Tigers Take ECRHA Championship
Towson Defeats Maryland 7-5 in Finals
April 11th, 2004 at 12:52PM February 24th, 2014 1:17PM
In October of 2002, the last thought to cross Towson University captain Jim Tamburino's mind was the possibility of the Tigers winning a Division I regional championship. "After an 0-3 start in the preseason, our goal was just to make the playoffs last year." The Tigers went on to make the regional playoffs, and despite a disappointing performance there, they obtained a bid to the national championships and made an improbable run to the Final Four.This year, as an early preseason favorite, the Tigers marched to an impressive 14-2-2 regular season record and clinched the top seed in the regional playoffs, but no one was ready to hand them the ECRHA Championship Cup just yet. "The parity in our region is such that you have to come with your 'A' game every time out on the floor," says goaltender Mike Burke, adding, "That certainly proved true this year."
In two round robin games, the Tigers went 1-0-1, defeating Rochester Institute of Technology and salvaging a 6-6 tie with SUNY-Binghamton with only 25 seconds remaining. The tie dropped Towson to the #4 seed for the championship round. In the first round, Towson saw Binghamton again and trailed 4-1 early. With their season on the line, the Tigers scored eight unanswered goals starting at 9:48 of the second period en route to a 9-4 win and a semifinal matchup against SUNY - Buffalo.
Buffalo had upset Penn State to move to the semis, but no upset was in order in their semifinal matchup, as Towson broke out to an early lead and never trailed on their way to a 10-4 victory, vaulting them into the finals against the University of Maryland.
Maryland had earned their way into the finals with a tough 8-7 overtime victory over Northeastern University. The Terps came out firing, but Towson converted on key power play opportunities and built a seemingly insurmountable 7-3 lead with only a few minutes remaining in the game. Maryland pulled their goaltender in desperation and managed to add two goals in the final minute of the game, but it was not enough to overcome Towson's lead, with the game ending 7-5.