The Hobart College hockey team will host No. 4 seed Elmira in an ECAC West tournament semifinal game at The Cooler on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. The Statesmen are the top seed and earned a bye to the semifinals, while the Soaring Eagles topped No. 5 Utica 5-2 yesterday.
The other tournament semifinal will feature No. 3 Nazareth at No. 2 Neumann. It will be played on Saturday, Feb. 28 in Aston, Pennsylvania, at 7 p.m. The Golden Flyers topped No. 6 Manhattanville 5-1 in their first round game. The two advancing teams from Saturday’s games will meet in the tournament championship at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 7.
The Statesmen, the ECAC West regular season champions, bring a 19-6-0 overall record into postseason play and have won eight games in a row. Hobart sits atop the league in scoring offense (3.88 g/gm), scoring defense (2.48 ga/g) and on the power play (22.5 percent).
Junior forward Bo Webster (Aurora, Ontario) leads the team with 23 points on eight goals and 15 assists. Senior forward Brad McBride (Lone Tree, Colo.) has posted a league-high 13 goals and added eight assists for 21 points. First-year goaltender Frank Oplinger (Sewickley, Pa.) has played the majority of minutes in goal and is sporting a conference-best 1.99 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. He is 12-2-0 in goal this season.
The Soaring Eagles bring a 12-11-3 overall record into The Cooler. Elmira and Hobart last met on Feb. 20, in Pine Valley, New York, to conclude the regular season and the Statesmen came away with a 2-1 victory. Hobart held a 2-1 advantage in the meetings between the two teams this year, winning the first game 4-2 in Geneva, but falling 4-2 the next day.
Jarryd ten Vaanholt leads Elmira and the ECAC West with 35 points on 12 goals and 23 assists. Tommy Sumi has produced nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points. Ryan deMelo and Sal Magliocco have split time in goal this year. deMelo is sporting a 2.84 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. He’s 5-7-1 in goal. Magliocco has registered a 3.20 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. He has posted a 7-4-2 record.
Fans unable to make it to The Cooler on Saturday can follow all the action online with Live Stats and All-Access Video. The game will also be broadcast live by WHWS-FM 105.7 in Geneva.
