FDU-Florham's Kevin Shadiak scored an unassisted goal to put the visiting Devils up 4-0 with just over five minutes to play in the first half. Eastern first-year head coach Brandon Childs called a timeout and his players ultimately responded as they scored three times before the break and eventually tied the game at five before falling 6-5.

Childs said of the game, "We know that we have to compete from the opening whistle, and we started to fight too late. From that point on, we did what we needed to do, but we cannot start in those kind of holes." 

FDU jumped to 2-0 lead after one quarter on unassisted goals from Shadiack and Adam Koontz. The game stayed at 2-0 until just after the midway point in the second when Taylor Hogarth bulled his way toward the crease and tallied his seventh of the year to put the visitors up 3-0. FDU won the ensuing face-off and Shadiack picked up his league best 29th strike of the year to force Childs into a timeout.

Dan Sharbaugh made a game-changing play just moments after the time out. The senior defenseman caused a turnover and scooped up the ground ball just inside Eastern's box. Rather than looking for a short stick for the clear, Sharbaugh ran the ball into the attacking zone and after drawing the defense found Nick Mandia on the left side of the crease. Mandia finished his 15th of the year, and the Eagles gathered some momentum.

Eastern won the next face-off and Mandia played the role of provider as he found Ben O'Donnell in front of the cage for goal to cut the lead in half. O'Donnell's goal was his 13th of the year. The Eagles earned a man-up opportunity with 38 seconds to play in the half. That opportunity looked to be lost with a turnover with just under 20 seconds left. FDU took a timeout and the Eagles had a chance to set up their man-up defense. 

Mandia forced a turnover with FDU's goalie out of the crease, and Tim Dempsey scooped up the loose ball and fired the ball home to cut the deficit to 4-3 with just 4.8 seconds left on the clock. FDU held a 22-15 edge in shots through halftime, but only half of those 22 were on frame as Zach Rivest made seven first half stops.

The Devils scored the first goal of the second half on Pat O'Brien's seventh of the year with 11 minutes to go in the third. Michael Ryan answered with an unassisted tally of his own to bring the Eagles to within a goal with 7:08 left in the third. 

Both teams stepped up the defense until Ben O'Donnell beat his mark in from the restraining line and caught a pass from Michael Hofmeister about fifteen yards from goal. The senior from Syracuse unleashed a missile to the top of the net for his 14th of the year.

The Devils were able to break the tie with five minutes to play on a sprawling shot from Jason Koontz. The Eagles were able to turn the Devils over just once before the final few seconds of the game, but their clear attempt failed, and FDU held on for the 6-5 win.

Childs complimented the play of his defenders and pointed out the efforts of sophomore defenseman Matt Mandia who held Shadiack to just a pair of early goals. "Our defensive group had some really good moments, he [Shadiack] averages over six points a game, so holding him down and really controlling their attack is something we can take from this," Childs said, "and we will need to build on those for our game this weekend."

The Eagles (3-4 1-2) will return to action on Olson Field Saturday when they host Lycoming College.

Box Score