Forward's hat trick helps Carroll win first hockey title

By Rick Mauch
Special to the Star-Telegram

AUSTIN -- Even though they were well-rested, Carroll forward Brian Jacobowski and his teammates had other things to do rather than play a second hockey game Sunday.

Like celebrating a state championship.

Jacobowski scored a hat trick to lead the Dragons (24-1-1) to their first Texas High School Hockey Association state championship with an 8-1 victory against Plano East at the Chaparral Ice Center. It was Carroll's third victory against the Panthers (23-5) in four days, after a 2-1 victory in the championship game of the Southwestern Bell Metroplex High School Hockey League tournament and a 2-1 victory Saturday at state to send the Panthers into the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

"We really wanted to score as much as possible, so we wouldn't have to worry about another game," Jacobowski said. "Of course, with B.J. [Cotton] in net, we feel being up 2-0 is safe."

It didn't take long for the Dragons to feel comfortable. Jacobowski scored 26 seconds into the game and Danny Force followed with a goal 15 seconds later to give Carroll a 2-0 lead on its first two shots. They ended the first period with a 4-1 advantage as Guy Grivas and Geoff Eames added goals.

"We had fresh legs," Carroll coach Laddy Tresl said. "It's very tough to play an early game after playing a late game the night before, and they had played three games the day before."

Plano East defeated Houston Clear Lake (22-5-1), 4-2, Sunday morning to reach the championship game. After losing to the Dragons on Saturday, the Panthers came back with a 3-0 victory against Lewisville and defeated Arlington, 4-1, for their third victory against the Wolverines in five days, preceded by a 3-2 victory in the semifinals of the Southwestern Bell League and a 6-1 victory Friday to open state.

"We got back to the hotel at midnight, so I knew we'd be physically tired, but then the mental fatigue set in and we just didn't have anything left," Plano East coach Ron Regensheid said.

Three minutes into the game, the Panthers appeared to cut their deficit to a goal. The apparent score was waved off, and the Dragons got a power-play goal from Grivas and a short-handed score from Eames in the next eight minutes to go up 4-0.

"[The puck] was within inches of the red line," the Dragons' Dan Vollmer said of the near-score. "That would have boosted their confidence."

The save was typical of Cotton's season. Sunday was the 21st time he's given up only one goal in a game and he's not given up more than two goals in any game, while posting nine shutouts.

Jacobowski's second goal was short-handed in the second period. He also scored on a 5-on-3 power play in the third period and added an assist on Grivas' goal to finish the game with four points.

Eric Anderson and Ross Paradee also scored goals for the Dragons in the second period as they took a 7-1 lead. Things might have gotten worse, but a mercy rule was invoked and the clock did not stop for icing in the third period.

The Dragons dominated shots on goal by a 35-11 margin. The Panthers took no shots in the final period, and the one goal they managed was late in the first period with a 5-on-3 advantage.

In their four state-tournament games, the Dragons outscored their opponents 18-3. Along with their previous victory against Plano East, they defeated Midland/Odessa, 4-0, and Houston Clear Lake, 4-1.

Both the Dragons and Panthers are now invited to the USA Hockey Rocky Mountain District Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz., on April 20-22. The district covers 11 states. Grapevine won the tournament last year when it was in Dallas on the heels of the Mustangs' state championship.