RYE, N.Y. – Junior Matt Coleman (Brentwood, N.Y./Springfield Pics (EJHL)) had three points on a goal and two assists and freshman Stephen Gaul (Downers Grove, Ill./Springfield Pics (USPHL)) netted the eventual game-winner midway through the final frame as the Manhattanville College men's hockey team made a triumphant return to Playland Ice Casino with a thrilling 4-3 victory over D3hockey.com #15 Hobart College in ECAC West Conference action on Friday night.
 
Junior Paul Allan Bamberg (Lulea, Sweden/Lulea HF J20 (SWE)) added a goal and an assist and sophomore assistant captain Teagan Waugh (Nanaimo, B.C./Powell River Kings (BCHL)) also scored for Manhattanville (1-0-0, 1-0-0 ECAC West), which snapped an 11-game winless streak to the Statesmen dating back to 2011. Tyler Wolf, Robert Sovik and Brad McBride found the net for Hobart (1-2-0, 0-1-0 ECAC West) in a losing effort.
 
Playing on the Playland ice for the first time in more than two years, Manhattanville came out strong in the opening period and took the play to Hobart in the early going. Helped along by two Statesmen penalties, the Valiants got on the board first at the 4:58 mark when Waugh deflected a shot from sophomore Phil Dinner (Simsbury, Conn./Connecticut Oilers (EJHL)) past Hobart netminder Lino Chimienti for the five-on-three score.
 
The Valiants maintained their lead until a disastrous 20 seconds early in the second period gave Hobart not one but two tallies. McBride evened the score at one with a power-play goal at 1:52 of the middle stanza, and a misplay behind the Valiant net resulted in an easy put away for Wolf at 2:12.
 
Manhattanville evened the score less than six minutes later, when Bamberg took a pass from Coleman and sent a backhander top shelf over Chimienti's shoulder for his first goal of the season.
 
Heading into the third period with the game still in the balance, the home team again turned to special teams. After assisting on the first two goals, it was Coleman's chance to light the lamp himself at 4:34 of the third, quickly firing a feed from senior Eric McClure (Mitchell, Ont./Thorold Blackhawks (OJHL)) into the back of the net to make it a 3-2 game. The lead doubled at the 12:03 mark again on the man advantage, as Gaul potted the first of his career from senior captain Anton Racklin (Gothenburg, Sweden/Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)) to give the Valiants a two-goal edge.
 
That insurance goal proved to be very important in the final minutes, as two Valiant penalties and a pulled goalie gave Hobart a six-on-three advantage that Sovik converted to make it a 4-3 game with 39.8 ticks left on the clock. The Statesmen again got Chimienti to the bench for the final 20 seconds, but the Valiants blocked three shots in the defensive zone to pull out the victory.
 
Senior Brian Fleming (Saint John, N.B./Northern Cyclones (AJHL)) made 25 saves on 28 shots to pick up the victory for Manhattanville, while Chimienti made 24 saves on 28 shots to suffer the loss for Hobart.
 
Manhattanville will be back at Playland Ice Casino tomorrow night, as the Valiants host D3hockey.com #12 Elmira for a 7 p.m. ECAC West Conference faceoff.