Hobart College first-year attackman Chris Pedersen was named the ECAC Lacrosse League Rookie of the Week by the conference office today.

Pedersen recorded a hat trick in his Hobart debut, sharing game-high honors with five points, as the Statesmen defeated Saint Joseph's 12-7 on Saturday. He had a hand in four of Hobart's five first-half goals, scoring twice and setting up two others. Pedersen's fourth quarter goal gave the Statesmen their first three-goal lead of the contest, 10-7, and sparked a 3-0 Hobart run.

Pedersen's performance marked the first time a Hobart first-year scored three goals in a season opener since Jason Ouellet '01 notched three against Army on March 14, 1998, while Pedersen's five points are the most by a first-year in the opener since Kevin DeWall '00 had seven (2g, 5a) against Army on March 15, 1997.

Hobart (1-0) is back in action on Tues., Feb. 24, when the Statesmen visit Binghamton (0-1). Faceoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. The game will be the fourth meeting between the two teams with Hobart leading the series 2-1. The home team has won each of the previous three showdowns.

WEOS-FM (89.7/90.3) will broadcast the game live. Online coverage of the game will include live stats, streaming audio, and streaming video.