The top-ranked Hobart hockey team defeated 13th-ranked Skidmore 5-1 at The Cooler this afternoon in a New England Hockey Conference contest. The victory was the 400th career win for Mason Family Hobart Head Hockey Coach Mark Taylor.
Taylor is the seventh active coach in NCAA Division III Men’s Hockey with 400 wins and just the 23rd in Division III history to reach the milestone. He is the first Hobart coach in any sport to accumulate 400 wins.
The Statesmen (22-2-1, 16-1-1) wrapped up the regular season with their eighth consecutive victory. Sophomore forward Tanner Hartman led the way for Hobart with three points on two goals and an assist. Seniors Artem Buzoverya (2a) and Matthieu Wuth (2a) also had multi-point games. Sophomore Damon Beaver played all 60 minutes in goal and made 32 saves.
Tate Brandon started in goal and made 31 saves for Skidmore (17-6-2, 12-5-1). Cooper Rice had the Thoroughbreds’ goal.
STREAKING
- Hobart extended its unbeaten streak to 19 games. The Statesmen are 18-0-1 since losing to Babson back in November. The 19-game unbeaten streak is Hobart’s longest streak in program history.
- The Statesmen have scored five or more goals in eight consecutive and 12 of their last 13.
KEY STATS
- Hobart finished the game with a 36-33 edge in shots on goal.
- Skidmore was 1-for-5 on the power play and Hobart was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
SCORING SUMMARY
- Hobart opened the scoring 17 seconds into the game when Hartman picked up a rebound in the left faceoff circle and chipped a shot by Brandon for his 15th goal of the season. Buzoverya and Wuth had assists on the goal.
- The Statesmen extended their lead at the 4:31 mark of the second period. Ignat Belov beat Brandon with a one-timer. His 16th goal of the season was assisted by Hartman and Wuth.
- Junior Luke Aquaro gave Hobart a three-goal lead at the 13:23 mark of the middle frame. He collected a breakout pass from first-year Bauer Morrissey, deked around the Skidmore goalie and flipped a backhanded shot into the back of the net. It was his 14th goal of the season.
- The Thoroughbreds broke up the shutout bid with 48 seconds remaining in the second period. Rice notched his seventh goal of the season, redirecting a Kaeden Patrick shot past Beaver. Danny Magnuson also had an assist on the tally.
- Hartman notched his second goal of the game and 16th goal of the season 30 seconds into the third period. He one-timed a centering pass from Buzoverya past Brandon.
- First-year Chris Duclair rounded out the scoring with his 11th goal of the year. She broke up a pass in the defensive zone, raced past a Skidmore defender and backhanded a shot into the upper half of the cage.
UP NEXT
Hobart will be back in action next Saturday, Feb. 17, when it welcomes Vermont State Castleton to The Cooler for a NEHC Quarterfinal contest. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].