RYE, N.Y.—The Hobart hockey team jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but 14th-ranked Manhattanville stormed back to steal a 4-2 victory in the semifinals of the ECAC West Tournament. The Statesmen fall to 13-10-3, while the Valiants improve to 19-6-1.
Hobart opened the scoring midway through the first period when
Nick DeCroo found the back of the net.
Bobby Cahill and
Brad Richard assisted on the tally. The Valiants held a slim 8-7 advantage in shots through 20 minutes, but
Nick Broadwater kept the home team off the board.
Just over five minutes into the second period,
Greg Ciciola gave the Statesmen a 2-0 lead by converting on the power play for his eighth goal of the season.
Jordan Zitoun and
Patrick Moriarty set up the score.
Manhattanville finally solved Broadwater with 6:05 left in the second. Brett Skalski's goal set the stage for three unanswered goals by the Valiants in the third period.
Five minutes into the final stanza, Arlen Marshall tied the game followed by Niklas Berntsson's game-winner at the 13:32 mark. Matt Piegza added an insurance goal on the power play with 3:55 remaining.
Broadwater stopped 24 of 27 shots in 53:32, while
Martin Ausserhofer turned back 2 of 3 in relief. Pierre Olivier Lemieux registered 18 saves to earn the win.
Manhattanville out shot Hobart 30-20. The Valiants were 1 for 4 on the power play, while the Statesmen were 1 for 5.