Centerville 2, Northview 1
In what many thought would be a rebuilding year, Centerville returned to the state quarterfinals a year after their Cinderella run to face revenge-minded Northview in a rematch of the 1996 game. Once again, the Elks were underdogs against a Wildcats team playing on their home ice and in front of a lot of fans hoping to see them advance to the Final Four.

And just like the 1996 thriller, Centerville skated toe to toe with Northview, holding the ‘Cats to just 4 shots in the first period and only 21 on the night.

This year’s star against Northview was right winger Rusty Brown, who’d rejoined the team for his senior year. Thanks to feeds from senior Seth Fowble, Brown scored both Centerville goals in this game, two quick-release shots that beat Northview’s Todd Trego glove side while deep in his net. Brown’s goal toward the end of the second period, which made it 2–0, would prove to be the game-winner.

Determined to avoid the same disappointing result as the year before, Northview came alive in the third period before eventually spoiling goalie Ken Devine’s shutout bid with just over two minutes remaining. With the score now 2–1, an already uneasy game suddenly set itself up for another anxious, frantic finish in front of an amped-up crowd at Sylvania’s Tam-O-Shanter.

Thankfully, the good guys came out on top once more, promptly setting off another dogpile in front of the net. Meanwhile, dejected Northview players and fans looked on, once again stunned by their misfortune.

The win gave birth to a new rivalry between the two foes while proving that Centerville’s 1–0 upset the year before was no fluke. The Elks advanced to the State Final Four for the second time in two seasons, the only such back-to-back run in program history.

Ken Remembers: Obviously, this game had taken on added meaning because of what had happened the year before. You could tell how seriously Northview was taking it just based on the black and yellow paint on some of their players’ faces.

When rewatching this rematch, the biggest thing that stands out is how much better I looked in net than the year before—still a work in progress, but looking like a completely different goalie. My improvement was needed to keep us in the driver’s seat against a Northview squad that had better scoring opportunities than our previous playoff game against them.

While the 1996 triumph will always be incredibly special to me in its own right, I take more pride in the 1997 win because I played a greater role in our success. I hate that I gave up that late goal to let Northview back in the game, but it sure made for a much more dramatic and meaningful finish!

Pulling off another upset on their home ice provided another surreal moment, knowing that somehow, we’d done it again.