The top-ranked Hobart College hockey team wraps up its four-game road trip this weekend, Jan. 12-13, with two New England Hockey Conference contests. Friday, the Statesmen will travel to Henniker, New Hampshire, to face New England College. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Lee Clement Arena. The following day, Hobart will take on the 13th-ranked Cadets at 4 p.m. at Kreitzberg Arena in Northfield, Vermont.
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The Statesmen enter the weekend with a 13-2-0 overall record and a 7-1-0 mark in conference play. Hobart has won nine straight games and is first in the NEHC with 21 points. This past Friday, the Statesmen defeated then No. 10 Skidmore College 5-3. First-year Conor Lilly and sophomore
Tanner Hartman had two assists each. The following day, Hobart shut out Vermont State University Castleton 12-0. Sophomores
Ignat Belov and
Kahlil Fontana both had hat tricks, senior
Jonah Alexander recorded four assists and sophomore
Mavrick Goyer stopped all 11 shots he faced as he earned his fourth shutout of the season.
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The Pilgrims enter the weekend with a 3-12-1 overall record and are 1-7-1 mark in NEHC play. NEC is 10th in the NEHC standings with four points. The Pilgrims are coming off a split with Babson and Southern Maine last weekend. NEC was defeated by the Beavers 4-0. The next day, the Pilgrims shut out the Huskies 1-0. David Novotny scored the lone goal and goaltender Kai Tomita stopped all 33 shots.
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The Cadets are 8-4-2 overall with a 5-2-2 record in league play. Norwich is tied for second in the NEHC standings with 18 points. Norwich will host second-ranked Elmira on Friday night. Â
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LIVE COVERAGE
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ABOUT THE STATESMEN
- Hartman leads Hobart with 12 goals, 14 assists and 26 points.
- Ignat Belov is second on the team with nine goals and 18 points.
- In total, 11 players have hit double-digits in points this season.
- Sophomore Damon Beaver has played the majority of the minutes in goal for the Statesmen. He has a GAA of 1.00 and a save percentage of .959.
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NATIONAL NUMBERS
- Hobart enters the weekend first in the nation in scoring offense (5.40), scoring margin (4.53), scoring defense (0.87), power-play percentage (.368), penalty killing percentage (1.00), team goals (81), assists (138) and points (151). The Statesmen are second in the nation in winning percentage (.867).
- Beaver and fellow sophomore goalie Mavrick Goyer form one of the best goalie tandems in the country. Beaver is second in the nation in GAA and third in the nation in save percentage. Goyer's GAA (0.61) and save percentage (.962) would also be ranked in the top 10 in the nation, but he has played just under 33% of Hobart's minutes, the required amount to be listed in the rankings. Beaver and Goyer have four shutouts each, best in the nation.
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ABOUT THE PILGRIMS
- Novotny leads NEC with seven points. He is one of four Pilgrims that have a team-high three goals.
- Cam Perez leads the team with six assists.
- Tomita has played the majority of the minutes in net for NEC. He has a .922 save percentage and a 2.82 GAA.
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SERIES HISTORY
- Friday's meeting will be the 15th between the Statesmen and the Pilgrims.
- Hobart leads the all-time series 11-2-1, including 3-2-1 in Henniker.
- On Nov. 4, 2023, the Statesmen shut out the Pilgrims 7-0 in Geneva. Luke Aquaro and Logan Gotinsky each scored twice. Goyer stopped all 15 shots in goal.
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ABOUT THE CADETS
- Clark Kerner leads Norwich with 15 points on five goals and eight assists. He is tied with Paul Schmid for the team lead in goals. Â
- Johnny Johnson and Bryan O'Mara also have eight assists.
- Sami Molu has seen a majority of the work in goal for the Cadets. He has a save percentage of .942 and a 1.66 GAA.
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SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday will be the 18th meeting between the Statesmen and the Cadets.
- The series stands at 8-8-1 overall. Norwich holds a 6-5-0 edge on home ice.
- On Nov. 3, 2023, Hobart shutout Norwich 3-0. Three different players scored for Hobart and Beaver stopped all 20 shots he faced.
