January 6, 2006

Longo and the seventh-ranked Statesmen will face No. 4 SUNY Oswego at 7 p.m. on Jan. 7. (photo by Kevin Colton)

GENEVA, N.Y.—Under the direction of Head Coach Mark Taylor, the seventh-ranked Hobart hockey team will take its eight-game winning streak, the longest streak in the program’s 28 varsity seasons, into a top-10 showdown at No. 4 SUNY Oswego at 7 p.m. on Jan. 7.

The recipe for the Statesmen’s success has been an explosive offense, averaging 5.18 goals per game, combined with a stingy defense, holding the opposition to 2.09 goals per game. Hobart has scored four or more goals (all wins), while allowing two or fewer goals seven times (again, all wins).

Offensively, the Statesmen feature a balanced attack, with five players logging at least 10 points. Junior forward Conor Bradley (West Hartford, Conn.) is ranked 31st in the nation in scoring with 17 points, including a team-leading 10 goals and seven helpers. The 2005 MVP of the Babson Tournament recorded his first career hat trick against Williams. Bradley is tied for second in the nation with seven power-play goals.

Senior Edward Poirier (Methuen, Mass.) has distributed a team-leading 14 assists (8th in the nation) and scored a pair of goals. On Dec. 2, during a 7-1 ECAC West win over Neumann, he tied the record for assists in a game, handing out four helpers. Poirier, senior Lee Carrier (Ballston Lake, N.Y.), Andy Boscetto ’03, and Greg Reynholds ’01 also recorded four assists in a game.

Senior forward Colby McVey (Chicago, Ill.) and junior forward Mike McCarthy (Medfield, Mass.) are tied for third on the team at 14 points. McVey ranks second in goals with nine, including a hat trick against SUNY Cortland, while McCarthy is second in assists (10).

Senior Greg Gallagher (Framingham, Mass.) has added a scoring punch from the blue line. His 10 points (2-8) are the tied for the fourth most by a defenseman in the conference. Gallagher was named the ECAC West Player of the Week for his four-point effort during a 7-5 victory over Elmira.

Gallagher and classmate Wesley Scott (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) have anchored the top defensive pair, while junior Mike Manos (North Andover, Mass.) and first-year Andrew Brennan (Milford, Mass.) have played fundamental hockey on the second line.

On special teams, Hobart features the second best penalty-killing unit in the conference, eliminating 73 of 85 (.850) of its opponents’ opportunities.

First-year netminder Keith Longo (Hopedale, Mass.) has been spectacular between the pipes. He sits atop the conference and second in the nation in goals against average (1.23) and save percentage (.952). In 391 minutes and 44 seconds of action, Longo has stopped 160 of 168 shots. He is just the second Statesmen to earn back-to-back shutouts (Wentworth 7-0, Williams 6-0), posting a record-breaking shutout streak of 180 minutes, 24 seconds.

Although Hobart has been bitten by the injury bug in the first half—seniors Will Bodine (North Massapequa, N.Y.), Will Brame (West Hartford, Conn.), and junior Michael Polsonetti (Lyon, Mass.) all have missed significant ice time—the Statesmen are expected to be at full strength for the start of the stretch run.

First-year defenseman Lukas Friedl (Amstetten, Austria), who represented the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation Under 20 Team in the World Championships, will also rejoin Hobart for the second-half stretch.

The Statesmen, tied for second in the ECAC West, will host No. 2 Manhattanville for a pair of games on Jan. 20-21 and Utica on Feb. 10-11 for critical conference contests.