CASTLETON, Vt.-Hobart College senior Zach Sternbach netted his second career hat trick as the sixth-ranked Statesmen cruised to an 8-3 victory over Castleton at Spartan Arena this evening. With the win, Hobart extended its unbeaten streak to eight games and is 12-3-3 overall with a 6-3-2 mark in New England Hockey Conference play.
 
Sternbach finished the contest with a game-high three points. Juniors Alec Robitaille (2g) and Andrew Longo (2a), and senior Lawson MacDougall (2a) also finished the game with two points each. Sophomore Joe Halstrom made 15 saves as he earned his 10th win of the season.
 
Glenn Wiswell scored a pair of goals for the Spartans (5-12-2, 3-8-1). Alex Maunula and Troy Taylor recorded a pair of assists. Brandon Collett started in goal for Castleton and made 38 saves. Kyle Alaverdy played the final 15:47 and made five saves.
 
Hobart nearly opened the scoring just over a minute into the game, but sophomore PA Martineau's breakaway attempt was stopped by Brandon Collett.
 
Wiswell gave Castleton a 1-0 lead at the 9:31 mark of the first period. With the teams playing four-on-four, he wristed a shot from the slot past Halstrom for his eighth goal of the season. Taylor and Maunula were credited with assists on the goal.
 
Sophomore Zach Tyson nearly tied the game with four minutes remaining in the first period, but Collett made a glove save on the shot from the right faceoff circle.
 
The teams traded goals in the second period. At the 3:47 mark of the middle frame, senior Julien Denicourt tied the game at one with his fourth goal of the season. He blasted a shot from the point through traffic into the back of the net. Martineau was credited with an assist on the goal. Fifty-nine seconds later, Robitaille gave Hobart a 2-1 lead. He poked a loose puck across the goal line for his 10th goal of the season. Sophomore Chase Bell was credited with an assist on the goal.
 
Castleton wasted little time tying the game. Fourteen seconds after Robitaille's goal, Dom Kuziak snapped a shot past Halstrom for his fourth goal of the season. Kyle Kazeroid and Maunula notched assists on the goal. The Spartans took a 3-2 lead at the 8:40 mark of the second period. Wiswell carried the puck around the back of the net, deked Halstrom and flipped home his ninth goal of the season. Calvin Moise and Taylor were credited with assists on the goal.
 
Sternbach scored the game's next two goals to give Hobart the lead for good.  At the 15:04 mark of the second period, he tied the game at three with his sixth goal of the season. He redirected a Ryan Lynch shot from the point past Collett. Sophomore Blake Coffey was also credited with an assist on the goal. Sternbach would score the eventual game-winning goal with 27 seconds remaining in the period. He picked up a rebound in the slot and flipped it into the upper corner of the cage. MacDougall was credited with an assist on the goal.
 
Just over two minutes into the third period, junior TJ Schultz extended Hobart's lead to two goals. He wired a shot from the point under the crossbar for his second goal of the season. Longo notched an assist on the goal. Senior Will Harrison gave Hobart a three goal lead, banging home a rebound from directly in front of the cage. First-year Felix Lamoureux and Andrew Longo were credited with assists on Harrison's fifth goal of the season.  Two minutes later, Sternbach completed his hat trick. The short-handed tally was assisted by MacDougall. Robitaille completed the scoring with his team-leading 11th goal of the season. Junior Mike Faulkner and first-year Brenden Howell were credited with assists on the power-play goal.
 
With four goals in each the second and third period in tonight's game, the Statesmen have scored four or more goals in a period eight different times this season.
 
Hobart finished the game with a 49-18 edge in shots on goal. The Statesmen were 2-for-4 on the power play and the Spartans were 0-for-6 with the man advantage.
 
Hobart will be back in action tomorrow afternoon, Jan. 25, when it heads to Northfield, Vt., to take on second-ranked Norwich. Faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.