During Monday night's Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League (LVSHL) game against Emmaus, Freedom couldn't have gotten off to a better start.

After a scoreless first period, the Patriots scored four consecutive goals to lead 4-0 with 6:25 to play in the second.

However, the Hornets would make a run of their own - one that was even more impressive.

Over a span of 1:10 in the second period, the Hornets scored four goals to tie the game by the end of the second. The Hornets (7-3-1) took their first lead early in the third period on a goal from Jeremy Hoffer, and would go on to defeat the Patriots (4-4-2) 6-5 at Steel Ice Center.

"We put our team before ourselves, and we played as a team," Hoffer said. "We took the timeout, and coach really gave it to us."

Both teams entered Monday night's contest at third and fourth place in the standings, respectively. A win would cement the winner into third place with three games to play in the season.

"Last year we were second place all year behind Parkland," Hoffer said. "Just being behind them and being tied for third [with Freedom] really gave us the motivation to come out with a win."

Tied at four heading into the third, it didn't take long for the Hornets to strike once again. Just 16 seconds into the final period, Hoffer made a move in front of Freedom goalkeeper Jarrett Ballister, and fired a shot into the back of the goal to give the Hornets their first lead at 5-4.

"Max Rieder gave me the pass," Hoffer said. "It was a great job by the defense also to steal the puck from the forward from Freedom. It just set me up with a good chance and I capitalized."

It would take nearly 11 minutes, but the Patriots weren't ready to leave without a fight. Alex Ramos scored his third goal (15th of the season) of the game with 4:46 to play to tie the game back up at 5-5.

But just 31 seconds later, Hoffer had an answer. His goal, which was his team-leading 10th of the season, regained the lead for the Hornets that they would never give back up.

"We came out slow like some games we do," Hoffer said. "But then we came together as a team and really came out."

Spencer Manganiello got the scoring barrage started for the Patriots with 10:06 to play in the second. Ramos then scored 1:05 later to push their lead to 2-0. The two would alternate goals over the next 2:36 to take a commanding 4-0.

The Hornets used a timeout to regain focus, and it was clear the message certainly worked. Maxwell Rieder scored first for Emmaus, and David Bailey found Nico Martel for a goal six seconds later to get to within two. Bailey and Matt Heffelfinger then added goals to tie at 4-4.

Ballister tallied 35 saves for the Patriots, while Smoker stopped 19 shots for the Hornets.

The Patriots will next face Phillipsburg on Jan. 8, at 8 p.m., while the Hornets will take on Parkland at 8:30 p.m. Both games are at Steel Ice Center.