GENEVA, N.Y.–The Hobart College ice hockey team scored four goals in the second period to skate out to a 5-1 lead before defeating visiting Neumann 6-2 in an ECAC West game played tonight at The Cooler. Junior Bo Webster (Aurora, Ontario) led the Statesmen effort with two goals.
Hobart improves to 13-6-0 overall and 6-3-0 in conference play. The Knights are now 9-6-4 overall and 5-3-1 in the ECAC West. The Statesmen are now tied with Nazareth for the top spot in the conference with 12 points, but Neumann is just behind in second with 11. Hobart and Neumann will meet again in The Cooler tomorrow, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m.
Senior Tommaso Traversa (Torino, Italy) and sophomore Bobby Sokol (Belle Vernon, Pa.) each chipped in a goal and an assist for the Statesmen. First-year goalie Frank Oplinger (Sewickley, Pa.) played all but two seconds in goal and finished with 37 saves.
Webster put Hobart up 1-0 with 6:50 left in the first period. Senior Peter Ryan (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) blasted a shot from the blue line that was blocked. The puck bounced to senior Brad McBride (Lone Tree, Colo.) who tipped it to Webster who slid his shot across the goal line. The Knights answered just two minutes later. Brandon Gagne placed his shot into the top right corner just under the crossbar. Ryan Luiten earned the assist.
The Statesmen offense really clicked in the second period. At 10:07 in, Sokol finished off a pretty passing play by senior Sean Rudy (Long Sault, Ontario) and first-year Tyler Wolf (Naperville, Ill.) to make it 2-1. Then 2:42 later, on a four-on-four situation after penalties were called on each team, junior Ben Gamache (Longlac, Ontario) sent home a shot from out in front. Sophomore Carl Belizario (Dorval, Quebec) and junior Brad Robbins (Murrietta, Calif.) registered the assists. Just 57 seconds later, still on a four-on-four, Traversa extended Hobart’s lead to 4-1. This time Ryan Michel (Camillus, N.Y.) notched the assist. With 51 seconds left in the middle period, sophomore Nick Bingaman (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) drilled a shot into the back of the goal after a pass from Sokol to stretch the Statesmen lead to four goals.
Webster added his second goal of the night 3:30 into the final period. The Statesmen were on the power play and had an extra skater after pulling Oplinger on a delayed penalty. Senior Terrence O’Neill (Kearny, N.Y.) and Traversa set up the play. At 11:45 in, Mike Davis logged Neumann’s second goal. Shayne Morrissey and Nick Perruccio were credited with the assists.
Ben Curley played the opening 39:58 in goal for the Knights and made 32 saves. Matt Gibney came in for the third period and made 20 stops. The Statesmen finished with a 58-39 advantage in shots. Hobart went 1-for-5 on the power play and killed all four of Neumann’s power-play chances.
