A look at the standings in the NEHC finds Hobart leading the way with a 7-0-1 record and an overall record of 11-2-1. Heady numbers for those looking at the data but not so much for head coach Mark Taylor and his staff. The focus for all continues to be around improving the team game, capturing wins and increasing the pace.
“I didn’t even know what our record was before today, but I had to look it up for something. We are just really happy to be playing,” said head coach Mark Taylor. “It hasn’t been easy for anyone in college hockey but hard is what we do. I look at the job our captains did last year in keeping the continuity and culture and see how it has progressed with this group that includes freshman and sophomores that didn’t play a real game until this season. It is a big part of how we have been successful and continue to build on that foundation for Hobart hockey. We want you to play hard and with pace.”
A big piece of the leadership group is senior forward and captain, Aaron Maguyon. Through 14 games so far this season Maguyon leads the team in goals with 11 including three game winners for the Statesmen. His most recent big goal was an overtime winner against NEHC rival Norwich that snapped the Cadets six-game winning streak against Hobart.
Aaron is one of those guys who puts his leadership right out there on the ice,” noted Taylor. “He definitely leads by example and that overtime goal against Norwich was a big piece of staying in the game mentally and executing when it matters most. We are starting to see that level of contribution from many other players in games and as we continue to improve over the latter part of the season, we hope that we see a lot of other players producing plays in key moments on the ice.”
While the younger players are in the process of accumulating game experience, Taylor and his staff are managing expectations accordingly, particularly with the sophomore group.
“We have told the players that we are going to manage their development like we would for any sophomore that has come through our program,” stated Taylor. “We have expectations of what a sophomore should bring to the ice and focus on pushing their development to bring out the best in all of the players. It’s definitely hard and setting a high bar helps to keep the important things in focus as we continue to manage through these challenging times. While I am not a big technology guy, may captains have asked me to stay true to what I am with the young players. They didn’t see a lot of me on Zoom calls, but they continue to work on and off the ice and we are seeing the improvement in pace and performance. There is still a lot of hockey to go so hopefully their rate of improvement as a team will match that.”
This weekend the Statesmen face yet another nationally ranked team when No. 6 Babson comes to “The Cooler” on Friday night. The two teams played to a 2-2 tie back in early November and the Beavers have yet to take the ice in a game in 2022. Coach Taylor isn’t worried about any rust on Babson’s game.
“I am sure they have had some very intense practices and people tend to put way too much into who got on the ice first or played most recently,” said Taylor. “We know everyone in this league is good and Babson is one of those top teams that we better be ready to play whenever the game is. Doesn’t matter if it is Friday-Saturday or Saturday-Sunday, we will be ready to go whatever the game time turns out to be. Having taken the program on a number of European trips we found out quickly that game times were all relative and you needed to be adaptable. I think the pandemic has mandated that same mindset so whenever the puck drop is scheduled, we will be ready.”
The Statesmen finish their current four-game homestand with Southern Maine on Saturday before a big home-and-home series with travel partner Elmira on January 21-22.
