The top-seeded Hobart College hockey team will open the New England Hockey Conference Tournament Saturday, Feb. 18. The Statesmen will begin their quest for the Mariano Cup against No. 8 seed Castleton University. Faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at The Cooler.
 
Hobart (23-2-0, 16-2-0) clinched the NEHC regular season title with a 3-2 win over Norwich on Friday. The Statesmen have reached the conference championship game in three of their four seasons in the league, including winning the title in 2017-18.
 
Castleton (9-16-0, 7-11-0), clinched the eighth seed in the conference tournament with a 4-1 win over Johnson & Wales on Friday.  The Spartans closed out the regular season with a pair of wins.
 
Fans who can't make the trip to The Cooler can follow all the action with HWS All-Access and Live Stats. The game will be broadcast on WHWS-FM (105.7 in Geneva).
 
ABOUT THE STATESMEN

• Hobart is led by NEHC Player of the Year sophomore forward Luke Aquaro. He has 15 goals, 16 assists and 31 points.
• First team All-NEHC pick, junior Jonah Alexander is right behind him with 30 points on 14 goals and 16 assists.
• First-year goalie Damon Beaver was named the conference's Rookie of the Year. He is 12-2-0 with a nation's best 1.09 GAA and a .953 save percentage. His six shutouts are also best in the nation.
• Aquaro, Alexander and Beaver were joined on the all-conference teams by defensemen, juniors Gagik Malakyan and Austin Mourar, and first-year forward Tanner Hartman. Head Coach Mark Taylor was named the conference's coach of the year.
• The Statesmen lead the NEHC in scoring offense (3.96 gpg) and scoring defense (1.16).

 
ABOUT THE SPARTANS

• Castleton is led offensively by Andrew Stefura. He has 14 goals and 23 points.
• Bryce Irwin is right behind him with 22 points, including a team-high 16 assists. Irwin was named to the All-NEHC third team.
• Zack Whittaker represented the Spartans on the All-Rookie team.
• Brandon Collett has played a majority of the minutes in goal. He is 5-9-0 with a 3.78 GAA and a .898 save percentage.
• Castleton is eighth in the conference in scoring offense (2.40) and ninth in scoring defense (3.80).

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday will be the 12th meeting between Hobart and Castleton.
• The Statesmen have won all 11 of the previous meetings. This will be the first meeting in the conference tournament between the two teams.
• Hobart swept the regular season series, winning 4-1 at The Cooler back in December and 5-1 in Vermont earlier this month.