After starting the season with two losses, due to the fact that the team was composed of many travel hockey players who had to adjust to a new team, the Eastside Stars were able to win 17 out of their next 22 games for a season that led them all the way to the Regional Finals.

The Stars, made up of students from East Lansing, Okemos and Haslett, made it to playoffs and were seeded first in a bracket based off of their regular season games. In the playoffs, it’s single elimination, so a team’s season ends after they lose. On Feb. 24 Eastside played the Caledonia Fighting Scots at Munn Ice Arena in the second round of the playoffs. Eastside won 3-1 and advanced to the Regional Final game.   

Eastside played against the Capital City Capitals (Caps) in the Regional Final. It was tied the entirety of regulation play and the game went past the average hour of playing into six overtimes and ended over three and a half hours after puck drop. The final score was 0-1 with the only goal scored in the 92 minute of the game.

After a hard loss in their Regional Final game, on March 1, the Eastside Stars Hockey team’s season came to an end. Their final record was 17-6-1.

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Photo by Nina VanOtteren

After his second year on Eastside, Jake Hornbach (12) remarks that “his best season yet” had a memorable end. “It’s miserable to play six overtimes,” Hornbach said. “But it’s a memorable end to the season especially against the Caps.” Hornbach, the team's center, says being a senior on the team came with more responsibilities for his last season. “I definitely came into a more of a leadership position towards the end of the season being a senior on Eastside,” Hornbach said. “I had to step up on the ice as well as a teammate .”