January 19, 2006

Bradley and the No. 7 Statesmen will host No. 3 Manhattanville this weekend at The Cooler. (photo by Kevin Colton)

GENEVA, N.Y.—Riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak, the Hobart College hockey team, ranked seventh in the latest edition of the USCHO.com Division III poll, will welcome third-ranked Manhattanville to The Cooler for a pair of critical conference contests this weekend. The puck drops at 7 p.m. on Jan. 20 and 4 p.m. the following afternoon.

Tickets are $3 for general admission, $1 for children under 12. Hobart and William Smith students, faculty, and staff are admitted free with a valid Colleges ID.

Entering the weekend, Manhattanville (13-1-0, 4-0-0 ECAC West), currently the ECAC West leader, has collected eight points in conference action, while the Statesmen (12-3-0, 3-2-0) have earned six.

“Manhattanville is going to be a big test for us, two great college hockey games,” Head Coach Mark Taylor said. “Being at home with the help of our fans, we can come away with four points.”

Under the guidance of Taylor, Hobart is 3-1-1 on its home ice in its last five meetings with Manhattanville. Since the beginning of the 2002-03 campaign, the Statesmen boast a 30-8-4 record (.762), including a 6-0-0 mark this season, at The Cooler.

Offensively, the Statesmen feature a balanced attack, with seven players collecting at least 11 points. Junior forward Conor Bradley (West Hartford, Conn.) and senior forward Ed Poirier (Methuen, Mass.) lead the charge with 20 points each. Bradley ranks in the top-10 in the nation in power-play goals (5th, 8) and goals (8th, 12).

Poirier, a consistent playmaker, has distributed a team-leading 15 assists (fourth in the conference) and scored five goals. On Dec. 2, in a 7-1 victory over Neumann, he tied the Hobart single-game record for assists, handing out four helpers. In six career games against the Valiants, Poirier boasts four points (3-1).

A shifty and dynamic player, junior forward Mike McCarthy (Medfield, Mass.) is the Statesmen’s third leading scorer with 18 points. McCarthy’s crisp passes have led to 12 assists (fifth in the conference).

Much of Hobart’s offensive success can be attributed to its suffocating defense, which has only surrendered 34 goals all season. Senior defenseman Greg Gallagher (Framingham, Mass.) and classmate Wesley Scott (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) are the top defensive pair, while junior Mike Manos (North Andover, Mass.) and first-year Andrew Brennan (Milford, Mass.) have excelled on the second line. The Statesmen back line will be at full strength with senior Will Bodine (North Massapequa, N.Y.) and junior Mike Polsonetti (Lynn, Mass.) at full strength following early season injuries.

Hobart first-year goaltender Keith Longo (Hopedale, Mass.) ranks first in the nation in save percentage (.948) and third in goals against average (1.42). He is just the second Statesmen to post back-to-back shutouts (Wentworth and Williams), logging a record-breaking scoreless streak of 180 minutes and 24 seconds.

On special teams, Hobart is eighth in the nation on the power play, capitalizing on 25 percent of its opportunities, while killing off, 85.3 percent of its opposition’s chances.

Manhattanville leads the conference in scoring offense (5.29 goals/game), scoring defense (2.21 gpg), penalty minutes (31.6 /g), power play (27.4%), penalty kill (89.3%), and goals allowed (31).
Offensively, the Valiants are paced by sophomore forward Jason Murfitt (14-20-34) and junior forward Jordan Menzies (9-21-30).
Junior goaltender Andrew Gallant anchors the defense. He is second in the league in goals against average (1.89) and third in save percentage (.927). In six games against the Statesmen, Gallant is 3-1-0 with a 2.45 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. Manhattanville is 6-0-0 on the road this season.

Those fans unable to make the trip to Geneva will be able to hear all of the action live courtesy of WEOS-Radio (89.7/90.3 in Geneva, 88.1 in Ithaca). Live online audio can be accessed via the Hobart hockey homepage.