BACK- TO - BACK
A Winning State of Mind
STORY
BY
MACKENZIE LARSEN ’12
R◀ The Statesmen celebrate a goal during the 2023–24 season, encapsulating the team’s theme for the year, mudita, the Buddhist concept of joyfully celebrating others’ successes.
On the cover: Welcomed by the
Repeating a standout performance is never easy, especially in sports, but the Hobart hockey team came into the 2023–24 season with a better chance than most and a mindset to match. With 25 of 27 players returning after the team’s first ever national championship last season, the Statesmen embraced a philosophy this year that revolved around a shared joy and appreciation for one another’s achievements. With the concept introduced by Head Coach Mark Taylor, this Buddhist-inspired outlook made certain that the team took time to enjoy each moment, win or lose (though mostly win), as they became the first team in the country to clinch back-to-back DIII hockey titles in more than a decade.
PHOTOS BY KEVIN COLTON L.H.D. ’23 AND ADAM FARID ’20
cheers of the HWS community, the Statesmen return to campus with the NCAA DIII championship trophy.
H4 / THE PULTENEY STREET SURVEY
The Regular Season
As reigning national champions, the Statesmen entered the year with a No. 1 ranking and a target on their back. The team was tested right out of the gate, facing two nationally ranked opponents in their rst three games. On opening night against Oswego, Hobart took a 2-1 lead late into regulation before the Lakers tied the game with 90 seconds left. Damon Beaver ’26 showed the ashes of brilliance that would make him one of the best goalies in the country, stopping 38 shots, but Oswego rallied for an overtime win.
The next night, Hobart bounced back with a 7-0 win over Potsdam, the rst of four consecutive shutouts in the following weeks, topping No. 6 Norwich (3-0), New England
College (7-0) and the University of Southern Maine (10-0). This run was the longest with no goals allowed in the program’s history.
In November, the Statesmen su ered their second and nal defeat of the season against Babson before embarking on a 25-game unbeaten streak that would carry them through the season.
After wins over Bu alo State, Fredonia and Brockport, Hobart returned from Thanksgiving break to outscore UMass Boston and Johnson & Wales 14-1 in a weekend set. Tanner Hartman ’26 led the team to victory and set three Hobart singlegame records in the process with ve assists and six points against the Beacons and four goals against the Wildcats.
A week later, the Statsemen made their rst trip to Hartford, Conn., for a preview of the
national championship game against then No. 14 Trinity. With 33 saves from Beaver, Hobart prevailed 2-1 on a Jonah Alexander ’24 goal in the third period.
After an 8-1 win over Middlebury in December, the Statesmen continued their momentum in 2024, outscoring their rst three opponents 22-3 and shuting out Babson (5-0) to avenge their lone conference loss. Hobart closed out January sweeping No. 3 Elmira. During the rst game in Elmira, the Statesmen scored ve goals in the second period to pull away for a 7-2 win. The next day in Geneva, Hobart defeated the Soaring Eagles 5-0, tallying an 11th shutout on the season and cementing their status as the No. 1 team in the country.
As the regular season nished with wins over Johnson & Wales, UMass Boston,
Chris Duclair ‘27 (above) and Tanner Hartman ’26 (center) led the team to a 10–0 win over Southern Maine during Hobart’s record shutout run early in the season. In that game, Duclair had three goals and Hartman scored two, as did Kahlil Fontana ’26. *
Goalie Damon Beaver ’26 (right) prepares to stop a shot during Hobart’s 8–1 win over Middlebury. A second team All-NEHC pick for 2023–34, Beaver was ranked first in the nation in goalie winning percentage (.929), GAA (0.94), save percentage (.962) and shutouts (7).
Castleton and Skidmore, the Statesmen clinched their third consecutive conference title with one week remaining in the regular season.
