Courtesy of Hobart College Sports Information Department

The eighth-ranked Hobart College hockey team fell to third-ranked Elmira tonight, 4-2, in the first ECAC West game for both teams. The Statesmen dropped to 3-2-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the league, while the Soaring Eagles improved to 3-2-1 and 1-0-0 in the ECAC West.

Junior center Blake Bonham (Toronto, Ontario) led the Hobart offense with a goal and an assist, while senior forward Jason Merritt (Chapel Hill, N.C.) also tallied.

Elmira scored first, on a power play just 3 minutes, 49 seconds into the game. Brendan Sanders recorded the goal, assisted by Greg Moore and John Clewlow.

Bonham answered for the Statesmen less than four minutes later, on a helper from junior forward Aleksey Koval (Kiev, Ukraine), to even the game at 1-all. The teams took the draw into the first break.

The Soaring Eagles came out firing in the second period, netting two goals in a 24-second span. Rick Acorn tallied at the 5:30 mark, immediately followed by a goal from Clewlow at 5:27.

Merritt lit the lamp on a power play in the 16th minute to cut Elmira's lead to one. Senior defenseman Bryant Harris (Plainfield, N.H.) and Bonham recorded the helpers.

In the third stanza, the Statesmen outshot their hosts 16-12, but could not get past goalie Casey Tuttle. Elmira added an empty net goal in the final minute to ensure the win.

Hobart senior goaltender Keith Longo (Milford, Mass.) collected 36 saves, while Tuttle recorded 35. Overall, the Soaring Eagles outshot the Statesmen 40-37.

The Hobart hockey team will be back on the ice tomorrow, Nov. 8, when the Statesmen host Framingham State for a non-league contest at 7 p.m. Fans unable to make it to The Cooler can listen live on WHWS-FM (http://whws.blogspot.com/), or follow along online with live stats at http://campus.hws.edu/athletics/hobart/hockey/live/xlive.htm.