GENEVA, N.Y.—Hobart College senior Sean Rudy (Long Sault, Ontario) notched two goals and an assist as the Statesmen hockey team topped Neumann 3-2 in an ECAC West game played tonight in The Cooler. Hobart has now posted a 3-0 record against the Knights this season.
The Statesmen improve to 14-6-0 overall and 7-3-0 in conference play. Neumann falls to 9-7-4 overall and 5-4-1 in the ECAC West. Hobart is now tied with Nazareth for first place in the ECAC West with 12 points.
Just 4:09 in, Rudy scored from the top of the left circle. His shot slid just inside the far right post. It came off passes from senior Peter Ryan (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and first-year Bobby Sokol (Belle Vernon, Pa.). Senior Brad McBride (Lone Tree, Colo.) made it 2-0 just 2:23 later. Rudy sent a feed from the left boards to find McBride streaking in for his 10th goal of the season. Senior Bronson Kovacs (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) also earned an assist on the play. With 4:29 left in the first, Mike Davis notched a power-play goal for Neumann after quick passes from Steve Low and Brandon Gagne. With 2:12 left in the first on the Knights’ third power-play attempt of the game, Hobart’s first-year goaltender Frank Oplinger (Sewickley, Pa.) denied a point blank shot by Gagne with an impressive glove save to keep the Statesmen on top by one.
Rudy struck again in the second period. His fifth goal of the year came at 2:48 in. First-year Tyler Wolf (Napersville, Ill.) and sophomore Mitch Beyer (Clifton Park, N.Y.) earned the assists. At 6:56 into the third, Davis logged his second goal of the night for the Knights after passes from Mikko Virtanen and Anthony Pino. Neumann pulled goaltender Matt Gibney with 1:13 remaining for an extra attacker, but the Statesmen held off the Knights in the final minutes.
Gibney finished with 35 saves in 58:47 in goal. Oplinger played all 60 minutes for the Statesmen and made 31 saves. Hobart held a 38-33 edge in shots and went 0-for-2 on the power play. The Statesmen killed off all but one of the Knights’ power play attempts, including a 5-on-3 situation in the second period.
The Statesmen will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 6, when they travel to take on Utica in an ECAC West game at 7 p.m.