Tournament Mode
With a 22-1-1 record, Hobart cruised to an 8-1 win over Vermont State University Castleton in their opening game of the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) tournament. Luke Aquaro ’25 led the team with points on two goals and three assists.
Bauer Morrissey ’27, Shane Shell ’25 and Hartman had two assists each.
In the semi nals, the Statesmen bested seventh-seed Southern Maine Huskies 4-1 to reach the NEHC Championship game. Facing Liberty League rival, No. 9 Skidmore, Hobart opened the scoring with six seconds left in the rst period and never looked back. Hartman scored two goals, and Artem Buzoverya ’24, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, had a goal and an assist. Defeating the Thoroughbreds 5-0, the Statesmen captured their second consecutive NEHC tournament title.
With the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and the No. 1 seed secured, the Stasemen enjoyed a rst round bye before facing Curry in the quarter nals at The Cooler for the second straight year. This time, the teams played two games for the price of one, keeping the 640 fans in attendance on the edge of their seats for ve hours.
As they did last season, Curry took the lead rst, scoring with 32 seconds remaining in the rst period. The Colonels scored again ve minutes into the second period, brie y quieting the Hobart crowd before Tanner Daniels ’26, Chris Duclair ’27 and Alexander hit back with a goal apiece. With seven
▲ A grueling game ends with Hobart and Curry players shaking hands and sharing their appreciation.
◀ Fans erupt after Hobart’s victory over Curry in The Cooler.
▲ In a fourth overtime period, a shot from defenseman Bauer Morrissey ’27 lifted the Statesmen over the Curry Colonels in the second-longest game in NCAA Division III history. Morrissey was named the NEHC Rookie of the Year and selected for the NEHC All-Rookie team.
◀ Forward Tristan Fasig ’26 cheers Morrissey’s winning shot before exhaustion sets in after the marathon game. ▼
HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES / 7
minutes remaining in regulation, a Curry goal forced the game into overtime, and while the Statesmen dominated play, they would not solve Curry goalie Shane Soderwall for the next 75 minutes and 17 seconds.
As the clock struck midnight on March 17, the teams took the ice for the fourth overtime period. Bauer Morrissey ’27 lauched a shot from the point that nally broke through the Colonel goalie and found the back of the net, bringing an end to the second-longest game in NCAA Division III history, clocking in at
135:17 minutes of play — just three minutes shy of the NCAA record. The game got #D3HKY hashtag trending on X (Twitter) and earned Hobart a shoutout from MSG during a New York Rangers game, as well as ESPN and Associated Press coverage.
While the Statesmen outshot Curry 102-47, Soderwall’s 98 saves during the game matched the NCAA men’s record and garnered applause from the crowd and his opponents alike. This attitude of appreciation underpinned Hobart’s entire season. Taylor, the Mason Family Hobart Head Hockey Coach, described it in a Finger Lakes Times article as a representation of “mudita,” a Buddhist concept of feeling happiness or joy for someone else’s success. “I think this group is better at that than anybody that I’ve had, in terms of celebrating for other guys....” he said.
◀ Matthieu Wuth ’24 and his fellow co-captains, Artem Buzoverya ‘24 and Jared Patterson ’24, received this year’s Holden Award for sportsmanship, character and leadership.
▲ Exemplifying the season’s theme — the Buddhist concept of mudita — the Statesmen embrace one another and acknowledge the fans after winning their second straight NEHC title. The win marked Hobart’s 36th consecutive home ice victory — tying an NCAA Division III record, which the Statesmen would break in their game against Curry.
HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES / 9
National Numbers
As the stats show, Hobart dominated the 2023–24 season in more ways than one.
THE STATESMEN WERE FIRST IN THE NATION IN: scoring defense (0.97 GPG), scoring margin (4.23), scoring offense (5.19), assists (276), points (437), penalty killing percentage (.968) and winning percentage (.919).
Winning Together
After the hard-fought win against Curry, Hobart had earned a return trip to the national semi nals and headed back to Hartford.
