On Friday, January 30, 2009, at the Class of 1923 Arena in Philadelphia, PA, the Georgetown University hockey team soundly defeated the University of Pennsylvania, 8-3. Playing before an enthusiastic crowd of Hoya-hockey faithful from the Northeast Corridor, Georgetown played its best first period of the season, scoring 5 unanswered goals to take a commanding 5-0 lead going into the first intermission.

The Hoyas' first goal was a beautiful give-and-go (shorthanded) that set the tone for the game. Merely 3:56 into the first period, Alex Yale-Loehr (Fr-Ithaca, NY) intercepted a pass near the red line and skated hard toward the goal. About 15 feet from the Penn goaltender, Alex zipped a pass across the slot to a hard-charging Brian Brauth (G-Jersey City, NJ). As quickly as he received it, Brian one-timed the puck back to Alex, who shot it into the open net to give the Hoyas a 1-0 lead.

The shorthanded give-and-go between Alex and Brian ignited the Hoyas, who proceeded to score 4 more goals in the first period. At the 5:07 mark, Hugh Manahan (Sr-Greenville, DE) received a pass from behind the net by Dan Lechner (Jr-Rockville, MD). Hugh fired a quick wrist shot past the Penn goaltender to give the Hoyas a 2-0 lead. At the 3:33 mark, Justin McNamara (Soph-Wrentham, MA) scored in heavy traffic, assisted by Joe Horgan (Jr-Lansdale, PA) and Brendan Surma (Sr-Pittsburgh, PA). With 2:27 remaining in the first period, Brendan Surma scored a phenomenal power play goal that brought the crowd to its feet. Alex Yale-Loehr passed the puck from the high slot to defenseman Gus Thompson (Soph-New Canaan, CT) at the blue line. Gus made a quick crossing pass to Brendan Surma at the left point. Brendan unleashed a low rising one-timer at warp speed that hit the back of the net before the Penn goaltender knew what happened. Brendan's blast gave the Hoyas a 4-0 lead and Georgetown now was in cruise control. With 11 seconds left in the first period, Adam Willner (Sr-Montclair, NJ) finished off a fast break (assisted by Hugh Manahan and Dan Lechner) to make the score 5-0 and left the Quaker bench stunned.

Each team scored 3 goals during the remainder of the game. Early in the second period, Brian Brauth scored on a rebound, assisted by Alec Estey (Fr-Toronto, Canada) and Michael Sortwell (Fr-St. Louis, MO). At the 6:48 mark, Gus Thompson cut to the high slot and fired a perfectly placed slapshot past the Penn goalie and into the back of the net. Early in the third period, Joe Horgan (Jr-Lansdale, PA) scored on a backhander from the right circle, assisted by Brian Brauth.

The Hoyas' victory over Penn was a complete team effort. Strong contributions on offense were made by Peter Black (Sr-Bethesda, MD), Will Peterson (Sr-Wayzata, MN), Joe Horgan (Jr-Landdale, PA), Andrew Dorin (Jr-Roslyn, NY), and John Reppucci (Sr-Newburgport, MA). The stellar play of Peter, Will, and Joe undoubtedly was inspired by their private cheering sections from Maryland, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. On defense, Charlie Beller (Soph-Chappaqua, NY) and Ryan Murphy (Sr-Clifton Park, NY) had strong games (supported by friends and family in attendance), as did Greg Graham (Jr-Downingtown, PA) and Clayton Kossl (Soph-Kinnelon, NJ), who shared goaltending duties. The defensive play of the game occurred late in the first period when a Penn forward who was rushing the puck attempted to get around Hoya defenseman Brendan Surma just inside the blue line. Clearly frustrated by his inability to break free, the Penn player delivered a high cross-check that Surma met with equal if not greater force. Surma held his ground and did not budge. The Penn player broke his stick on the play and was sent to the penalty box for high-sticking.