Following last weekend’s first-round bye, Hobart will begin defense of their national championship with a first ever matchup with Trine on Saturday night in Geneva, NY. The Statesmen are unbeaten on home ice this season and look to extend that streak against a strong challenger in a Thunder team that knocked off Oswego in the first-round last week by a 4-1 score.
“The only people ever to say a week off is a bad thing are the ones that lose the next game,” said Hobart head coach Mark Taylor. “ We had a week of rest, no injuries, no game or bad puck bounces so we will be ready to go on Saturday night in front of our very passionate fan base at “The Cooler” on Saturday.”
Hobart has a very deep lineup starting in goal where juniors Damon Beaver (15 GP – 1.13 goals-against average – .951 save percentage – 5 shutouts) and Mavrick Goyer (13 GP – 0.84 goals-against average – .956 save percentage – 7 shutouts) have combined for twenty-six wins and twelve shutouts this season.
The defensive corps is deep and productive on both ends of the ice led by graduate student Austin Mourar (9G – 11A – 20 Pts; +29), sophomore Bauer Morrissey (3G – 18A – 21 Pts; +22), sophomore Conor Lally (2G – 14A – 16 Pts; +17) and senior Cooper Swift (0G – 16A – 16 Pts; +29). The group is strong situationally and can play with physicality and speed.
Up front the Statesmen boast the NEHC Player of the Year in junior Tanner Daniels (18G – 21A – 39 Pts; +35) who has demonstrated a knack for scoring big goals including five game-winning goals for Hobart this season. Senior Luke Aquaro (14G – 17A – 31 Pts; +29) has also had an impressive season along with a strong set of forwards that gives the Statesmen the depth to continuously roll four lines that are productive on the ice and the scoresheet.
“The tournament was obviously constructed well when see almost all of the top seeds advancing to the next round,” stated Taylor. Trine is a very good team and have a very good coach in Alex Todd who was successful at Castleton and then D-I before coaching at Trine. We know a lot of each other’s players from the recruiting battles, so we expect a challenging game on Saturday where we are ready and excited to play.”
“They are a very good hockey club,” said Todd. ”We are going to have to find ways to take some “inches” in the game that help us compete and be in a position to win. I thought we did a lot of those things in the battle with Oswego and will know look to be a even better in the quarterfinal matchup against Hobart. It will be a tough place to play but we are looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity for the program on the national stage.”
The Thunder face-off with Hobart on Saturday, March 22 at 7 PM at The Cooler in Geneva, New York with the winner advancing to the Frozen Four next weekend.
