The Hobart College hockey team will host Nazareth College in an ECAC West quarterfinal game on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m., in The Cooler. The Statesmen, who are the tournament’s No. 3 seed, hold a 13-8-4 overall record and went 7-5-3 in conference play.
The Golden Flyers are the No. 6 seed and have posted an 8-15-2 overall record and went 4-9-2 in ECAC West play this season. Wednesday’s game will be the fourth meeting between Hobart and Nazareth this season. The series is all tied up at 1-1-1. Back on Nov. 8, the Statesmen and Golden Flyers battled to a 4-4 tie in Pittsford, N.Y. On Jan. 31, Nazareth posted a 4-3 victory in The Cooler, but the Statesmen rallied for a 5-1 victory the next day.
Hobart, which is coming off two overtime wins at Elmira, sits atop the conference on the penalty kill at 83.5 percent (106/127). The Statesmen rank second in scoring defense (2.84 ga/gm) and third on the power play (20.4 percent). In addition, Hobart is tied for third in the conference in scoring offense (3.44 g/gm).
Sophomore Mac Olson (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) leads the Statesmen with 27 points on 15 goals and 12 assists. He is tied for first in the ECAC West in goals and ranks sixth in points. Sophomore Bo Webster (Aurora, Ontario) is tied for third in the league with a team-high 17 assists. Sophomore Lino Chimienti (Montreal/Quebec) has played the majority of minutes in goal and is sporting a 2.58 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and a 12-5-3 record this season. He ranks second in the conference in goals against average and win percentage (.675).
Nazareth closed out the regular season with a 4-3 victory and a 2-2 tie with Neumann. The Golden Flyers are led by Ben Blakso’s 11 goals, 15 assists and 26 points. He is tied for seventh in the conference in points, tied for sixth in goals and tied for 10th in assists. Tom Seravalli has logged 20 points on eight goals and 12 assists. Ed Zdolshek has a 7-13-2 record in goal. He’s sporting a .907 save percentage and a 3.16 goals against average.
Utica, the conference regular season champions earned the No. 1 seed. The Pioneers and No. 2 Elmira, earned byes to the semifinals, while No. 4 seeded Manhattanville will host No. 5 Neumann in the other quarterfinal game, which will be played onWednesday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children and students with an ID. Fans who cannot make it to The Cooler can follow the action online with Live Stats.
