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Hobart hockey earns top 5 ranking for 1st time
February 13, 2006
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Longo has led Hobart to its first |
GENEVA, N.Y.—Coming off a weekend sweep of conference rival Utica, the Hobart College hockey team moved up to No. 5 in the latest edition of the USCHO.com Division III poll, the highest national ranking in the program’s 28 varsity seasons.
During Hobart’s 1-0 win over the Pioneers on Friday night, records were breaking like it was disco night at Old Comiskey Park. First-year goalie Keith Longo (Hopedale, Mass.) broke two individual records while backstopping the team to its record-breaking 16th win of the season. He made 29 saves, including 16 in the third period, to earn his third shutout of the season. No Statesman goalie had ever posted more than two shutouts in a season, nor had any Statesman ever posted more than two shutouts in a career.
With Saturday’s 5-4 win over Utica, Hobart put an additional win between the current crop of Statesmen and the previous record holders, the 1978-79 squad (15-16-1) and the 2003-04 team (15-8-5).
On Feb. 22, 2004, the Statesmen debuted at No. 14, marking the first national ranking for the Hobart hockey team. The Statesmen were ranked as high as ninth during the 2003-04 season. During last year’s campaign, Hobart climbed to as high as No. 11 after upsetting top-ranked No. 1 Manhattanville on Jan. 24, 2005.
This season, the Statesmen debuted in the top 15 on Nov. 28 after capturing the Babson Invitational Tournament championship with a convincing 5-1 victory over now-12th ranked Milwaukee School of Engineering. Three times this campaign, Hobart has been ranked as high as seventh, most recently after a weekend sweep of Lebanon Valley on the Feb. 4-5.
Hobart (17-5-0, 8-4-0) returns to action at 4 p.m. on Feb. 18, when the Statesmen host Elmira (12-8-2, 5-6-1) at The Cooler. Hobart will honor its nine seniors prior to the start of the contest.