Statesmen earn 1st round bye in NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Touranment
Hobart Sports Information Department
By: Mackenzie Larsen '12
The Hobart hockey team earned one of the two first round byes in the 14-team NCAA Division III Men's ice Hockey Championship. The Statesmen are the three-time defending national champions and earned the SUNYAC's automatic bid.
Ten teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championships, while four teams were awarded at-large bids. Hobart awaits the winner of the first round game between St. Norbert and the University of New England. The first-round game between the Green Knights and Nor'easters will be played Saturday, March 14, in De Pere, Wisconsin.
The quarterfinal contest at The Cooler is set to begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 21. Tickets will be $6 for adults, $4 for students with ID and $3 for children ages 3-11, children 2 and under get in free. HWS students, faculty and staff will be admitted free with a valid OneCard courtesy of HWS Athletics and the SAA. All tickets must be purchased at the door. Doors will open at 6 p.m.
Hobart (28-0-0) is making its 15th appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Statesmen have been selected to 11 straight tournament fields. It is the longest active streak in the nation. Hobart is 15-10 all-time in the tournament, winning the last three national championships.
Hobart entered the weekend first in the nation in scoring offense (5.44), scoring defense (0.93) and scoring margin (+4.52). The Statesmen are second in the nation in power-play percentage (.343) and fourth in penalty-killing percentage (.908).
Hobart's offense is led by sophomore forward Arvega Hovsepyan's 41 points on 11 goals and 30 assists. His linemates seniors Kahlil Fontana (20g, 20a) and Tanner Daniels (15g, 20a) have 40 and 35 points, respectively. Junior defenseman Connor Lally has 36 points, notching 12 goals and 24 assists. All four players are in the top 27 in the nation in points per game led by Hovsepyan who is ninth. Hovsepyan is also fourth in the nation in assists per game. Fontana is eighth in the nation in goals per game.
Seniors Damon Beaver and Mavrick Goyer have split time in goal this season. Beaver is 18-0-0 with a 0.89 GAA, a .956 save percentage and seven shutouts. Goyer is 9-0-0 with a 0.96 GAA a .942 save percentage and six shutouts.
St. Norbert (21-6-2) earned an automatic bid after defeating Aurora 3-1 in the NCHA championship game. UNE (21-6-0) was awarded an at-large bid after falling to Endicott in the CNE championship game.
