Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Winning Together

After the hard-fought win against Curry, Hobart had earned a return trip to the national semifinals and headed back to Hartford.

Taking on their Central New York rival, No. 2 Utica, Hobart pinned the Pioneers in their own zone from the opening whistle. Austin Mourar ’24 opened the scoring 52 seconds into the game. Seven minutes later, Hartman scored to give Hobart a 2-0 lead. Utica clawed back a goal just before the midway point of the game, but they could not sneak another shot past Beaver, who made 22 saves. Shell added an empty net goal late in regulation to send Hobart to the national championship game.

The championship game was defined by defense, with the two best-scoring defenses backed by the country’s best goalies in Beaver and Trinity’s Devon Bobak, the National Player of the Year.

The game lived up to the hype with 32 saves from Bobak and 24 for Beaver. After a scoreless first period, Aquaro deked around Bobak and slipped a shot across the goal line with just over a minute remaining in the second period, notching his 100th career point. The tight defense persisted through the third period, until Matthew Iasenza ’25, who missed the 2023 title game with an injury, sealed the victory with an empty net goal.

When the initial celebration subsided, Mourar was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, with Aquaro, Hartman and Beaver joining him on the all-tournament team. Reflecting on the game and the team’s outstanding defense in the Finger Lakes Times, Mourar pointed to the team’s dogged, harmonious play.

“We have some of the most hard-working forwards getting back,” he said. “I’ve never played on a team that comes back like that, and it’s refreshing. Then, if something does squeak through, you have the best goalie in the nation behind you. It’s pretty easy to play defense when you have those two things going for you.”

As the team celebrated their victory, the feeling of vicarious joy was infectious, as Taylor explained to USCHO.com. “As good as these guys are on the ice, they are better people and closer off it,” he said. “Mudita is when you can joyfully celebrate others success and you saw that with Iasenza and his teammates after the goal. None of these guys are looking for personal accolades and are thrilled with the team’s success that everyone is a part of whether they are playing or not — everyone supports the team."

Academic Excellence

Every eligible Statesmen hockey player was named to the 2023-24 NEHC All-Academic Team. To be eligible, students must carry a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and have completed one full year at their current institution by the beginning of the hockey season. Of Hobart’s 29-man roster, all 23 eligible players earned the honor — a program record.

SETTING RECORDS

Win streak. Hobart’s 14-game win streak to close out the season matched the program record, set last year when the team won 14 straight to open their national title campaign.

Assists. The 276 assists the team tallied this season set a new program record, surpassing the 1978-79 team’s mark by nearly 20 helpers.

Goals allowed. Only 30 goals got by Hobart goalies all season, setting a new program record, while the GAA lowered the mark set last year by 0.31. Beaver surpassed his own single-season percentage record. Together, he and Goyer set a new record for the program’s GAA record.

Shutouts. This seaon’s 13 shutouts beat last year’s team record and matched the NCAA Division III record for shutouts in a season. Beaver matched his own record for shutouts in a season with seven. His 14 career shutouts are the most in program history.

Power kill. Hobart’s 96.8 penalty-killing percentage set an NCAA Division III record. The Statesmen allowed just three power-play goals all season.