The Emmaus High School ice hockey team was playing its best hockey of the season heading into a game with rival Parkland last week. But absences of several key contributors left the Green Hornets short-handed and undermanned. The Trojans were able to take advantage and use their depth in taking down Emmaus 8-1 last Friday night in Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League action at the Lehigh Valley Ice Arena.

“Tonight was a bit of a perfect storm against us,” said Emmaus head coach Keith Hurlburt. “We were missing three key players, which left us with a short bench and I needed to move players around to fill the vacancies. Parkland, on the other hand, was hosting its teacher night celebration. There was a lot of energy on their bench, which showed on the scoreboard. Parkland played a very strong game and unfortunately, we played rather flat.

“Having to change up the lines resulted in combinations that were somewhat foreign to some of the boys. We are normally very good at passing and moving the puck, but because of the changed-up lines and positions the boys struggled with their passes and system play. We played better in the second period but started to look fatigued because of the short bench. Parkland played very physical and we were not able to answer with our own physical play. They were on top of their game and we simply were not.”

The defeat snapped a three-game win streak for Emmaus, which has impressed Hurlburt all season this year.

“I have always said that this team plays very well together,” Hurlburt said. “They pass and move the puck around like no other team that I’ve coached at Emmaus.

“The boys are unselfish and look out for the team as a whole and not their individual statistics, which is extremely mature for such a young team. They are very fun to watch as a result. We do not depend on one or two players to dominate. Everyone plays and everyone contributes.

“The team has been playing extremely well lately, this was especially true in our win against Northampton. We used our passing and teamwork to outscore them. For the most part, we were in every game that we played - typically winning or losing by one or two goals.”

Luke Hoffman scored the lone goal for the Green Hornets, off assists by Nicolas Hurlburt and Liam Porreca. The goal came in the second period following three consecutive Parkland goals to open the game. Angelo Greek made 41 saves in net for Emmaus.

Following a loss to Southern Lehigh three nights later in the season finale, Hurlburt and his team are happy to have been able to play mostly a full season.

“The season was certainly very different,” said Hurlburt. “We were very lucky to have been able to have a season as many other sports were not so lucky. There was considerable doubt in September that the season would even be a reality.

“In December, play was suspended for a few weeks because of multiple cases within the league - coaches and players. Rink rules and game protocol was constantly changing in response to COVID. Despite all of that, I am certain that the entire team will agree that it was a very successful year for the Emmaus hockey family.”