The No. 11 Hobart College hockey team played through overtime to a 3-3 tie with No. 3 Trinity (Conn.) in a non-league game played in Hartford, Conn., this evening. The Statesmen are now 7-2-3 overall, while the Bantams are now 6-1-2.
After trailing 2-1 in the third, Hobart scored two second period goals to take a 3-2 lead, but Trinity pulled their goalie for the extra skater and got the game-tying goal with 45 seconds left in regulation. Neither team could find the game winner through the extra period.
It was Hobart’s fifth overtime game this season. The Statesmen are now 1-1-3 in OT games this year. Junior Matt Pizzo led the Statesmen with a goal and an assist. Senior Frank Oplinger played all 65 minutes and stopped a season-high 37 shots. Barclay Gammill led the Bantams with two goals and Andy Chugg added two assists. Alex Morin made 42 saves in goal for Trinity.
Pizzo scored the first goal of the game for Hobart. His short-handed tally, off an assist from classmate Cam Shaheen, gave the Statesmen the 1-0 advantage with 4:23 left in the first. It was his fourth goal this season. The Bantams responded with a power-play goal just 25 seconds into the second to knot the game at 1-1. Anthony Sabitsky scored off passes from Liam Feeney and James Callahan. With 4:40 left in the middle period, Gammill gave Trinity a 2-1 lead. Chugg earned the assist.
Hobart came out strong in the third period. First-year Travis Schneider tied the game up at 2-2 at 5:12 in. It was his second goal this year and came off a feed from Pizzo. Just over four minutes later, senior Tyler Wolf scored to give the Statesmen a 3-2 advantage. Sophomore Colin Merrill and senior Ben Greiner were credited with the assists. With 1:10 left in regulation, Trinity pulled its goalie Alex Morin for an extra skater. The move benefited the Bantams as Gamill scored to tie things up at 3-3 with just 45 seconds left in the third. Tyler Whitney and Chugg registered the assists.
Morin finished with 41 saves in goal for Trinity. The Statesmen finished with a 44-40 advantage in shots. Hobart finished 0-for-3 on the power play, and the Bantams were 1-for-4.
The Statesmen will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 30, when they take on Connecticut College in a non-league game at Chelsea Piers in New York City. The game will start at 7 p.m.
