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| January 15, 2004
By Jim Anderson
Team Harrow Wins The Pro Title In Dramatic Fashion
|  A Harrowing Victory
Click here for Pro Division photos from the semi finals and final game.
When the NARCh schedule was first released many people had the same question, who's on Team Harrow? The answer would come soon enough on the first day of play as they defeated the Tour Beemers (Team Tour D1 team with a couple additions) by a 6-2 score. While the jersey had changed, there were quite a few familiar faces wearing the Harrow jerseys. Shook, Ciolli, Parnell, Melson, Saterdalen, Harris have all been mainstays in the PRO division all had the yellow "h" on their jerseys. The biggest coup was Laurie, who is perhaps the best netminder to play in the PRO division.
During the preliminary round, it looked like Mission DNA and the Tour Mudcats would again be teams to beat as both went 3-0 to move into the semifinals, with Mission nabbing the #1 seed having allowed fewer goals scored. The last 2 spots would be a fight between Harrow, Mission Snipers and Mission Hyper Pirates, all of whom went 2-1. After the tiebreakers worked their magic it would be Harrow and the Snipers claiming the last 2 spots in the semifinals.
"Losing that last game was the best thing that happened to us" according to Colin Sharp of the Mission Snipers, saying it made get back their focus. They would meet top seeded Mission DNA in the 1st semifinal. The Snipers would score first on the PP as Bravo knocked home the setup from Scheer less than 5 minutes into the half. Matteo would stretch the lead to 2-0 with 2:30 left in the 1st only to have DNA race back 40 seconds later on a goal by 29. Bravo would give the Snipers a 2 goal lead once again with a goal in the final minute of the half staking the lead to 3-1. DNA would regroup though and convert on the PP to trim the lead to 3-2 as Marszelak scored his 2nd of the game. Another penalty by the Snipers would give DNA the chance to tie it, and they did as Cook scored off a feed from St. Cyr knotting the contest at 3 with just over 5 minutes remaining. In OT, DNA had its share of scoring chances with Pennecke, playing some of his best hockey ever @ NARCh, making a crucial stop at the 13:20 mark allowing Bravo to hit Thompson with the pass and he would race in alone on Hoffman, make his move and bury it, sending the Snipers to their first NARCh PRO Final with a dramatic 4-3 win.
Next up was the Tour Mudcats and Team Harrow. Costanza would score in the opening minute for the Mudcats to take an early 1-0 lead before Saterdalen would tie it up at 1 with 8:35 left in the half. Harris would give Harrow its first lead of the game a little over 2 minutes later and it looked as if that they would take that 2-1 lead into halftime before Mazer scored to tie it at 2. The two teams would remain tied at 2 for most of the 2nd half before Saterdalen's 2nd pushed Harrow ahead once again. Costanza would answer for the Mudcats again, who were looking to win their 3rd straight WN Title. Harris would again put Harrow in front with his 2nd with just 2 minutes remaining. With time running down, it would be CJ Yoder who would bring the Mudcats back one last time with scoring off a Costanza feed with just 32 seconds left in regulation. Despite scoring the opening goal, the Mudcats had been playing catch up most of the game and if they were to advance they would have to find a way to stop Saterdalen and Harris. The 2 teams would get through the first 10 minutes of OT, with both Bufalino and Laurie standing on their heads. The dramatic goal that won it was Harris’ 3rd of game. The shot came of his stick and snuck past Bufalino but sat on the goal line. Bufalino was down and unaware of where the puck was. With a mad scramble to get to the loose puck, one of the Mudcats accidentally taped it just past the line, a tough way to end their Winternationals winning streak. Harris has been the lucky charm for many teams, winning the Pro Title 4 of the 5 Tournaments he’s played in.
While you had 2 teams in their first PRO Final, Harrow clearly had the experience going into the championship with a number of players (Shook, Ciolli, Laurie, and Melson) who have not only played in the Final, but won the title as well. In a bit of a reversal from the semifinals, Harrow would score first on a Melson tally, with the Snipers tying it up late in the first half on a goal from Sharp, assisted by Thompson. They would stay tied through the end of the first half and early in the 2nd until Sharp broke the tie with his 2nd of the game, giving the Snipers a 2-1 lead. Melson would come back once again for Harrow off a setup by Shook and the game would be tied with just under 4 minutes to play. Then with time winding down, the Snipers would have their chance, skating in on Laurie, a good pass for the one timer…half their arms are in the air and Laurie catches it with his left toe skate wheel. How good was the save? When I walked into the rink at 11:30 Sunday night, people were still talking about it! In OT, all 3 NARCh PRO playoff games in OT it doesn't get better does it?, both Pennecke and Laurie were on their game early as each made strong saves before Harrow finally broke the tie on a goal by Ciolle to give NARCh's newest sponsor, Harrow, a great start in their NARCh endeavors.
Danny Costanza from the Tour Mudcats took home the Pro High Scorer Honors with 7 goals and 6 assists for 13 total points, while Justin Hoffman from Mission DNA took home the Top Goalie Award with .863 save percentage.
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