Hobart and William Smith Colleges

It Takes a Village

On campus and off, the HWS community rallied together to support the Statesmen throughout their historic season. Faculty and fans, students and staff, nearby neighbors and alums from across the country fueled the team to victory and were there to celebrate when the players and coaches returned to campus with the trophy.

FROM THE ICE TO THE CLASSROOM

Since 2006, the Faculty-Athletics Fellows Program has paired HWS athletics teams with faculty members to form lasting and meaningful relationships between students, professors and coaches. As Hobart Hockey’s Faculty Athletic Fellow, Professor of Environmental Studies John Halfman has been a fixture at games, including the NCAA Championship Tournament in Massachusetts, as well as a herald for Hobart’s achievements on the ice and a supportive advisor on campus.

Do you have a hockey background yourself? I played goalie in junior high and quickly switched to basketball by high school, when I grew many inches and defensemen learned to shoot a slapshot.

Tell us about your philosophy as a Faculty-Athletics Fellow. FAF programming has multiple flavors. My involvement has always been low key. I watch home games and interact with hockey players who take my classes — they’re dedicated student-athletes, some of my best students over my many years at HWS. I also write emails to the community, mainly to celebrate student achievements and get HWS fans in the stands. This year was no different than any other. I get to watch great hockey and the players appreciate my presence, and especially my emails to get more folks in the stands during critical games. The community support during games, especially during Conference and NCAA tournament games, is very appreciated. It inspires better play.

Can you describe the moment when the final overtime goal went in? The winning goal brought a huge sense of relief! I saw a similar reaction in Coach Taylor’s face as well. The team, players and coaches worked extremely hard all season long to get this win. I’m pleased to see it pay off.

Home Base

The Statesmen have played at the Geneva Recreation Complex since it opened in 1978. Managed by Dave Sharman, the rink hosts HWS games and practices and is home to Geneva’s youth hockey programs.

For decades, the open-air rink exposed players and fans to the worst of the winter weather, hence its nickname: the Cooler. That changed in 2007 thanks to Geneva businessman and hockey enthusiast Bernie Lynch. Lynch spearheaded the project to enclose the rink and upgrade its facilities. With support from HWS and many state and local partners, the $1.2 million project saw insulated glass panels installed, a press box built and the Hobart Hockey team room expanded.

A consummate HWS supporter, Lynch employs Hobart players at his store, Lynch’s Furniture, during the summer. During the season, he can be found cheering the Statesmen from the northwest corner of the Cooler.

Statesmen Super Fans

Joanna Penrod’s youngest sons Brad and Kylan were nine and seven when they started attending Hobart hockey youth clinics. It was 2015 and the family was going through a challenging time; Joanna hoped the sport would help them build connections — and it did.

After the youth team’s practices at the Cooler, Coach Taylor invited the boys to watch the Statesmen practice and soon the entire family joined the ranks of devoted HWS fans. You can often find them in the stands cheering on the Statesmen and Heron teams, but their love of Hobart hockey stands out. They’ve attended every Statesmen hockey home game — and some road games — for eight years, often bringing dozens and dozens of homemade donuts for the team.

“I just wanted to do something special for all of them,” says Joanna. “They were away from their families and working so hard at practice and at school.”

The Penrods traveled to Massachusetts for the semifinal and championship games. “I just had a feeling they were going to win the whole thing,” says Joanna. “We booked our trip through Monday. There was a part of me that just knew after watching them all season that this weekend was going to be special.”

The morning after the game, Brad and Kylan joined the team on the bus ride home to Geneva, where Joanna delivered the team’s first ever batch of championship donuts.

THE TEAM BEHIND THE TEAM

On campus and at the Cooler, on the road and on the ice, Statesmen hockey had support from HWS staff, who made sure the team was healthy, well-trained and well-equipped — and that their championship season didn’t go unnoticed.