GENEVA, N.Y.-The ninth-ranked Hobart College hockey team defeated Castleton 5-0 at The Cooler this afternoon in a New England Hockey Conference. The victory was the 300th career win for Statesmen Head Coach Mark Taylor.
Taylor is the 11th active coach in NCAA Division III Men’s Hockey with 300 career wins and just the 29th coach in DIII history all-time to reach that milestone. He is the first Hobart coach in any sport to accumulate 300 wins.
The Statesmen (12-5-0, 6-4-0) had four players record multi-point games led by junior Zach Sternbach’s three assists. Sophomore Mike Faulkner (2a), senior Brandon Bistodeau (1g, 1a) and junior Lawson MacDougall (1g,1a) each had two points. First-year Liam Lascelle made 16 saves as he notched the first shutout of his collegiate career. Wyatt Pickrell made 42 saves in 44 minutes of work before Kyle Alaverdy came on in relief and made 13 saves in the final 16 minutes for Castleton (3-10-4, 1-7-2).
Hobart opened the scoring at the 6:06 mark of the first period. Bistodeau collected a pass from Sternbach in the low slot and wristed a shot past Pickrell. It was Bistodeau’s first goal of the season. Hobart continued to apply pressure in the first period, finishing the frame with a 16-3 edge in shots on goal.
The Statesmen doubled the lead 94 seconds into the second period. Sophomore Travis Schneider redirected a Faulkner centering pass past Pickrell. Sternbach was also credited with an assist on the goal. It was Schneider’s ninth goal of the season. Hobart made it 3-0 on Tanner Shaw’s fifth goal of the season. MacDougall and Faulkner were credited with assists on the goal. Shaw crept in from the point and into the left faceoff circle and wristed a shot into the upper right corner of the goal.
MacDougall added a goal of his own just under four minutes into the third period. He collected a pass from Toupal on the left goal post and flipped it over the goalie’s right leg. Sternbach collected his third assist of the night on the goal. Junior Will Harrison added an insurance goal 26 seconds later. He collected a pass from Bistodeau in the slot and one-timed the shot past Pickrell. Lynch was also credited with an assist on the goal.
Hobart finished the game with a 60-16 edge in shots on goal. The Statesmen were 1-for-5 on the power play while the Spartans were 0-for-3 with the extra attacker.
Hobart will return to action next weekend, Jan. 18-19, when it takes on Skidmore in a home-and-home series. Friday’s game will be in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., while Saturday’s game will be at The Cooler. Faceoff for both games is scheduled for 7 p.m.
