HYANNIS, Mass. – Hobart College junior goaltender Martin Ausserhofer (Brunico, Italy) made 24 saves in net to earn Most Valuable Player honors as the Statesmen defeated Amherst College, 3-1, to win the first-ever Cape Cod Lighthouse Invitational Men's Ice Hockey Tournament Championship at the Hyannis Youth & Community Center on Sunday afternoon. With its second win in as many days, Hobart evens its overall record at 4-4-0 on the year, while the Lord Jeffs suffer their first loss to fall to 3-1-0.

Also on Sunday, Salem State University (3-1-1) defeated tournament host Babson College (2-5-0) by a score of 5-3 in the consolation game.

Joining Ausserhofer on the All-Tournament Team were a pair of fellow Statesmen – first-year defenseman Bronson Kovacs (Sault Ste Marie, Ontario) and sophomore forward Tommy Fiorentino (New Hartford, N.Y.) – after the duo combined for five goals and one assist in Hobart's semifinal round victory over Babson on Saturday.

Representing runner-up Amherst on the All-Tournament squad were sophomore forward Andrew Kurlandski (Kirkwood, Mo.), who potted a pair of goals in the Lord Jeffs' semifinal win over Salem State, and junior forward Johnn Van Siclen (Carlisle, Mass.), who tallied an assist in the semis and a goal in the championship game. Salem State first-year forward Andrew Cetola (Fishkill, N.Y.) rounded out the list of All-Tournament honorees after netting  a hat-trick in the Vikings' consolation win over Babson.

Hobart jumped out to an immediate 1-0 lead in the championship game, as senior co-captain Greg Ciciola (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) scored his third goal of the season off a Terrence O'Neill (Kearny, N.J.) feed just 24 seconds in. That lead would hold up until early in the second period, when Van Siclen took consecutive feeds from senior Jeremy Deutsch (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.) and junior Nick Brunette (Chaska, Minn.) and scored his fourth of the year on a powerplay to tie the contest at 1-1 at 5:31.

The Statesmen regained the lead for good late in the second, as junior David Stevens (Toronto, Ontario) netted his first of the winter off an assist from sophomore Keith Clarke (Westmeath, Ontario) at 16:23. Hobart then added a huge insurance goal midway through the third, as Ciciola and junior Mike White (Rochdale, Mass.) assisted junior Bobby Hannah (Burbank, Calif.) on his first goal of the season for a 3-1 Hobart lead at 9:03.

That would be more than enough for Asserhofer, who followed up a five-save first period with nine stops in the second and 10 more in the third for a total of 24 saves in the contest. Coupled with his 16 stops in a little more than 48 minutes of action in Hobart's semifinal victory over Babson, the junior netminder turned away 40 of the 42 shots on goal that he faced in the tournament to earn Most Valuable Player honors.

Amherst junior goalie Nathan Corey (Anchorage, Alaska) also played well in defeat for the Lord Jeffs, finishing with 28 saves in just over 59 minutes in net.

In the consolation game, Salem State surged to a 3-0 lead after 26 minutes of play. Centola scored the Vikings' first two goals of the day – one off assists from freshmen Tom Mahoney (Braintree, Mass.) and John Marsters (Weymouth, Mass.) at 15:13 of the opening period and the other on an unassisted effort at 1:53 of the second. Senior Giancarlo Capodanno (Mountainside, N.J.) then converted a Nick Lampson (Groton, Mass.) assist at 5:26 of the second period for a 3-0 Salem State lead.

Babson mounted a valiant comeback attempt over the next nine minutes, beginning when senior captain Mike Hoban (Medfield, Mass.) scored his first goal of the season off assists from juniors Trevor Hines (Newburyport, Mass.) and Ryan Smith (Lynnfield, Mass.) on a powerplay at the eight-minute mark. Junior Jay Haseley (Rochester, N.Y.) then made it a one-goal game when he netted his fourth of the year off another Smith assist at 13:46, but Mahoney restored the Viking's two-goal advantage when he netted the eventual game-winner at 17:55 of the second. Junior Trent Lizee (High Prairie, Alberta) provided the lone assist on that goal, which made it 4-2 in favor of the Vikings heading into the final period of play.

Centola finished off the hat trick when he scored his third of the game and the season at 8:01 of the third, with assists going to junior Brian Hanafin (Burlington, Mass.) and Marsters. Hoban later netted his second of the day off feeds from junior Matt Leer (Edina, Minn.) and first-year Joe DiPietro (Pembroke, Mass.) at 13:11, but it would not be enough to prevent the 5-3 Salem State victory.

Sophomore goalie Ryan Sutliffe (Grand Forks, N.D.) finished with 39 saves in net for the Vikings, while junior Zeke Testa (Wellesley, Mass.) turned away 22 shots in defeat for the Beavers. Babson held a 42-27 shot advantage in the contest.