The Hobart College hockey team downed the No. 1 team in the nation and previously undefeated Plattsburgh State 3-1 in the championship game of the Cardinals’ Buck Supply Winter Classic in Plattsburgh, N.Y., tonight. It’s the third time in program history that the Statesmen have upset the No. 1 team in the country.
Previously, Hobart topped then No. 1 Oswego 5-2 on Dec. 11, 2010, and the Statesmen upset then No. 1 Manhattanville 5-2 on Jan. 22, 2005.
This year’s Statesmen improve to 4-4-4 overall. Hobart advanced to the championship of the Winter Classic after handing No. 7 Williams its first loss of the season yesterday, topping the Ephs in overtime by score of 3-2. Plattsburgh State is now 10-1-2 overall.
Six different Statesmen earned a point in the victory and sophomore Lino Chimienti (Montreal, Quebec) made a career-high 39 saves, playing all 60 minutes in goal for Hobart. Chimienti was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Sophomore Mac Olson (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and first-years Mitch Beyer (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and Carl Belizario (Dorval, Quebec) joined Chimienti on the all-tournament team.
The Statesmen jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, scoring their two goals just 19 seconds apart. Beyer gave Hobart a 1-0 advantage at 7:58 finding the back of the net on a shot from the high slot. It was his first collegiate goal. Junior Peter Quigley (Monroe, Conn.) earned the assist. Just 19 seconds later, sophomore Bo Webster (Aurora, Ontario) chipped in his third goal this season on a turnaround shot in the left circle after a pass from junior Brad McBride (Lone Tree, Colo.).
In the second period, Plattsburgh State out shot Hobart 16-8, but the Statesmen defense held strong as Hobart held its 2-0 lead into the third period. Just over six minutes into the final stanza, McBride broke through for a one-on-one with the Cardinals’ goalie, Mathieu Cadieux. Cadieux sprawled out to make the stop. Minutes later, Olson had his own breakaway. This time Cadieux skated out to push the puck away with his stick before Olson could get a shot off. Cadieux finished with 25 saves in 59:51 in goal.
With just under 10 minutes left in the game, Alex Jensen almost put Plattsburgh State on the board. During a Statesmen power play, Jensen broke through the Hobart defense and fired a shot on goal, but Chimienti rejected the chance. The Cardinals came inches away from capitalizing with just under six minutes on the clock. Barry Roytman drilled a shot that banged off the post, and the rebound bounced out to Luke Baleshta. He pushed a shot on goal, but Chimienti was there to make the save once again.
With just 2:26 remaining in the game and seconds after the Cardinals pulled their goalie for the extra skater, Olson sent in an empty net goal to put Hobart up 3-0. Olson now shares a team-high with five goals this season. Sophomore Ben Gamache (Longlac, Ontario) was credited with the assist.
With just 40 seconds remaining, Rich Botting broke through for Plattsburgh prohibiting the shutout by scoring on a shot from just inside the blue line. Dillan Fox and Alex Brenton picked up the assists.
The Cardinals finished with a 40-28 advantage in shots. Hobart went 0-for-1 on the power play and killed all three of Plattsburgh’s power play attempts.
The Statesmen will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 10, when they travel to take on Nichols at 6:40 p.m.
