The Hobart College hockey team moved up two spots to No. 5 in the USCHO.com poll announced this afternoon. The Statesmen will welcome back alumni this weekend when they take on the University of Southern Maine and New England College for a pair of New England Hockey Conference contests at The Cooler.
 
Additionally, Hobart is ranked ninth in the PairWise rankings. PairWise is a system which attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA selection committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division III hockey tournament.
 
The Statesmen will take on the Huskies (7-12-3, 6-7-2) on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. The alumni game will take place on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 11 a.m., the current Statesmen will take on the Pilgrims (14-7-1, 10-5-0) at 4 p.m. There will be postgame gatherings for alums on both Friday and Saturday.
 
Hobart is 14-4-3 overall with an 8-4-2 record in NEHC play. The Statesmen, who are coming off a weekend sweep of NEHC travel partner Skidmore, currently sit in fourth place in the conference standings. Hobart enters the week ranked seventh in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 4.33 goals per game. The Statesmen are 14th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 2.24 goals per game. In addition, Hobart is ranked sixth in the nation in scoring average (2.10 gpg), 10th in penalty kill (88.1%), and 10th in winning percentage (73.8%). The Statesmen's 91 goals this season are eighth most in Division III.
 
Individually, Hobart is led by junior Alec Robitaille's 11 goals and 19 points. Seniors Zach Sternbach (9g, 8a) and Lawson MacDougall (5g, 12a) are right behind him with 17 points each. Junior Mike Faulkner leads the team with 13 assists. In total, the Statesmen have 13 different players who have reached double digits in points this season. Twenty different skaters have at least one goal and 24 have tallied at least a point.
 
Sophomore Joe Halstrom has played a majority of the minutes in goal. He is 11-3-3 with a 2.20 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. Recently Halstrom and fellow sophomore Liam Lascelle have split time in goal. Lascelle is 3-1-0 with a 2.26 GAA and a .905 save percentage.
 
Southern Maine is currently tied with the Thoroughbreds for sixth in the NEHC standings with 14 points. The Huskies enter the weekend on a two-game win streak after knocking off Johnson & Wales and Suffolk last week. Southern Maine is averaging 2.41 goals per game while allowing 3.32. Adam Withers leads the team with 19 points on six goals and 13 assists. Anthony D'Aloisio has played a majority of the minutes in goal. He is 5-5-2 with a 2.52 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
 
Southern Maine defeated Hobart 3-2 in overtime in Portland, Maine, back in December. The Statesmen hold a 6-1-0 edge in the series.
 
New England College enters the weekend third in the NEHC standings with 20 points. The Pilgrims will be at Skidmore on Friday night. New England College is averaging 4.27 goals per game while surrendering 3.05. Carlos Fornaris leads the team and the NEHC with 37 points on seven goals and 30 assists. Nikita Pintusov has an NEHC best 22 goals and is second in the conference with 34 points. Anthony Pupplo has played a majority of the minutes in goal. He is 13-7-1 with a 3.13 GAA and a .896 save percentage.
 
The Pilgrims won the first meeting this season 4-3 in Henniker, N.H., on Dec. 6. Hobart leads the all-time series 4-2-1, including a 3-0-0 record in Geneva.
 
Fans who cannot make it to The Cooler can follow all the action with Live Stats and HWS All-Access Video. The games will also be broadcast on WHWS-FM (105.7 in Geneva).