Carroll advances to Metroplex hockey final

By Rick Mauch
Special to the Star-Telegram

IRVING -- The Carroll Dragons showed the Lewisville Farmers a lot of respect Tuesday night. The Dragons also showed how deep the Carroll bench is and how patient they can be.

And they earned a spot in the Southwestern Bell Metroplex High School Hockey League championship, defeating Lewisville, 4-1, at Dr Pepper StarCenter.

The Farmers employed a style similar to the one they used in upsetting Coppell, 3-2, in the Section 3 championship game Thursday. They worked to keep the score low and hoped for a break.

But the break never came. The Dragons had eight players figure in the scoring, and the Carroll defense was solid throughout, limiting the Farmers to 13 shots on goal. On those, Dragons goaltender B.J. Cotton was his usual, nearly impenetrable self.

"It was the biggest surprise of the season, them beating Coppell," Carroll coach Laddy Tresl said. "The first two periods, we were a little shaky. We certainly had respect for them."

It wasn't until a little more than a minute remained in the second period that Carroll got a two-goal cushion. Geoff Eames' goal 10:53 into the period put the Dragons up 3-1.

The Dragons (19-1-1) face Plano East (19-2) in the league final at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Irving StarCenter. The Panthers reached the title game with a 3-2 overtime victory against Arlington (18-2-1). Lewisville fell to 10-7-4.

All four teams that played Tuesday will travel to Austin for the Texas High School Hockey Association State Tournament on Friday through Sunday at the Chaparral Ice Center. They will be joined by four teams from Houston, one from Round Rock and one from Midland/Odessa in a 10-team double-elimination tournament.

As has been their forte all season, the Dragons got scoring from a variety of players. Eames, Jeff Kraemer, Danny Force and Brian Jacobowski scored goals, and Brad Solomon, Dan Vollmer, Guy Grivas and Jeff Luther had assists.

"That's the way it's supposed to be," Tresl said. "If you've got 20 players pulling on the same rope, that makes a great team."

Tuesday's victory was the ninth consecutive for the Dragons and extended their unbeaten streak to 19 games since they fell to Richland, 3-1, on Oct. 19 in the second game of the season.