The Pulteney StreetSurvey
Hobart’s first official club hockey team, ca. 1962-63. Row 1: John Cocroft ’66, Benjamin Hovey ’66; Row 2: Tom Dyett ’65, P’00, Tracy Johnson '63, John McQuilkin ’65, Si Anthony ’63, Joe Mechem ’64, P’91; Row 3: Hunter Corbin ’65, Ted Stock '64, Hank Holden ’63, P’84, P’89, GP’20, Frank Rosenberg ’66, Jim Anderton ’65, Bob Reynolds ’66, Jack Peterson ’64, Tom Finn ’65 and Coach Charlie Boswell II ’50, GP’20. Members of the team not pictured: Dixon Kunzelmann ’64, P’93, L.H.D. ’09, David Gibson ’65 and Everett Gardner '63.
Origin Story
Looking back on Hobart hockey’s genesis as a club sport 60 years ago with one of its first players.
BY HANK HOLDEN ’63, P’84, P’89, GP’20
We were a bunch of guys with equipment at the bottom of duffle bags. None of us had played much since high school. Our leaders — Tracy Johnson ’63, Si Anthony ’63 and Joe Mechem ’64, P’91 — were organized, but corralling juniors and seniors to practice on Odell’s Pond in the winter was cold work.
Charlie Boswell II ’50, GP’20, our coach, was an inspiration. Though often frozen behind the bench, he never lost faith in our potential.
All games were away and late at night. Our competition: Syracuse, Ithaca, RIT and others. I can remember the echo of the puck in the Syracuse War Memorial, when we could count our fans on one hand, and the privilege of playing on the Cornell rink with its fresh paint and great ice!
To say that we had uniforms would be to elevate our ragtag assortment of equipment, infused with the hockey smell that seems to follow skaters everywhere; we did have jerseys, though who decided that our colors were blue and yellow is anyone’s guess.
It did not matter that we lost or won — and we came close a couple of times. What really mattered was we did it. We played. With “Hobart” printed across our chests.
I am proud to have been part of that team. I am also proud that my son Scott ’84, P’20 captained the 1984 team 21 years later. And now we have a team that skated through the Frozen Four and into the championship game. They performed at the highest level throughout the year, and thanks to great coaching and athletic grit, carried our team’s humble beginnings to great heights.
POWERPLAY
A BRIEF TIMELINE
1917
Hockey is first referenced in the Echo.
1932
Intramural teams compete.
1947
“The Hockey Club in its infant year and not yet recognized as an official Hobart team showed a lot of spirit and desire to play” (Echo, 1948). Through the following decades, the passion of the players and fans overcame scarce finances, propelling the Colleges toward establishing a fullfledged varsity men’s hockey program.
1963
With funding from the Board of Control, Hobart’s first official club team begins play under Coach Charles Boswell II ’50, GP’20. The squad grew to 20 members, ending the inaugural season with a 2-3 record — “quite an accomplishment,” reported the yearbook, “since practice could be held only when skating on Odell’s Pond was possible.”
1973
Gaining momentum: “For the first time ever, the [hockey] team has been granted some financial assistance by the Hobart Athletic Department” (The Herald, Dec. 7, 1973).
1979
“In their first season of varsity competition the Statesmen skaters finished with a 15-16-1 slate. Coach Bill Turner’s squad recorded victories over such established programs at RIT, Geneseo and Lehigh. After this promising rookie season the Hobart hockey program looks eagerly to the future” (Echo and Pine, 1979).
1986
Bill Bergan ’86 is named team MVP. Twelve years later he became the first hockey player inducted into the Hobart Hall of Fame.
1993
Hobart Hockey makes first-ever ECAC tournament appearance.
1995
Keith Levinthal ’95 completes hockey career with school record 72 goals.*
1997
Eric Kisskalt ’99 sets school season assists record with 32.*
1999
Travis Finkle ’00 completes career as all-time points leader at 155.*
2000
Mark Taylor is hired as head coach.
2004
The Statesmen appear in their first of 12 NCAA tournaments. Hobart also won the ECAC tournament and regular season titles.
2006
The Statesmen make their first trip to the NCAA Championship Semifinals with repeats in the 2008-09, 2018-19 and 2022-23 seasons.
2007
Geneva Recreation Complex is fully enclosed.
2008
Keith Longo ’09 becomes Hobart’s first, first-team All- American.
2018
The team claims the first of two New England Hockey Conference Tournament Championships.
2023
Hobart wins their second consecutive NEHC regular season title, second NEHC tournament title and first ever NCAA DIII national title. Coach Mark Taylor, forward Luke Aquaro ’25 and defenseman Cooper Swift ’25 also lead the U.S. Men’s Hockey team to a silver medal at the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games.