Oct. 21, 2006
ERIE, PA - Junior Sean McCreery (Pleasant Hill, CA/ De La Salle) scored four goals, including two in the first period, as the Blue Jays opened the 2006 Division III Eastern Championships at Penn State-Behrend College with a 15-4 win over Connecticut College.
The teams traded goals to open the game as junior Chris Hemmerle (Harleysville, PA/Souderton) and sophomore Peter Davis (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) netted scores with 6:06 and 5:35 left in the first period, but Connecticut fired back as Nick Llewelyn ripped in a blast at 5:02 to pull the Camels to within a goal. However, Hopkins pulled back ahead as McCreery scored at 3:47 and 2:24 before freshman Peter Sauerhoff (St. Louis, MO/John Burroughs) found the back of the goal at 1:14 for a 5-1 lead. The Camels cut the lead to 5-2 before the end of the period as Bob Kyne scored at the one minute mark.
Freshman MG Gonzalez (Malibu, CA / Oaks Christian) gave the Blue Jays back a four-goal lead to open the second period as he scored on a five meter shot with 7:36 remaining in the half. The margin grew to 8-2 as Davis connected on back-to-back goals at 4:05 and 2:10. Both teams added goals in the closing two minutes of the half as Rene LaPlante scored for Connecticut at 1:45 and sophomore Chris Hanson (Los Altos, CA/ Bellarmine Prep) answered 48 seconds later for a 9-3 lead at halftime.
The third period was all Hopkins as the Blue Jays pushed the lead to 12-4 as McCreery scored a pair of goals (7:03 and 3:43), while freshman Kyle Gertridge (Gunn Prep/Paolo Alto, CA) pounded in a score at the 1:36 mark.
Connecticut trimmed the margin to 12-4 at 7:00 to open the fourth period as LaPlante tacked on his second goal of the game, but Hopkins finished out the game with a trio of goals as junior Jake Honig (Los Angeles, CA/ Santa Monica) (2:48) and freshman James Neuwirth (Phillips Academy Andover) (1:12 and 00:23) put in scores for the 15-4 final.
Hopkins, which is seeking its 10th Division III Eastern title after capturing the 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005 crowns, will attempt to advance to the title game for the 16th year in 16 Division III Eastern tournaments by facing Penn State Behrend College at 4:00 p.m.
CC Goals: Rene LaPlante (2); Nick Llewelyn; Bob Kyne
JHU Goals: Sean McCreery (4); Peter Davis (3); James Neuwirth (2); Kyle Gertridge; MG Gonzalez; Chris Hanson; Chris Hemmerle; Jake Honig; Peter Sauerhoff
