New England Hockey Conference Championship
#1 Hobart College Statesmen (24-2-1) #3 Skidmore College Thoroughbreds (19-6-2)
Saturday, March 3, 7 p.m.; The Cooler; Geneva, N.Y.
 
GAME COVERAGE:
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO
 
ADMISSION:

• No charge for general admission. Seating capacity is limited.

 
MATCHUP:

• Both teams won at home last week to reach the championship game. Both are also appearing in the title game for the second time in the last three years.
• Hobart took down Southern Maine, 4-1, while Skidmore also skated to a 4-1 win over Elmira on home ice.
• For the Statesmen, goals were scored by Chris Duclair, Shane Shell, Austin Mourar, and Tanner Hartman. Damon Beaver had 21 saves.
• For the Thoroughbreds in the semifinal, Jaden York scored twice, Kaeden Patrick and Zach Frisk both scored once, and Danny Magnuson had three assists. Tate Brandon had 23 saves.
• Hobart will look to defend its 2023 title. The Statesmen have appeared in each of the past eight NCAA Tournaments.
• Skidmore, ranked ninth in the USCHO.com Poll, is seeking its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Hobart's squad features NEHC Player of the Year Artem Buzoverya (7-22--29), NEHC Rookie of the Year Bauer Morrissey (4-22--26), NEHC Coach of the Year Mark Taylor, as well as All-NEHC First Team honorees Tanner Hartman (17-25--42), Ignat Belov (16-19—35), Second Team honoree Damon Beaver (14-1-1, 1.00 GAA, .961 SV%), Third Team honorees Luke Aquaro (16-10--26), Jared Patterson (2-11--13), Matthieu Wuth (3-8--11), and All-Rookie Team selections Chris Duclair (13-10--23) and Bauer Morrissey (4-22--26).
• Brandon (19-4-2, 1.66 GAA, .939 SV%) was named the NEHC Goaltender of the Year for Skidmore. Danny Magnuson (10-18—28) was on the All-NEHC First Team, and Kaeden Patrick (14-14--28) was on the Second Team.

 
SERIES/POSTSEASON:

• This is the third year in a row that Skidmore and Hobart will meet in the playoffs, but the first time in the championship game.
• All three postseason games will have been played at The Cooler.
• Two seasons ago, Skidmore upset Hobart 3-2 in the semifinal. Last year, Hobart won 1-0 in another semifinal on the way to a national championship.
• Hobart has not lost at home (35-0) since Skidmore's semifinal victory on Feb. 26, 2022.
• The Statesmen won both games against the Thoroughbreds this year: 5-3 on Jan. 5 in Saratoga Springs, and 5-1 on Feb. 10 in Geneva.
• Hobart leads the all-time series 20-4-1.

 
ALSO/NEXT:

• The winner will claim the NEHC's automatic berth into next week's NCAA Tournament.
• There are eight other conference championships to be awarded this weekend. The nine winners will make the tournament, as will four others selected based off the NCAA Pairwise (computer) ranking.
• Hobart is ranked first and will reach the NCAA Tournament regardless of the championship outcome. Skidmore, ranked 12^th according to the computer model, will await other results for a potential at-large bid if it loses to Hobart.
• The 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Selection Show will air Monday, March 4th at 10 AM ET on NCAA.com. A link to the show will be on the front page of NCAA.com.

AROUND DIII:
Saturday:
Semifinals:
New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)- #4 Trinity vs. Middlebury – 1 p.m.; Tufts vs. Hamilton – 4:30 p.m.
Championships:
Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC)– Endicott vs. Salve Regina – 2 p.m.
Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) #11 Plymouth State vs. Fitchburg State – 6 p.m.
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC)- #15 Bethel vs. St. Olaf – 7 p.m.
New England Hockey Conference (NEHC)- #1 Hobart vs. #9 Skidmore – 7 p.m.
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA)- #3 Adrian vs. #8 St. Norbert – 2 p.m.
State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC)- #5 Plattsburgh vs. Cortland – 7 p.m.
United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC)- #2 Utica vs. #12 Stevenson – 7 p.m.
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WIAC)- #6 UW-Stevens Point vs. UW-Eau Claire – 7 p.m.
 
Sunday:
NESCAC Championship - TBD