February 12, 2005

GENEVA, N.Y.—Utica College scored three unanswered goals over the course of the second and third periods to upend Hobart College 3-1 in ECAC West ice hockey action this evening at The Cooler.

With both teams coming off key conference victories the night before—Hobart beat Elmira, while Utica downed RIT—neither squad could get their offenses going in the opening period. Combining for just 14 shots, the Statesmen and Pioneers were unable to generate any dangerous scoring chances and headed into the first intermission in a scoreless tie.

The Statesmen (13-5-4, 4-4-2 ECAC West) came out in the second period skating hard and controlling the puck. Winning the physical battle throughout much of the stanza, Hobart got its best chance of the game at the 13:37 mark, but Utica goaltender Adam Dekker (Muskegon, Mich.) made the point blank save.

Two minutes later, junior Edward Poirier (Methuen, Mass.) broke open the scoring, lighting the lamp off a centering pass from senior Jesse Desper (West Kennebunk, Maine) for his ninth goal of the year and a 1-0 Statesmen lead.

Hobart continued to control the action, but could not get the puck past Dekker for a second time.

Coming alive in the final two minutes of the second session, Utica senior Ryan Dolan (Sodus, N.Y.) capitalized on a power-play opportunity to tie the game at one heading into the third period.

The Pioneers (12-4-5, 6-1-1 ECAC West) carried that momentum into the third and took the lead for good at the 3:28 mark with a 5-on-3 power-play goal off a Dolan slap shot from the left wing. Seniors Jimmy Sokol (Webberville, Mich.) and Jon Ames (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) assisted on what proved to be the game-winner.

Sophomore Ryan Webb (White Lake, Mich.) put the game out of reach when he deflected the puck in the net just over two minutes later.

In goal, first-year Dimitri Papaevagelou (Windham, N.H.) had 21 stops for Hobart, while Dekker made 27, including 12 in the second period.

The Statesmen held a narrow 28-24 shot advantage over the Pioneers, but were unable to get their power play going, finishing the night 0-for-5 on those opportunities. Utica was 2-for-7 in its power-play chances.

Hobart returns to action on Feb. 19, traveling to the Flyer’s Skate Zone in Vorhees, N.J. to play Neumann College at 7:30 p.m.