Hobart conquers Oswego at home

GENEVA, N.Y. – In front of 663 Geneva faithful, the top-ranked Hobart Statesmen (21-0, 14-0 SUNYAC) fluently took down #6 Oswego State (14-4-2, 11-3 SUNYAC), 6-1, in a pivotal in-conference outing at The Cooler.

Arvega Hovsepsyan won the opening faceoff for the Statesmen, and it was a back-and-forth battle from there. 

The Lakers put four shots on net within the early stages of the first period, including a wrap-around chance for Michael Urgo, but the visiting squad ultimately found no success due to the aggressive defense of their opposition.

Physicality also headlined the first 10 minutes, as a multitude of hits and takedowns were had over the aforementioned time span.

The Statesmen got the better of a few scuffles, which led to pitch-perfect puck movement in their offensive zone. With 6:55 remaining, Tanner Daniels sped past two defenders, got into the offensive zone and subsequently found Hovsepyan, who then found Khalil Fontana for a seamless tip-in goal.

Offense was then turned into defense, as during a penalty kill, Beaver built upon his already-impressive outing to make a crucial save on a shot from Colin Vassallo.

Following a scuffle in front of the net, Cam Symons was sent to the penalty box for two minutes with 1:50 to go in the first period.

This disadvantage proved unfortunate for the Lakers, as Tanner Daniels was left open in the corner and sniped it past goalie Brandon Milberg to give the Statesmen a two-goal margin going into the intermission.

The lethal power play of Hobart struck once again, as Easton Ryan found the back of the net on a feed from Dominic Schimizzi.

Back on even strength, the Lakers perfected their attack and quickly responded with a goal from Josh Simpson after a misfire from Matt McQuade.

After a flurry of shots from the Statesmen, two more conversions were had. Fontana nabbed the first to make it 4-1, then Schimizzi followed up with one of his own to give his home squad a comfortable 5-1 lead.

This prompted a goalie change, as freshman Michael Manzi entered the pipes and Milberg was sent to the bench.

The Statesmen continued to fire shots left and right, overwhelming the Lakers and eventually converting, as Ryan found the back of the net on a rebound after a party in the crease.

A plethora of physical play was had to close out the second period, with the Statesmen holding a satisfying five-goal lead heading into the final intermission.

The Lakers won the opening faceoff of the third period but could not find success on the eight shots that they put on goal throughout the closing 20 minutes.

Even in the late stages, the Statesmen did not let their foot off the gas pedal. They won multiple face offs and kept steady on defense, putting the finishing touches on an authoritative five-goal victory.

With the win, Hobart is now tied with Cornell for the longest home winning streak at 62 straight games, having not lost at The Cooler since Feb. 26, 2022, vs. Skidmore.

“What it comes down to is taking every game one game at a time,” said Fontana, a captain for the team. “If you start thinking about ‘we need five more to break a record, or something like that’, we get caught looking ahead, then I think that’s when you miss out on the opportunity in front of you.”

The Lakers are now on a two-game skid and return home tomorrow to face off against #14 Geneseo at 7 p.m. ET, while the Statesmen hit the road to Morrisville and look to preserve their undefeated record against the Mustangs (2-16-3, 1-10-3 SUNYAC) on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. ET.