Statesmen voted 1st in preseason poll
The Hobart College hockey team was picked to finish in first place in the ECAC West in the preseason poll as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The two-time defending champions collected four-first place votes and three second place votes for 58 points.
Utica took second with 55 points, with two first place and four second place votes. Neumann was third with 48 points. Manhattanville was a close fourth with 44 points, and Nazareth and Elmira tied for fifth with 26 points. Newcomers to the league, Stevenson (21) and Lebanon Valley College (12) rounded out the poll.
The Statesmen return 22 players from the 2015-16 roster and welcome eight new members to the team. Seniors Bobby Sokol (Belle Vernon, Pa.) and Nick Bingaman (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) return after posting 24 and 23 points, respectively, last winter. Seniors Carl Belizario (Dorval, Quebec) and Jon Neal (Encinitas, Calif.), 2015-16 All-ECAC West selections, are also back to lead the Hobart defensive unit. Junior goaltender Frank Oplinger returns after playing in 13 games and sporting a 1.81 goals against average and a .936 save percentage last year.
Hobart will open the 2016-17 season at home with non-league games against Babson on Oct. 28-29.
