GENEVA, N.Y.—The top-ranked Hobart Hockey team knocked off 13th-ranked Oswego 4-0 to claim its first SUNYAC crown. This is the fourth-straight league title for the Statesmen, who won the final three New England Hockey Conference crowns.
 
Hobart (28-0-0) earned the SUNYAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The entire 14-team field will be released on Sunday, March 8, at 9:30 p.m. during the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey selection show.
 
Senior Dominic Schimizzi factored into three of the four goals for the Statesmen, finishing the game with two goals and an assist. Sophomores Tamas Toth (1g, 1a) and Josh Doolan (2a) also had multi-point games. Senior Damon Beaver played all 60 minutes in goal for Hobart and made 30 saves as he earned the shutout. Beaver was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player following the game.
 
Michael Manzi started in goal and made 33 saves in goal in just under 59 minutes of work. The Lakers finish their season with a 19-7-2 overall record.
 
RECORD BREAKER

• With tonight's shutout, Damon Beaver recorded the 26th shutout of his career, breaking the NCAA Division III Career record held by Kyle Jones of St. Norbert in 2008.
• This was Hobart's 14th shutout of the season, which broke Norwich's NCAA Division III record of 13 set in 2020.
• Beaver's seven shutouts this season match Hobart's single-season record.

 
STREAKING

• Hobart won its collegiate hockey record 68th straight home game.
• The Statesmen also extended their overall win streak to 34 games and their unbeaten streak to 41 games.
• Beaver picked up his third consecutive shutout and Hobart's fifth straight shutout.

  
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Hobart finished the game with a 38-30 edge in shots on goal.
• Hobart was 1-for-2 on the power play and Oswego was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

 
THE FIRST PERIOD

• Hobart and Oswego were in a tight battle in the first period, with Hobart emerging with a 13-8 edge in shots on goal.
• The Statesmen struck first at the 4:25 mark of the opening frame when Schimizzi scored his ninth goal of the season. He wristed a shot from the left faceoff circle that squeaked past Manzi. The tally was assisted by Toth and junior Conor Lally.
• Following the goal, Hobart continued to apply pressure in the offensive zone, but Manzi benefited from a pair of shots off the goal posts. First-year Laurent Trepanier fired one shot off the crossbar. He then forced a turnover and ripped a shot off the right goal post. His shift ended with a shot that was turned aside by the Oswego goalie.

 
THE SECOND PERIOD

• Despite only holding a 10-5 advantage in the middle stanza, the Lakers controlled most of the second period.
• Junior Bauer Morrissey put together a massive shift in the middle part of the period. At the 8:56 mark of the frame, he caught up to an Oswego forward on a breakaway and took him completely out of the play, losing his stick in the process.  As the puck came up to the point, Morrissey blocked a shot from Tommy Bannister in the slot that kept it a scoreless game.
• Two minutes later, Brendan Gilmore blasted a shot off the goal post.
• Morrissey then had another major shot block on a shot from Colin Vassalo.
• Beaver kept his cool between the pipes, stopping all 10 shots that made it to him.

 
THE THIRD PERIOD

• The Statesmen seized control of the game, scoring 97 seconds into the third period. Schimizzi fired home a shot from the right faceoff circle for his 10th goal of the season. It was assisted by Doolan.
• Senior Tanner Daniels made it a 3-0 lead at the 7:19 mark of the third period. He intercepted in the neutral zone and flipped a shot past Manzi. The power-play goal was his 15th goal of the season.
• One minute later, Hobart was called for a five minute major. During the penalty kill, Beaver made a pair of highlight reel saves to keep Oswego off the scoreboard. He stopped a point-blank shot from Brandon Cohen and then quickly pushed from his left to his right to make a toe save on Nico Paone.
• He also stopped two shots later in the penalty kill from Cohen and Jesse Horacek. 
• Toth put the game out of reach with an empty-net goal at the 16:19 mark of the final stanza. His sixth goal of the year was assisted by Doolan and Schimizzi.  

 
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

• Beaver was named to the All-Tournament team along with Schimizzi, Morrissey and Daniels.
• Braden Cohen and Drake Semrad were recognized for Oswego.

   
COACH'S CORNER