PURCHASE, N.Y. - The Manhattanville College men's hockey team will start its quest for a final ECAC West Tournament championship on home ice for the 10th time in the last 12 years this weekend, as the second-seeded Valiants host third-seeded and national #6/6 Hobart College in the ECAC West semifinals on Saturday night at Playland Ice Casino.

WHEN: Saturday, February 25 - 7 p.m.

WHERE: Playland Ice Casino (Rye, N.Y.)
Tickets for the game are $7.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. All Manhattanville students and staff (with valid ID) will be admitted free of charge courtesy of the Athletic Department. Fans who cannot make it to Rye for the game can follow live stats and live video at http://www.govaliants.com/live.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: Manhattanville enters the ECAC West Tournament as a top-two seed for the 11th time in the last 15 seasons. The Valiants are 12-13 all-time in conference tournament play, and have captured four ECAC West Tournament championships (2005, 2007, 2008, 2010). In postseason play, Manhattanville is 6-4 on home ice in conference tournament games, including a 5-3 mark at Playland.

SEASON SERIES: Manhattanville won both games against Hobart this year, handing the Statesmen two of their four losses this season both by the score of 5-3. Sophomore Matt Lippa (Richmond Hill, Ont./Oakville Blades (OJHL)) had two and an assist on November 11 to lead the team to a win, and the Valiants clinched a top-two seed with another victory on February 10 behind another multi-goal game from Lippa. The two wins marked the first time since 2010-11 that the Valiants took at least two games from the Statesmen in a season.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Manhattanville is 24-22-5 all-time against Hobart and 3-1-0 in the last four meetings, although the Valiants are just 5-14-1 in the last 20 games between the two teams dating back to 2011. In postseason play, the Statesmen hold a 3-1-0 edge in four all-time meetings, but the teams have not met in the playoffs since a 6-2 Hobart win at Playland exactly five years ago tomorrow on February 25, 2012.

PLAYING UP THE OPPOSITION: Manhattanville is 4-2-0 against nationally ranked teams this season, including two wins against Hobart. The Valiants also knocked off the #1 team in the country, Saint Norbert College, by a 3-2 score on November 26, and also have a win over then-#13/14 Neumann University on January 20. In six games, the Valiants have outscored their nationally ranked opposition by an 18-17 margin and have won the last three of those contests.
 
QUICK STARTERS: Manhattanville has been an excellent team playing from ahead this season. The Valiants have outscored their opponents 26-13 in the first period this season and are a perfect 12-0-0 when heading into the first intermission with a lead.

LIPPA'S LEAP: Lippa has made a huge leap in his production this season with 15 goals, the most scored by a Valiant underclassman since Jason Murfitt '08 potted 16 goals in 2005-06. He finished the regular season fifth in the ECAC West Conference in goals and is one away from 10th place on the school's single-season list.

SOPHOMORE STRENGTH: With Lippa leading the way, Manhattanville's sophomore class has accounted for 56 percent of the team's goals this season, having scored 52 of the team's 92 goals. Four of the team's top-six goal scorers are in their second season with the team.
 
ABOUT THE STATESMEN: Hobart has been ranked in the top-10 of the USCHO.com and D3hockey.com national polls all season long and have been beaten by only two teams (Manhattanville and Utica College) all year. The Statesmen reached the semifinals with a 6-2 win over sixth-seeded Stevenson University on Wednesday, with senior Bobby Sokol and junior Ben Greiner leading the way with a goal and an assist each. Senior Nick Bingaman leads Hobart with 17 goals to tie for 13th in Division III entering the weekend, while sophomore Jonas Toupal ranks 10th in the country in scoring among defensemen with 21 points in 26 games. Junior Frank Oplinger has been one of the top goalies in the conference all season, posting a .920 save percentage and 2.49 goals against average.

WHAT'S AT STAKE: The winner of Saturday's game advances to the final ECAC West Tournament championship game, where they will face off with the winner of Saturday's other semifinal between top-seeded Utica College and fifth-seeded Neumann University. The title tilt will take place on Saturday, March 4 at the home of the highest remaining seed.