine on Nov. 3, in Portland, Maine, and then playing at New England College in Henniker, N.H., on Nov. 4. Hobart will play Connecticut College in a non-league game at Chelsea Piers in New York City on Dec. 30. The Statesmen will also compete in the 2018 Pathfinder Bank/Oswego State Hockey Classic on Jan. 5-6 in Oswego.
 
"Our strength of schedule has to be one of the top 10 in the country, due to our new league which now includes three games against the defending national champion and other traditional NCAA tournament contenders," said Taylor. "Add in two games on the road at last year's national runner up and the fact that we're still playing our traditional neighbors of Elmira and Oswego, every game on the schedule this year will require us to bring our best. This year our schedule also includes a game in New York City. It will be a great event for our large group of alums in that area and an outstanding experience for our student-athletes who aspire to work in that area."