Seven members of the Hobart College hockey team were honored by the ECAC West with end of season awards. Senior forward Mac Olson (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) headlined as the ECAC West Player of the Year, senior forward Ben Gamache (Longlac, Ontario) was named the Defensive Player of the Year and Head Coach Mark Taylor was selected the Coach of the Year.
Olson, senior forward Brad Robbins (Murrieta, Calif.), junior defenseman Carl Belizario (Dorval, Quebec) and senior goaltender Lino Chimienti (Montreal, Quebec) earned spots on the all-conference first team. Junior defenseman Jon Neal (Encinitas, Calif.) was voted to the second team and Gamache garnered honorable mention. In addition, first-year defenseman Tanner Shaw (Toronto, Ontario) was named to the All-Rookie Team.
It’s the sixth time and second year in a row that Taylor has been named the ECAC West Coach of the Year. He led the Statesmen to a 19-4-2 regular season record and a 12-3-0 mark in the ECAC West and Hobart’s 14th consecutive winning season. The Statesmen clinched the ECAC West regular season title for the second year in a row and fourth time in program history, earning the No. 1 seed in the ECAC West tournament. Hobart leads the ECAC West in scoring offense, averaging 4.12 goals per game, and scoring defense, allowing 2.00 goals per game. The Statesmen are second in the league on the penalty kill (90.1%). Taylor is in his 16th season at Hobart and has a 248-141-38 overall record. He is just the fourth man to lead the Statesmen and has more wins than all of his predecessors combined.
Olson has played in all 25 games this season. He ranks second on the team with 13 goals and third with 24 points. Olson posted a season-high four points on a hat trick and an assist in a 5-3 win at Nazareth. He logged the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Skidmore and registered three points on two goals and an assist in a 6-1 rout of Manhattanville. Olson ranks fifth in the conference in goals, sixth in points, tied for fifth in short-handed points (2), tied for second in short-handed goals (2), and tied for 17th in assists (11).
A captain, Olson has played in 100 career games. He has posted 45 goals and 27 assists for 92 career points. Olson garnered All-ECAC West second team honors in 2013-14 and All-Rookie honors in 2012-13.
Gamache is tied for first in the ECAC West with 18 assists this season. He has played in 21 games this winter and ranks second on Hobart with 25 points. He also played a key role in Hobart allowing a league-low 32 goals in ECAC West play. Gamache tied a program record with four assists in a 9-2 victory over Brockport. He assisted every goal in a 3-0 shutout of Nazareth. Gamache ranks fifth in the league in points, tied for 19th in goals, tied for fifth in short-handed points (2), and tied for sixth in game-winning goals (2). He was named to the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week once this year.
A captain, Gamache has played in 99 career games and has posted 32 goals and 50 assists for 82 career points. It’s the second time he has garnered All-ECAC West honorable mention in his career.
Robbins leads Hobart with 29 points and 16 goals in 25 games. He has registered four three-point games and posted a season-high four points on four assists, tying a program record, in a 7-3 win over Utica. Robbins logged the game-winning goals in a 4-1 triumph over Neumann and in a 3-0 win over Nazareth. He ranks second in the ECAC West in points, third in goals, tied for six in assists (13), tied for 11th in power-play points (6), tied for eighth in power-play goals (3) and tied for sixth in game-winning goals. He garnered a spot on D3hockey.com’s National Team of the Week and was named the ECAC Player of the Week once this year.
Robbins has played in 49 games in his Hobart career. He has registered 25 goals and 21 assists for 46 points as a Statesman.
Belizario has played in all 25 games. He has posted four goals and 10 assists for 14 points. Belizario is tied for second in the league in defenseman scoring, tied for second in power-play goals (4), and tied for eighth in power-play points (7). He was named to the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week twice this season. Belizario plays a key role in the Statesmen defensive unit that is tied for 10th in the nation in scoring defense (2.00 ga/gm).
Belizario has played in 78 career games. He has recorded 10 goals and 31 assists for 41 career points.
Chimienti has played in 14 games this season. He is sporting a 1.81 goals against average and a .943 save percentage. Chimienti has made a total of 416 saves and has a 10-2-2 record in goal. He stopped a season-high 45 shots in a 1-1 tie with then No. 8/7 Trinity. Chimienti has made 40 or more saves three times this season. He leads the league in goals against average and save percentage and ranks second in win percentage (.786). Chimienti was named the ECAC West Goalie of the Week four times and earned a spot on the league’s honor roll twice. In addition, he was named to the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week once.
Chimienti has played in 40 career games. He has registered a 2.48 career goals against average and a .919 career save percentage. He’s 30-12-5 in goal at Hobart.
Neal has played in 24 games this season. An integral part of the defense and Hobart’s penalty kill that ranks third in the nation (90.1 %). He has also contributed offensively, notching eight assists. Neal produced two assists in a 6-2 win over Nazareth and again in a 7-1 win at Neumann.
Neal has played in 79 career games, posting five goals and 24 assists for 29 career points.
Shaw has played in 24 games in his rookie season. He has recorded three goals and six assists for nine points. Shaw garnered a spot on the league’s weekly honor roll once after logging his first career goal in a 5-3 win over Nazareth and posting two assists in a 5-1 win over Utica the next day. He notched two assists in a 4-2 win over Curry and added a goal and an assist in a 7-3 victory over the Pioneers. Shaw is tied for 10th in the ECAC West in defenseman scoring and tied for 12th in first-year scoring.
As the ECAC West Tournament’s top seed, Hobart earned a first round bye. The Statesmen will host the lowest remaining seed in The Cooler on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
