GENEVA, N.Y.-For the sixth straight season, the Hobart College hockey team will compete for a conference championship. The Statesmen defeated New England College 4-2 at The Cooler this evening in a New England Hockey Conference semifinal. With the victory, Hobart is now 20-4-3 overall this season. The Pilgrims complete their season with a 17-9-1 overall record.
 
Hobart, the No. 3 seed in the NEHC tournament, will take on Norwich next Saturday, Mar. 7, in Northfield, Vt. Faceoff at Kreitzberg Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Cadets defeated Southern Maine 5-0 in the other semifinal. This is the third straight year that Hobart and Norwich will meet in the NEHC championship game.
 
Seniors Zach Sternbach (2g) and Lawson MacDougall (2a) and junior Andrew Longo (2a) each had two points in the victory. Sophomore Zach Tyson and junior Mark Benemerito also scored for the Statesmen. Sophomore Liam Lascelle started in goal and made 21 saves as he earned his eighth win of the season.
 
Alex Laplante had a goal and an assist for New England College. Anthony Pupplo started in goal and made 45 saves.
 
Sternbach opened the scoring at the 6:10 mark of the first period. He one-timed a shot from the slot over Pupplo's glove hand. MacDougall and senior Julien Denicourt were credited with assists on the goal. It was Sternbach's 12th tally of the season.
 
Nikkita Pintusov had New England College's best opportunity of the first period. After having a shot blocked by Chase Bell, he collected his own rebound and wristed a shot from the right faceoff circle on cage. Lascelle was there to make a glove save.
 
The Pilgrims tied the game 1-1 just over a minute into the second period. Ryan Walsh blasted a shot from the point through traffic for his fourth goal of the season. Laplante was credited with an assist on the goal.
 
Hobart regained the lead just over two minutes later. Benemerito collected a rebound in the slot, deked around a defender and flipped a shot over Pupplo for his third goal of the season. Senior Will Harrison and Longo were credited with an assist on the goal. Sternbach scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal 72 seconds later.  He crashed the net on a shot wide of the cage and poked the loose puck over the goal line. Longo and MacDougall were credited with assists on the goal.  It was Sternbach's team-leading 13th goal of the season.
 
Laplante made it a one goal game with his ninth goal of the season. He broke down the right wing and snapped a shot from the right faceoff circle inside the right goal post. Jhuwon Davis and Patrick DeBlois were credited with assists on the goal.
 
Just over two minutes into the third period, Pintusov nearly tied the game, but his wrist shot from the left faceoff circle hit the cross bar.
 
Hobart iced the game on Tyson's short-handed goal at the 16:53 mark of the third period. Junior Travis Schneider broke up a clearing attempt at the offensive blue line. He slipped a pass between two defenders to Tyson. Tyson deked around Pupplo and lifted a backhanded shot over his right leg pad and into the goal. It was his 10th goal of the season.
 
Hobart finished the game with a 49-23 edge in shots on goal. The Statesmen were 1-for-5 on the power play and the Pilgrims were 0-for-4 with the extra attacker.