Box Score Box Score
RYE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville men's hockey team continued to be puzzled by the enigma that is Hobart College, as the second-seeded Valiants' postseason run came to a halt with a 6-2 loss to the third-seeded Statesmen in the ECAC West Conference Tournament semifinals, played on Saturday night at Playland Ice Casino.
With the win, Hobart (15-10-1) advances to the ECAC West championship game, where the team will host fifth-seeded Neumann, which toppled top-seeded Elmira on the road Saturday night. Manhattanville has its season come to a close with a 13-9-3 overall record.
After dropping a pair of contests to Hobart to end the regular season last weekend, Manhattanville hoped to get off to a good start in the postseason. And yet, it was the Statesmen's Harry Radovich who fired a shot from the point through a screen in front that found the net just 99 seconds into the game to put Hobart up by a goal early. Tommaso Traversa added a second goal less than four minutes later, and the visitors took a two-goal lead into the intermission.
The Valiants struggled to get many good scoring opportunities in the opening 20 minutes, ending on the wrong end of a 13-6 shot differential.
Manhattanville rebounded in the second period, earning much more of the possession and keeping Hobart off the scoreboard. However, a late goal by Mike White with 34 seconds remaining in the frame killed any good feelings the team had and put the home squad in a deep hole entering the third.
After Brad Richard made it a 4-0 Hobart lead 3:01 into the final frame, senior co-captain Evan Michalchuk (Edmonton, Alta./Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)) broke the ice on the power play at the 5:15 mark to make it a three-goal game once again. Assists on the tally went to classmate Dillon O'Hara (Wallingford, Conn./South Kent School) and sophomore Luc Van Natter (Fort Erie, Ont./Aurora Tigers (OPJHL)).
But Manhattanville would get no closer the rest of the night, as Tommy Fiorentino scored six minutes later to regain the four-goal lead and Tom Rush added an empty-net tally with 1:42 remaining. Freshman Mark Rivera (Belmar, N.J./Springfield Pics (EJHL)) scored his 10th goal of the year on the power play with seven seconds left, with assists going to juniors Scott Hudson (St. Albert, Alta./Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)) and Brendan Turner (Tisdale, Sask./Lloydminster Bobcats (AJHL)), but it was not nearly enough to get Manhattanville close.
Hobart finished the night with a 35-28 edge in total shots, including a 26-12 edge in the first two periods before Manhattanville posted a 16-9 edge in the final frame. Senior Pierre-Olivier Lemieux (Rimouski, Que./Neepawa Natives (MJHL)) turned aside 29 shots in his final collegiate game to finish his career with a program-record 1,724 saves, while Hobart netminder Nick Broadwater made 26 saves on 28 shots to earn his fifth win of the year.
The Valiant special-team units did have a good night in a losing effort, as the squad went 2 for 5 on the power play while also holding the Statesmen scoreless on five man-up chances.
Saturday's game marks the final game in the collegiate careers of seniors Lemieux, Michalchuk, O'Hara, Bill Silengo (Madison, Conn./South Kent School), Marcus von Sydow (Stockholm, Sweden/Djugarden J20 (SWE)) and Niclas Wennerlof (Gothenburg, Sweden/Frolunda Indians (SWE)) as well as junior Derek Serdachny (Yorkton, Sask./Yorkton Terriers (SJHL)).
