February 3, 2007

Andrew Brennan led the Statesmen with two goals and an assist. (Photo by Kevin Colton)

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College ice hockey team defeated Lebanon Valley 5-4 in an ECAC West contest tonight at The Cooler. The Statesmen improve to 11-5-5 overall and 3-5-3 in the conference, while the Flying Dutchmen drop to 2-20-1, 0-12-1.

Sophomore Andrew Brennan (Milford, Mass.) sparked the Statesmen today with two goals and an assist, while senior Alex Beatrice (Randolph, N.J.) also allied two goals and an assist for the Flying Dutchmen.

After a scoreless first period, Hobart sophomore Jason Merritt (Chapel Hill, N.C.) netted his sixth goal of the season off assists from senior Mike Manos (North Andover, Mass.) and Brennan, giving the Statesmen a 1-0 lead at 1:12 in the second.

Lebanon Valley answered with two quick goals of its own, courtesy of sophomore Eli Facchinei (Atco, N.J.) and Beatrice. The Flying Dutchmen took the 2-1 lead into the second break.

Brennan evened things up at 4:49 in the third period, assisted by junior Ted Brzek (Duxbury, Mass.). The tie was short-lived, as LVC took the lead again after two more quick goals, less than a minute apart. Beatrice tallied first, following passes from sophomore Bert Malloy (Cheshire, Conn.) and senior Jeff Smith (Frederickton, N.B.), then Beatrice and Smith set up first-year Casey Mignone (Ramsey, N.J.), giving Lebanon Valley a 4-2 lead.

Brennan scored his second goal of the night at 10:17 in the third, which was promptly followed by a tally from junior Shawn Houde (Manchester, N.H.) at 10:36. Brzek, Merritt, and senior Mike McCarthy (Medfield, Mass.) assisted the goals.

Hobart finally broke the 4-4 tie with just over five minutes left in regulation. Kirk Golden (Vail, Colo.) netted the game winner, assisted by junior Brian Cibelli (Liverpool, N.Y.) and first-year Blake Bonham (Toronto, Ontario).

Sophomore goaltender Keith Longo (Hopedale, Mass.) earned the win for the Statesmen with 19 saves on the day, while first-year Aaron Miller (Toronto, Ontario) registered 49 saves for the Flying Dutchmen.

Thirteenth-ranked Hobart will be back in action on Feb. 9 when it hosts Elmira for an ECAC West game at 7 p.m. in The Cooler.