VALENCIA — Freeport didn't want to fall behind early. Hampton wanted to jump out to a quick lead.

Advantage Hampton.

In the opening round of the PIHL Class A playoffs, the Talbots scored two goals in a two-second span early in the first period and went on to the 4-2 victory at the Ice Connection.

"I told the guys, 'We don't want to give up goals early,'" said Yellowjackets coach Dave Hepler. "We wanted to hang in as long as we can. With us scoring the first goal, it might make them tighten up."

Alex Mueller tallied all four goals for Hampton (15-7-1), the first coming on a pass behind the net from Adam Selvaggio with 9:59 left in the opening period.

Mueller took the shot from the left side of the net and buried it past Freeport goalie Cody Lee.

Just after the faceoff, Hampton batted the puck toward the net. The puck slowly bounced its way past Lee for a 2-0 lead.

"That's kind of the one that kills you," Hepler said. "We just gave up that first goal and were a little down and maybe I should have changed the line.

"We come back (for the faceoff) and they get that fluky goal that hit the pipes and goes in," Hepler added.

"(Freeport's) the kind of team if you give them time, they'll beat you," said Hampton coach Allan Walsh Jr. "We knew we had to come out strong. The second goal, the way it went in, helped us tremendously.

"We got under their skin. That would be the backbreaker," Walsh added.

Mueller added his third goal with 2:06 left in the first off assists by Nick Pappert and Selvaggio, each credited with their second assist.

When Mueller found the back of the net with 8:58 in the second period, off a helper from Luke Leya, Hampton had a four-goal lead.

"We weren't focused in on just him," said Hepler. "He got some goals on breakaways. He was able to finish, but they moved up the pucks."

Mueller, however, nearly cashed in on three more opportunities in the second period.

With Freeport (7-14-1) on a power play, Mueller stole a pass at center ice and was turned away by Lee with 1:56 left. Then, 53 seconds later, Mueller again stole the puck, but his scoring chance was stopped.

"We had someone watching behind the net and said the puck went in," said Walsh. "He should have gotten two more goals."

Then, with no time left in the second period, Lee picked up a penalty that resulted in a penalty shot. Mueller took the shot but missed.

"That penalty shot got away from him," said Walsh. "There's not much more to say about him. If I said anything else, it would have to be new."

In the third period, the Yellowjackets bounced back as Shane Gallagher scored on a short-handed goal with 14:13 to play on a breakaway after accepting a pass before center ice.

Another Yellowjackets senior, Neil DeCroo, scored with 28 seconds remaining on assists by Nick Spangler and Jon Hill to cut the lead to 4-2.

Talbots goalie Sam Wilson, though, came up with a big save on a Yellowjackets' slapshot with 23.5 seconds left to keep Freeport at bay.

Notes: The win was the Talbots sixth in as many games. ... The win was Hampton's third against Freeport this season. The Talbots had defeated Freeport 4-2 and 4-1 on Dec. 3 and Dec. 7, respectively. ... The Yellowjackets, who were outshot by a 40-21 margin.