GENEVA, N.Y. – The 2023-24 season for the University of Southern Maine Huskies men's ice hockey team came to an end on Saturday night with a 4-1 loss to the No. 1 Hobart College Statesmen in the New England Hockey Conference semifinals. 10 different players for Hobart recorded points led by Matthieu Wuth with two assists.
 
Southern Maine's goal came late in the third period from senior Cole Ouellette (Lewiston, Maine). Ouellette's goal, his first of the season, was assisted by junior Jeff Pollara (Braintree, Mass.) and freshman Mathieu Sabourin (Alexandria, Ontario).
 
The Records:
No. 7 Southern Maine: 10-14-3 (6-9-3 NEHC)
No. 1 Hobart: 24-2-1 (16-1-1 NEHC)
 
Series History:
Tonight's game was the 15th time that the two programs have played. Hobart leads the series 14-1-0 and has now won the last eight meetings.
 
The Goaltenders:
Southern Maine: Mason Palmer (5-3-2), 59:29, three goal allowed, 52 saves
Hobart: Damon Beaver (14-1-1), 60:00, one goal allowed, 21 saves
 
How It Happened:

• Hobart scored in the first minute of the game with a wide-angle goal from Chris Duclair on the power-play 57 seconds into the game. Palmer then stopped the next 19 shots that he faced in the period to keep the score 1-0.
• Palmer continued holding off the Hobart attack until Shane Shell found the back of the net off the rebound of a shot by Wuth. Jonah Alexander also recorded an assist on the goal.
• Hobart went up 3-0 with another power-play goal off the stick of Austin Mourar 6:25 into the third period with an assist from Cooper Swift.
• Ouellette tipped in a goal to end Beaver's shutout bid with 1:51 left on the clock to give the Huskies a chance. However, Hobart added an empty-net goal to ensure the win and give the Statesmen a chance to defend their conference title.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Hobart's power-play unit went 2-for-4 while Southern Maine did not convert on its only opportunity.
• The Hobart offense overpowered the Huskie in shots on goal at 56-22. The majority of faceoffs went Hobart's way as well at 46-22.
• Ouellette became the 17th Husky to score a goal this season.
• Torgner finished the season with 10 points thanks to his assist in tonight's game. The Huskies end the year with 11 players with at least 10 points.
• Southern Maine scored 80 goals this season, the team's most since the 2008-09 season when they scored 84.
• Coach Matt Pinchevsky's 10 wins this season are tied for the most by a first-year head coach in program history with Jeff Beaney (1987-88) and Ted Child (1977-78).

 
Up Next:
The loss concludes the 2023-24 season for the Huskies.