February 9, 2007

Conor Bradley recorded a goal and an assist for Hobart. (Photo by Kevin Colton)

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College ice hockey team dropped a hard-fought ECAC West contest to Elmira 3-2 tonight at The Cooler. The Statesmen slip to 11-6-5 overall and 3-6-3 in the league, while the Soaring Eagles improve to 11-8-3 and 6-5-1 in league play.

Senior Conor Bradley (West Hartford, Conn.) led the 12th-ranked Hobart squad with a goal and an assist on the night, while classmate Mike Polsonetti (Lynn, Mass.) recorded a goal, and sophomore Jason Merritt (Chapel Hill, N.C.) added a helper.

Elmira’s Andrew Bedford (Mississauga, Ontario) started the Soaring Eagles off with a power-play goal just under seven minutes into the game. He was assisted by Justin Joy (Norfolk, N.Y.). Bradley responded 16 seconds later with a goal of his own, unassisted, evening the score at 1-1.

The lone goal of the second period came from Elmira sophomore Stefan Schoen (Arth, Switzerland), and was set up by classmate Dave McKenna (Toronto, Ontario).

Sophomore Jan Velich (Pardubice, Czech Republic) gave the Soaring Eagles a two-goal lead at 9:55 in the third. The tally would eventually become the game-winner.

Polsonetti gave the Statesmen a new energy at 17:47 as he scored an extra-man goal, cutting Elmira’s lead to one. Bradley and Merritt assisted. Hobart put the pressure on for the remainder of the game, but could not capitalize.

Sophomore goalkeeper Keith Longo (Hopedale, Mass.) stopped 21 shots for the Statesmen, while first-year Casey Tuttle (Chelsea, Maine) tallied 15 saves for Elmira.

Hobart will travel to Elmira tomorrow to wrap up the two-game series with the Soaring Eagles. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Listen to the game live on WEOS-FM (89.7/90.3 in Geneva, 88.1 in Ithaca) or log on to web.hws.edu/statesmen/hockey/schedule.asp and click on the live coverage link.