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After extensive contract negotiations, the Mighty Pirates organization is extremely pleased to welcome back Howie for another season of insightful, amusing, and extremely addictive commentary! Yes, Howie tells it like it is!

You'll find links to each and every Howie Report right here after each game.

The Howie-Les Report: Pirates and Grrrowl Grind it Out!
2013-03-18: Mighty Pirates 3 vs. Grrrowl 0

The two hottest teams to finish the regular season in the Monday Gilmour Division were pitted against each other on opening night of the 2012/13 playoffs, but only one team seemed to come out totally prepared for the big tilt!

As the Pirates suited up, ready to don their glorious white jerseys, the lone Grrrowl player in the opposite dressing room said his team only had light greys. So, the Bucs graciously put on their classic black jerseys.

As the Pirates warmed up on the sleek Ricoh ice, Captain Mola skated to the completely empty Grrrowl side and put their net on its posts. Class act by a class Captain, I would say!

As two puckless Grrrowl players skated circles around their goalie, the Pirates sent over some pucks so they could warm him up... all while the timekeeper was buzzing away, and the refs looked like they were seriously ready to call a game default. Nonetheless, three more Grrrowlers hit the ice just in time, and it was game on. Luckily, their bench would eventually fill out as the game wore on.

While the family Klein, along with Besant, were all out of the country, Captain Mola was able to assemble his recent favourite forward configurations... the Commute Line: Lella (LW), Gallivan (C), Leggett (RW)... the 3M Line: Mandell (LW), Mutch (C), Mola (RW)... the Grind Line: Turner (LW), Phillips (C), M. Sager (RW). On defense he rolled out Kwinter, Sousa, T. Turner, Rosenberg and Jezioranski.

There wasn't a steady tempo to the beginning of the match, as both teams started out a little trepidatiously. But, it did become clear that the Grrrowl were prepared to give it their all. And, so were your heroes.

The Grrrowl's Payne showed some early glove magic in a demonstration of why he led the entire division in GAA, but Sturgeon mirrored that play with some magical glove saves of his own. As predicted on PirateHockey.ca, this was going to be a low-scoring grudge match.

The 3M Line did start to take territorial control early on, which trickled down to the Commute Line and the Grind Line as well. Of course, the territorial advantage wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for the simply excellent work and positioning of the five Pirate defensemen. Their game was truly simple and effective, and allowed the forwards have more control of the puck.

It would be one of the Pirates' top-five playoff scoring heroes that would finally break the deadlock, as Mandell ripped a devastating wristshot home with just 1.4 seconds left in the first period. Boy, that felt good!

The teams grinded it out through a scoreless second period. But, while the tensions were high, it was an amazingly clean game, and a pleasure to watch. The Grrrowl had a spectacular opportunity to tie the score in the dying moments of the middle frame, but Sturgeon stacked the pads in what could become the save of the year! The Pirates also realized this game was far from over.

Leggett was beautifully spung on a breakaway midway through the third period by Lella, but Payne made a maginificent save that charged up his teammates.

With just under five minutes to play, the Grrrowl were digging hard for the puck behind the goal line. As the Pirates got a little scrambled, the puck squirted to the low circle, right onto one of their opponent's stick. But, a quick reaction from Jezioranski with a fearless, face-first block off of his wrist on a screaming snapshot saved what was most likely a sure goal at point blank range. The 1-0 lead would remain as the Bucs changed for fresh legs as the clock ticked down.

Moments later, the Captain took charge with some silky moves, finally beating Payne with a wicked snapshot — an insurance marker with 3:14 on the clock as the entire Pirate bench exploded with some sense of relief!

A desperate Grrrowl team pulled their goalie a few moments later, but before generating any solid scoring chances, Lella pulled away from an attacking forechecker to spring Gallivan in for a breakaway. Being the only Pirate in history to ever miss an empty net goal, Gallivan took the puck 6 inches from the goal line before finally depositing it, essentially capping the win at 3-0 with 1:01 to go.

It might not be the last we see of the Grrrowl, but they now have a harder road to the Cup. They'll face the Badgers (0-1) in a do-or-die game next, while the Pirates will battle the Toronto Blades (1-0) for a free ride into the Championship Final!