This past Saturday, despite the weather, the Warriors traveled down to U of Delaware for a 1st round playoff matchup with Johns Hopkins University. The Warriors were pumped to get their first taste of playoff hockey since the 2012-2013 season when they lost a semifinal matchup with Alvernia University. This time they were looking for a different result and a longer run. And the first 4 minutes of the game would look good for the Warriors as they possessed the puck and controlled the pace of play until Johns Hopkins was able to get on the board first at 16:13 mark to gain the first lead of the afternoon. Johns Hopkins would take the momentum from that point on as they would start to collect offensive zone time which would escalate to a 3-0 lead after they would score two goals within 20 seconds of each other. The Warriors would answer back a minute later thanks to a goal from Travis Moore, crashing the net for a rebound off of a Henry Mead shot on net, to cut the lead to 3-1. But that score would not hold for much longer as JHU would extend the lead to 4-1 at the 7:39 mark thanks to Eric Feldman's second goal of the period. As the period would wind down, the Warriors were hoping to get into the locker room only down 3 and regroup during the intermission but JHU had other plans as they would sneak another on in before the horn would sound and head into the first intermission up 5-1.

The Warriors were looking at a tall task entering the second period, needing a huge spark to get back in this game. And it would come off of a breakaway goal from Henry Mead to cut the lead to 5-2 at the 14:36 mark of the second period. The Warriors would add two more goals within the next 3 minutes to get within one goal at 5-4 thanks to two scores from Sean McGinley. The Warriors were starting to feel themselves and gaining momentum, creating quality scoring chances on almost every shift. But Johns Hopkins would be the one to get the next two goals before the 3rd period, extending their lead to 7-4 into the break, notching a PP goal.

In the third period the Warriors would inch closer only to see JHU answer. Goals from Sean McGinley (his third) and Steve Quimby along with many posts with the goalie pulled would not be enough as JHU would net an empty netter with 8 seconds left to end the game 9-6. The Warriors put up a good fight to keep getting back into the game but dug a too big of a hole to complete the comeback. A great season for the Warriors ends with an upsetting 1st round playoff exit. ESU finishes with an overall record of 13-7-1 and a league record of 8-5.

Game Notes: Josh Seder - 37 saves on 45 shots, Travis Moore and Henry Mead - 1G, 1A each

Player of the Game: Sean McGinley with the Hat Trick

We look forward to seeing you all again for the 2018-2019 season. Go Warriors!