Carroll roars past Richland, nabs a spot in state hockey tournament

By Jeff Calaway
Special to the Star-Telegram

EULESS -- Carroll's hockey program no longer has to worry about its reputation in the playoffs.

The Dragons defeated Richland, 4-1, Thursday to capture the Section 4 championship of the Southwestern Bell Metroplex High School Hockey League at the Dr Pepper StarCenter at Texas Star. Carroll (18-1-1) advances to the state tournament, scheduled for April 6-8 in Austin.

Before the state tournament, Carroll will play Lewisville at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the StarCenter at Valley Ranch in the league semifinals. All of the league's semifinalists advance to the state tournament.

The victory ends the pattern Carroll goalkeeper B.J. Cotton had seen during his four-year stint with the club. The Dragons lost in the first round last season and in Cotton's freshman year. As a sophomore, the Dragons exited in the second round of the playoffs.

"It feels good knowing that we are the first Carroll team to do it, to actually make it to state," Cotton said. "In years past we have always been one of the top teams ever since I've played. Everybody has been gunning for us and that kind of thing, but we never did well in the playoffs. This year we finally played our best game. Hopefully we will have even better games than this one."

Carroll came out strong, scoring its first goal 2:28 into the game. The Dragons started the game with three quick shots, capped by a goal by Jeff Luther.

Carroll ended the first period with a 2-0 lead thanks to the first of two goals by Brian Jacobowski. Guy Grivas gave Carroll a 3-0 lead 1:54 into the second quarter, then left the rest of the game to its defense.

"The past couple of years we've been knocked out," Jacobowski, a junior forward, said. "This game, this was our best chance yet. This was the best team we've had since I've been here. We just had to get on top of them quick and get them out of their game."

Richland (12-4-4) scored its lone goal in the third quarter on a goal by Tanner Thomas. But the Rebels could not maintain the momentum for the remainder of the game.

"They just played well," Richland coach Bill Stabler said. "We came out flat. I don't know why. You try to do everything you can to get them ready for a game like this, but I didn't feel we got into our game until the third period. Other than that, I don't know, we just did not play our game."

Jeff Calaway, (817) 685-3865

jcalaway@star-telegram.com

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