GENEVA, N.Y.—The top-ranked Hobart hockey team returns to The Cooler this Saturday, March 2, as it continues its defense of the Mariano Cup. The Statesmen will host ninth-ranked Skidmore at 7 p.m, in the New England Hockey Conference Championship game.
The Statesmen, who are the No. 1 seed, enter the weekend with an overall record of 24-2-1. Hobart is coming off a 4-1 semifinal win over the seventh-seeded University of Southern Maine. Junior
Cooper Swift had two assists for the Statesmen. Sophomore
Damon Beaver played all 60 minutes in goal and made 21 saves. This is Hobart's fifth trip to the league final in the six years the Statesmen have been members of the NEHC.
The Thoroughbreds, who are the No. 3 seed, enter the weekend with a 19-6-2 overall record. On Saturday, Skidmore defeated fourth-seeded Elmira 4-1 in Saratoga Springs. Defenseman Jaden York scored twice and Tate Brandon made 23 saves in the win. Skidmore is making its second trip to the NEHC title game in the last three seasons.
COVERAGE
ABOUT THE STATESMEN
- Hobart is led by sophomore Tanner Hartman. He has 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points.
- Classmate Ignat Belov is right behind him with 35 points on 16 goals and 19 assists.
- First-year Bauer Morrissey and senior Artem Buzoverya are tied for second on the team with 22 assists each.
- Beaver has the edge in minutes played in goal for the Statesmen. He is 14-1-1 and has a 1.00 GAA with a .961 save percentage and five shutouts.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
- Along with its No. 1 ranking, Hobart enters the conference championship game first in the nation scoring offense (5.44), scoring defense (0.96), scoring margin (+4.48), winning percentage (.907) and penalty killing percentage (.964). In addition, Hobart is fourth in the nation in power-play percentage.
- The Statesmen have killed off 80 of their opponents' 83 power-play opportunities so far this season.
- Beaver is first in the nation in goalie winning percentage (.906) and save percentage (.961) and second in GAA (1.00).
- Hartman is sixth in the nation in points per game (1.56), eighth in assists per game (0.96) and 17th in goals per game (0.63).
- Hartman and Belov are tied for 11th in game-winning goals (4), and first-year Chris Duclair is ninth in power-play goals (7).
ABOUT THE THOROUGHBREDS
- Kaeden Patrick (14g, 14a) and Danny Magnuson (10g, 18a) share the team lead with 28 points.
- Patrick leads Skidmore with 14 goals while Magnuson is the playmaker, recording a team-high 18 assists.
- Everett Wardle is the third Thoroughbred with over 25 points. He has eight goals and 17 assists.
- Brandon has played most of the minutes in net for Skidmore. He is 19-4-2 with a GAA of 1.66, a save percentage of .939 and four shutouts.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday will be the 26th meeting between the Statesmen and the Thoroughbreds.
- Hobart leads the all-time series 20-4-1, including a mark of 12-2-0 in Geneva.
- This will be the third straight year that the Statesmen and Thoroughbreds meet in the NEHC Tournament. The teams split the meetings with Skidmore winning in 2022 (3-2 in semifinal) and Hobart (1-0 in semifinal).
- On February 10, the Statesmen defeated the Thoroughbreds 5-1 to close out the regular season. Hartman scored twice and had an assist, and senior Matthieu Wuth had two helpers to lead Hobart. Beaver made 32 saves in the win.