Taking on their Central New York rival, No. 2 Utica, Hobart pinned the Pioneers in their own zone from the opening whistle.
Austin Mourar ’24 opened the scoring 52 seconds into the game. Seven minutes later, Hartman scored to give Hobart a 2-0 lead. Utica clawed back a goal just before the midway point of the game, but they could not sneak another shot past Beaver, who made 22 saves. Shell added an empty net goal late in regulation to send Hobart to the national championship game.
Statesmen fly around the ice at practice with Coach Taylor before the NCAA title game. • Forward Tanner Daniels ’26 launches a shot past a Utica defenseman in the semifinal. • Ignat Belov ’26 and Tanner Hartman ’26 celebrate the win over Utica, which sent the Statesmen to the national championship game. The forwards led Hobart in points this season, with Hartman’s 45 and Belov’s 37.
Academic Excellence
Every eligible Statesmen hockey player was named to the 2023–24 NEHC All-Academic Team. To be eligible, students must carry a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and have completed one full year at their current institution by the beginning of the hockey season. Of Hobart’s 29-man roster, all 23 eligible players earned the honor — a program record.
Clockwise:
Hartman won the Elite 90 Award as the player with the highest GPA in the Final Four and was a first team All-NEHC selection and a CCM/ AHCA first team All-American. Belov was named a second team All-American.
▶ Forward Artem Buzoverya ’24 was named the NEHC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player, the NEHC Player of the Year and was the runner-up for the Sid Watson Award. He was also a CCM/ AHCA All-America East second team pick.
Clockwise this page: Coach Taylor and the team run through their plan to reclaim the title. As their sweatshirts indicate, the team revived a numerical shorthand for their aspirations this season, taking last year’s “1841” theme to the next level with “1952.” One: being the No. 1 team in the nation and reclaiming the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) title. Nine: making a ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. Five: returning to the “Frozen Four” for the fifth time in program history. Two: winning back-to-back national championships.
• An emotional final practice for seniors before the championship game. • Hobart hockey fans get ready to cheer their team to victory.
To acheive their season-long ambitions, the Statesmen would have to beat the No. 3 Trinity Bantams on their home ice.
The championship game was de ned by defense, with the two best-scoring defenses backed by the country’s best goalies in Beaver and Trinity’s Devon Bobak, the National Player of the Year.
The game lived up to the hype with 32 saves from Bobak and 24 for Beaver. After a
record, set last year when the team won 14 straight to open their national title campaign.
Assists. The 276 assists the team tallied this season set a new program record, surpassing the 1978–79 team’s mark by nearly 20 helpers.
scoreless rst period, Aquaro deked around Bobak and slipped a shot across the goal line with just over a minute remaining in the second period, notching his 100th career point. The tight defense persisted through the third period, until Matthew Iasenza ’25, who missed the 2023 title game with an injury, sealed the victory with an empty net goal.
When the initial celebration subsided, Mourar was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, with Aquaro, Hartman and Beaver joining him on the all-tournament team. Re ecting on the game and the team’s outstanding defense in the Finger Lakes Times, Mourar pointed to the team’s dogged, harmonious play.
Goals allowed. Only 30 goals got by Hobart goalies all season, setting a new program record, while the GAA lowered the mark set last year by 0.31. Beaver surpassed his own single-season percentage record. Together, he and Goyer set a new record for the program’s GAA record.
Shutouts. This seaon’s 13 shutouts beat last year’s team record and matched the NCAA Division III record for shutouts in a season. Beaver matched his own record for shutouts in a season with seven. His 14 career shutouts are the most in program history.
Power kill. Hobart’s 96.8 penalty-killing percentage set an NCAA Division III record. The Statesmen allowed just three power-play goals all season.
▲ Forward Luke Aquaro ’25 maneuvers the puck around the Trinity goalie for his 100th career point and the Statemen’s first goal against the Bantams in the NCAA final.
