WORCESTER - Steve Hopkins put on a show last night as he held off the most powerful team in the state. Through two periods, he gave eighth-seeded Waltham hope that it might leave the DCU Center with a first-round upset.
Hopkins kept piling up saves. Eleven through one period, a whopping 29 through two.
"They're pretty good offensively. I was just trying to hold on as well as I could," said the goalie.
And until he kicked Garrett Noonan's low shot out to Marc Hetnick, he didn't crack once.
Hetnick, a little-used freshman and late-season call-up from the junior varsity, found the puck on his stick and scored his first varsity goal at 4:16 of the third period, and Derek Colucci scored less than three minutes later to give the Knights a 2-0 win.
They kept firing to prevent Hopkins, who beat Westford Academy and Austin Prep in shootouts his last two games, from stealing the game. Knights coach Bill Hanson told his team to remain patient.
"You can't get frustrated," said Hanson. "It's a fickle game. Just keep working at it."
After Hetnick buried the short rebound, Colucci took a pass on the half-wall from defenseman Peter Starrett, skated in, and beat Hopkins with a top-shelf wrister.
"Great individual effort by him," said Hopkins, who finished with 38 saves. "My hat's off to him. He put it in a nice spot."
The top-ranked Knights (15-1-3) had chances from near and far, but allowed the Hawks (15-4-4) only nine shots (three in each period). They blasted at Hopkins from the outside and were able to tire out the Waltham defense by getting deep in the zone for long stretches.
"A team that plays in their own end that much will get mentally fatigued as well as physically fatigued," said Hanson. "I thought we maintained our poise tremendously."
Hopkins, who was able to clearly see most of the pucks coming at him, averted disaster with one save at the end of the second period.
Defenseman Travis Jonasson banked the puck off the glass and into the Waltham zone, and Hopkins played the carom to the corner.
But the puck had other plans. It shot off the window and headed right for the net, but Hopkins dove back and punched it away with his stick as it was inches away from the line.
CM's Pat Greene then beat the Hawks defense and fired from the slot, but Hopkins turned the shot aside with his shoulder, and the buzzer sounded with the game still scoreless.
"Steve Hopkins put on a phenomenal performance," said Hawks coach John Maguire. "There were at least 12 grade-A chances, where he flashed the glove or flashed the pad.
"He just proved to more people how outstanding he is."
