Instead the Hornets were buzzing from the opening face-off. Mansfield scored the first six goals of the game, hardly letting the Panthers have the ball in the opening quarter, and rattled off four goals in just 1:16 to close out the first half to secure a dominant 19-6 win and advance to the Div. 2 Sweet Sixteen for the second straight season.

“We were dialed in,” said Mansfield coach Tim Frias. “We had a week and a half to prepare for these guys and hopefully we’ll have the same preparation for Walpole [in the next round]. They came out focused and we’re tough when we’re focused. It was a good team win.”

With freshman Nico Smith winning 6-of-7 face-offs in the first quarter, Mansfield was relentless from the start.

Drew Sacco (four goals and an assist) got open for a shot from the edge of the crease and Cody Gordon (three goals and three assists) followed with a chance that was kicked aside less than a minute into the game. Grady Sullivan (three goals) would force a turnover on a poor clearance and Gordon would break the deadlock with a nice fake and close-range finish.

Just 12 seconds later, Sullivan came racing off the bench, was hit in stride, and carried it straight at goal to make it 2-0. A couple minutes later, Andrew Burnham (two goals and an assist) found twine while taking a big hit and then just 10 seconds later Tommy Vallett scored with a rocket.

Ryan DeGirolamo (nine saves) was largely a spectator for the first six minutes, but he came up with a big save down low to stop James Whitman from getting the visitors on the board. Down the other end, Gordon fed Tommy Smith (four goals and an assist) for his first. Smith would add another before the end of the quarter, following up after his first shot was blocked.

While the Hornets led 6-0, it could have been much worse for the Panthers. Goalie David MacNeil stood on his head to keep Mansfield out, making seven of his 21 saves in the first quarter alone. “Their goalie was on,” Frias said. “I told the guys at halftime that we probably should’ve had about four or five more but their goalie was a hell of a player and kept them in it.”

The Panthers started the second determined to get back into the game. They won the first couple of draws and Collin Murphy beat DeGirolamo to get on the board. Whitman-Hanson had a long spell of possession but Nico Smith made a great interception and over-the-head flip back to his goalie to win the ball back. He then got his lone goal of the game down the other end to make it 7-1.

Gavin McCarthy and Will Frazier scored just eight seconds apart to bring the Panthers within four and get some energy on the visiting bench, but Mansfield closed the half with a flurry that took the sting out of the rest of the game.

With just under four minutes to go, Tommy Smith found Sacco in front for a goal that stemmed the tide. The Panthers were aggressive in transition, bringing their goalie out to try and limit passing options, but Mansfield saw it and started aiming long shots on net. With 1:16 to go, after MacNeil made a brilliant save on the first shot, Sacco was in perfect position to grab the loose ball and slam it into the empty net.

Twenty-seven seconds later, Gordon forced a turnover and found Sacco alone in front for another goal. Just 13 seconds after that, Gordon got one of his own, cutting in from the right and going one-on-one with the goalie. Less than 10 seconds later, Gordon picked out Tommy Smith and he whistled one into the bottom corner from distance. Four goals in just 76 seconds put Mansfield in front 12-3 at the break.

“That impressed hell out of me,” Frias said. “Four goals in one minute was a quick flurry that they didn’t think was coming and that really helped us to put it away.”

In the third quarter, the teams traded goals. McCarthy got a man-up goal for the Panthers but Smith responded with a leaping finish on the other end. Joe Concannon added one in transition for the visitors but from the ensuing face-off Nico Smith got the ball to Sullivan and he had plenty of time to wind up and fire.

After a DeGirolamo save on one end, Mansfield raced down and Sacco got another one in transition. Mansfield led 15-5 after three.

Sullivan, Tommy Smith, Burnham, and Gordon each scored in the fourth quarter to put the Panthers away.

Defensively, the Hornets continued to be strong. Liam Barry, Nolan Bordieri, James DeGirolamo, Thomas Gormley, and LSMs Ben Hoopis and KJ Mahoney helped hold the Panthers to single digits. It’s the 15th game this season where the Hornets held a team under 10 goals.

“It’s all Ryan D right there,” Frias explained. “Having a goalie like Ryan always telling the defense where to be, always talking, and having the save percentage that he has is just phenomenal. We wouldn’t be where we are without Ryan DeGirolamo.”

Mansfield (14-5) will be on the road to face No. 8 Walpole on Wednesday at 4:00.