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Part of the all-tournament and allconference teams, defenseman Austin Mourar ’24 was recognized as the NCAA tournament’s most outstanding player.
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“We have some of the most hard-working forwards getting back,” he said. “I’ve never played on a team that comes back like that, and it’s refreshing. Then, if something does squeak through, you have the best goalie in the nation behind you. It’s pretty easy to play defense when you have those two things going for you.”
As the team celebrated their victory, the feeling of vicarious joy was infectious, as Taylor explained to USCHO.com. “As good as these guys are on the ice, they are better people and closer o it,” he said. “Mudita is when you can joyfully celebrate others success and you saw that with Iasenza and his teammates after the goal. None of these guys are looking for personal accolades and are thrilled with the team’s success that everyone is a part of whether they are playing or not — everyone supports the team.”
NCAA Champs
Clockwise: The Statesmen celebrate with Coach Taylor. For the second straight season, the American Hockey Coaches Association recognized Taylor with the Edward Jeremiah Award for National Coach of the Year. The NEHC also named him Coach of the Year Award for the third consecutive year. • The team lifts the NCAA championship trophy. • During the celebration on campus, the team gathers with Dining Services’ Rosanne Brown for a photo. • President Mark D. Gearan joins Coach Taylor and Trustee Scott Mason ’81, P’13 after the championship game.
2023–2024
HOBART STATESMEN HOCKEY
PLAYERS
Mavrick Goyer ’26 #1, Goalie
Gagik Malakyan ’24 #2, Defenseman
Bauer Morrissey ’27 #4, Defenseman
Matthieu Wuth ’24 #5, Defenseman
Cooper Swift ’25 #6, Defenseman
Ethan Mulhearn ’25 #7, Forward
Tanner Daniels ’26 #8, Forward
Brandon Sacchetti ’27 #9, Forward
Wil Crane ’24 #10, Forward
Matthew Iasenza ’25 #11, Forward
Luke Aquaro ’25 #12, Forward
Jonah Alexander ’24 #14, Forward
Mason Mara ’27 #16, Forward
Austin Mourar ’24 #18, Defenseman
Matthew Perryman ’25 #19, Defenseman
Shane Shell ’25 #20, Forward
Tristan Fasig ’26 #23, Forward
Conor Lally ’27 #24, Defenseman
Christian Duvall ’24 #27, Forward
Artem Buzoverya ’24 #28, Forward
Kahlil Fontana ’26 #29, Forward
Graham Burke ’26 #32, Goalie
Damon Beaver ’26 #43, Goalie
Kevin Lassman ’24 #55, Defenseman
Chris Duclair ’27 #62, Forward
Jared Patterson ’24 #73, Defenseman
Tanner Hartman ’26 #82, Forward
Ignat Belov ’26 #86, Forward
Logan Gotinsky ’27 #91, Forward
COACHING STAFF
Mark Taylor Mason Family Hobart Head Hockey Coach
Niko Kovachis Assistant Coach
Mateo Albinati ’24 Hockey Operations Assistant
Joel Stoneham ’26 Hockey Operations Assistant
SUPPORT STAFF AND ADMINISTRATION
Derek Berry Assistant Coach, Strength and Conditioning
Kevin Colton L.H.D. ’23 Photographer
Adam Farid ’20 Photographer and Videographer
Mark D. Gearan President
Chris Gray
Former Head Strength and Conditioning Coach and Associate Athletic Director for Sports Performance
John Halfman
Faculty Athletic Fellow
Mackenzie Larsen ’12 Associate Director of Athletic Communications
Dr. James Mark Orthopedic Surgeon/Consultant
Kevin McDonald Head Equipment Coordinator
Brian Miller
Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation
Sara Moore
Assistant Athletic Trainer
Nick Prince
Assistant Equipment Manager
Aaron Smith M.A. ’24
Graduate Assistant