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With a little over three minutes remaining in the game, Florida Gulf Coast leading scorer Leighton Bowie finished a dunk and blew a kiss to a few select Panther fans at Lantz Arena. He might as well have been blowing that kiss to the Panthers too because at that point, the Eagles had stretched their lead to 10 points and the game, in all reality, was over after Bowie's dunk.
The Eastern hockey club's hard work paid off Saturday when it won its division playoffs. The Panthers (13-7-4) beat Northwestern 6-3 in the semifinals on Friday to reach the championship of the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association silver division. In the finals, Eastern beat Iowa in overtime when junior forward Wayne Perry's goal broke the 3-3 tie.
With Eastern, a school hungry for championships, the next two weeks will be as important as any for the Panther athletic program. Forget about the Ohio Valley Conference men's and women's basketball tournament, the best chance Eastern has to hoist a trophy will come from the swimming and track programs.
In what could be one of the biggest upsets on national signing day, Eastern landed a nationally-ranked high school prospect. Norris Smith should be suiting up for spring practice in a month in attempt to make the depth chart for a Division I-A national championship contender, but he will be fighting for a starting role in Eastern's backfield.
With 42.9 seconds left in the game and the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles up 12 points, Eastern alumnus and assistant Gulf Coast coach sat on the bench with a hand trying to cover the smile on his face. "It feels good," Marc Polite said. "But it's kind of bitter sweet.
