#12 Hobart downs Wildcats 6-1

PAWTUCKET, R.I.-The 12th-ranked Hobart College ice hockey team cruised to a 6-1 victory over Johnson and Wales University in a New England Hockey Conference contest at Lynch Arena this afternoon. With the win, the Statesmen improve to 7-4-0 overall and 5-3-0 in the NEHC. Five different players recorded multi-point games for the Statesmen in the win. Junior Zach Sternbach led the way with a pair of goals. Junior Alexander Connal made 16 saves in goal as he improved to 3-3-0 on the season. Chad Guderian scored for the Wildcats (3-7-2, 1-6-1). Mike Rockwell made 31 saves in the Johnson and Wales goal. Sternbach opened the scoring at the 13:42 mark of the opening period, when he fired a shot from the left faceoff circle past Rockwell. Senior Jonas Toupal and first-year Dan Sliney where credited with assists on the goal. The assist was the first collegiate point. Hobart outshot the Wildcats 13-1 in the opening period. The Statesmen broke the game open with three goals in the opening four minutes of the second period. Sophomore Mark Benemerito scored his first collegiate goal 71 seconds into the frame. He collected a pass from fellow sophomore Travis Schneider and slid the puck past Rockwell. Just under a minute later, Sliney scored his first collegiate goal to give Hobart a 3-0 lead. Benemerito was credited with an assist on the goal. Sternbach's second goal of the game and third of the season extended the Statesmen's lead to 4-0. Sophomore Mitchell Spring and Toupal notched assists on the goal. Schneider added a goal of his own at 14:36 of the second period. He one-timed a shot from the slot into the back of the net. First-year Zach Tyson was credited with an assist on the goal. It was Schneider's eighth goal of the season. Guderian broke up the shutout attempt with a power-play goal at the 5:48 mark of the third period. Jordan Stone picked up an assist on the goal. Junior Will Harrison added an insurance goal at the 8:13 mark of the third period. His power-play goal was assisted by senior Cam Shaheen. It was Harrison's second goal of the season. Hobart finished the game with a 37-17 edge in shots on goal. Both teams had a power-play goal in the contest. The Statesmen were 1-for-4 with the extra attacker while the Wildcats were 1-for-6 with the man advantage. Hobart will be back in action Dec. 29-30 when they head to Middlebury, Vt. The Statesmen will wrap up the 2018 portion of their scheduled at the 2018 Middlebury Holiday Classic. Hobart will take on the University of New England in its first game of the Tournament.