Jeremy Hoffer staked the Emmaus ice hockey team to an early lead with two first period goals, and Michael Smoker nearly held a shutout, as the Green Hornets beat Bethlehem Catholic/Central Catholic 5-1 last Monday night in their first game after the long holiday break.

Emmaus entered the break 8-2-1, and in second place behind Parkland in the LVSHL Pure Division.

"I think we stayed strong," Smoker said. "We have a lot of good chemistry on this team. We know each other really well, and every game we get better. It was just another game for us."

Smoker had to come up big in the opening minutes as Becahi/Central came at him with four straight shots on goal.

He finally had some breathing room when Nicholas Capizzi found Hoffer for two goals in a four-minute span in the first period.

Hoffer later assisted on a Drew Phillipes goal in the second period, and Capizzi tallied a goal of his own with a minute left in that frame. Chad Lawrence capped a three goal period on a one-timer from Matt Heffelfinger seven seconds later.

"It gives me a lot of confidence when we can score goals," said Smoker. "When we get an early lead, I don't feel pressured to have to make game-winning saves right then and there. It gives me confidence knowing that if I do give up a goal, they can come back and score. It's really never over until it's over."

Reid Seifert ended Smoker's shutout effort with a breakaway goal on the power play with under two minutes to go.

Coming off of a big 2-1 win over Freedom before the layoff, Emmaus has put itself in prime position to clinch a playoff berth with a couple of games to go.

"You can't look lightly at each team, because then you'll think that you have a win and get really surprised," said Smoker. "A lot of these teams have really good skill players on them. You never know who could score on any night. Teams like Parkland and Freedom, you have to try and jump on them early, and just never back down."

Emmaus next takes on Easton next Monday at 6 p.m. at Lehigh Valley Ice Arena.