Junior forward Ben Gamache (Longlac, Ontario) and first-year goaltender Frank Oplinger (Sewickley, Pa.) were honored by the ECAC West this week after helping the Hobart ice hockey team round out the regular season with a 2-1 win at Elmira. In addition, the Statesmen moved up to No. 11 in the D3hockey.com Poll and remained No. 13 in USCHO.com poll.
Gamache who was named the league’s Player of the Week, scored the game-winning goal for Hobart at Elmira on Friday night. He capitalized on a power play at 8:14 in the third period. Gamache has posted seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points this season.
Oplinger, the Rookie of the Week, played all 60 minutes between the pipes against the Soaring Eagles, helping the Statesmen extend their win streak to eight games. He turned aside 27 of the 28 shots he faced. Oplinger leads the ECAC West in goals against average (1.99), save percentage (.936) and win percentage (.857) this season. He’s seventh in the nation in win percentage, eighth in save percentage and 17th in goals against average.
The Statesmen are tied for third in Division III for the longest current unbeaten streak. Hobart is tied for 11th in the nation in scoring offense averaging 3.88 goals per game and is tied for 12th in scoring margin (1.40). The Statesmen also rank 19th on the power play (22.5 percent) and are tied for 10th in team winning percentage (.760).
Hobart finished the regular season with a 19-6-0 record. The Statesmen are the top seed in the ECAC West tournament and earned a first round bye. Hobart will host the lowest remaining seed in a semifinal game on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m.
