GENEVA, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University men's hockey team showed grit, resilience, and flashes of high-level play on Saturday afternoon, battling No. 1 Hobart College on the road at The Cooler in a tough 8–1 final.
The Valiants wasted no time establishing their physical presence, winning the opening face off and generating early shots from Brandon Paluszak (Powell, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) against the nation's top-ranked program. Hobart struck first just under two minutes into the contest, but Manhattanville responded with strong defensive structure and relentless shot blocking throughout the opening frame.
Goaltender Tripp Clarke (Cazenovia, N.Y./Northern Cyclones (USPHL Premier)) anchored the effort, turning aside wave after wave of Hobart pressure to keep the Valiants within reach, collecting 17 saves in the first period. Manhattanville also earned a late first-period power play, moving the puck well and testing Hobart goaltender Damon Beaver with shots from Ryan McKenna (Spokane, Wash./Sheridan Hawks (NA3HL)), Lucas Baskay, and Caden Eaton (Indian River, Mich./Cornwall Colts (CCHL)), but the score remained 1–0 heading into intermission.
Hobart extended its lead early in the second period with a power-play goal, but Manhattanville answered in decisive fashion. At the 10:08 mark, Jack Roberts (Middlefield, CT/Lyman Hall) buried an even-strength goal to cut the deficit in half, finishing a strong sequence set up by Mitchell Watson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Canmore Eagles (AJHL)) and Zach Turner (Eagle, Colo./Powassan Voodoos (NOJHL)). The goal energized the Valiants bench and briefly shifted momentum, as Manhattanville pressed for an equalizer and continued to challenge Hobart at five-on-five.
Despite the push, the host Statesmen capitalized on a stretch of sustained offensive pressure later in the second, scoring three goals over the final eight minutes of the period to take a 5–1 lead into the third. Clarke remained composed in net, making a total of 14 key saves during the period to prevent the game from getting further out of hand.
Manhattanville opened the third period aggressively, generating early shots from Johno Hoins (Telluride, Colo./The Frederick Gunn School / Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) and Jack Cullen (Trumbull, Conn./Charlotte Rush (USPHL)), including a pipe-rattling shot from Cullen that narrowly missed finding the back of the net. However Hobart capitalized on their fierce plays adding to their goal tally adding two more with over ten minutes left in the game.
The Valiants continued to compete hard, blocking shots and creating opportunities against a deep Hobart lineup. Clarke and later William Billequey (Montreal, Quebec/Vermont Lumberjacks (EHL)) swapped places after facing heavy pressure down the stretch, with Billequey making several solid stops after entering midway through the period. Hobart managed to collect one final goal with the final 15 seconds on the clock, ending the game 8-1 in favor of the Statesmen.
The Valiants went stride for stride with Hobart physically, competing hard from start to finish, and demonstrating their ability to create scoring chances against top-tier competition. The final score did not capture the level of effort, structure, or determination Manhattanville displayed against the nation's top-ranked team.
Up Next:
Manhattanville will look to take another step forward in the new year, resuming play after Winter Break with a January 3rd road match up at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, set for 6 PM.
