The top-ranked Hobart College hockey team returns to The Cooler this weekend, Jan. 19-20, for two New England Hockey Conference matchups. On Friday, the Statesmen will take on Babson College at 7 p.m. The following day, Hobart will host the University of Southern Maine. Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
The Statesmen enter the weekend with a 14-2-1 overall record. Hobart is 8-1-1 in league play and is first in the NEHC with 25 points. This past weekend, the Statesmen extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games with a  5-0 shutout at New England College and a 1-1 tie with Norwich University. Against the Pilgrims, Conor Lolly had two assists and Mavrick Goyer stopped all 15 shots he faced. Against the Cadets, Shane Shell scored and Damon Beaver made a career-high matching 37 saves. 
 
The Beavers stand at 9-6-2 overall with a 7-2-1 mark in conference play. Babson is ranked fifth in the NEHC with 19 points, two points out of the final home playoff spot. The Beavers are coming off a 4-3 overtime victory over their travel partner Southern Maine. Colby Bailey scored the game-tying and game-winning goal for the Beavers.
 
The Huskies are 5-9-2 overall with a 2-6-2 mark in NEHC play. Southern Maine is in the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference standings. The Huskies will be at Elmira on Friday night.
 
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ABOUT THE STATESMEN

• Sophomore Tanner Hartman leads the Statesmen with 12 goals, 14 assists and 26 points.
• Fellow sophomore Ignat Belov is second on the team with 18 points.
• In total, 13 Statesmen have recorded 10 points or more this season.
• Beaver has the edge in goalie minutes played for the Statesmen. He has a .961 save percentage and a 0.99 GAA.

 
NATIONAL NUMBERS

• Hobart enters the weekend ranked first in the nation in scoring offense (5.12), scoring defense (0.82), scoring margin (+4.29), assists (148), points (235) and penalty killing percentage (1.00). The Statesmen are second in the nation in power-play percentage (.349) and third in winning percentage (.853).
• Beaver is second in the nation in shutouts (4), third in the nation in GAA and fourth in save percentage. Goyer is first in the nation in GAA (0.50) and shutouts (5) and is second in save percentage (.968).

 
ABOUT THE BEAVERS

• Ryan Murphy leads Babson with 18 points. He and Wyatt George share the team lead with seven goals each.
• Murphy and Brendan Kennedy each have 11 assists.
• Nate Mueller has played the majority of time in goal for the Beavers. He has a GAA of 3.02 and a .903 save percentage.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Friday will be the 27th meeting between the Statesmen and the Beavers.
• Babson leads the all-time series 12-9-5. Hobart holds a record of 5-3-3 in Geneva.
• On Nov. 11, 2023, the Beavers handed the Statesmen their only NEHC loss of the season, defeating Hobart 3-1 at the Babson Skating Center. Luke Aquaro scored for the Statesmen.

 
ABOUT THE HUSKIES

• Austin Marini leads Southern Maine with 10 assists and 15 points.
• Nolan McEhaney is the leading scorer with eight goals.
• Kyle Penton has played the majority of the time in net for the Huskies. He is 4-5-1 with a 3.05 GAA and a .903 save percentage.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday will be the 14th meeting between the Statesmen and the Huskies.
• The Statesmen lead the all-time series 12-1-0, including a 6-0-0 mark at The Cooler.
• On Nov. 10, 2023, the Statesmen shut out the Huskies 10-0. Chris Duclair recorded a hat trick. Beaver stopped all 15 shots he faced.