In what was a remarkable rookie campaign; Florida Eels Elite defenceman Tie Jacobs has one memory which really sticks out.
“The highlight of the season to me would be the second last game of the season,” Jacobs said. “That game was special to me. I finally got the monkey off my back and scored. The puck shot out after a little battle and I saw the open lane and I snapped it home.”
Jacobs went on to add, “We ended up winning 8-1 against our-rival down the road the Everblades. After the game my roommate grabbed me and hyped me up.”
No question, it was a year full of great achievements for Jacobs who started out the campaign playing high school hockey with Delaware before eventually joining the Eels who play out of the United States Hockey League.
“Putting on the uniform was pretty special,” Jacobs said. “It was a different feeling being so far from home. The people I was with and played with made it special. It was a bond I never had before with all my teammates it was like another family to me.”
Dressing for 20 games, Jacobs ended up scoring one goal and two points as he also exhibited some strong defensive play in helping the Eels finish first in the Florida division before suffering playoff disappointment against Charleston.
“We were able to hold first in the Florida division all season and we won it,” Jacobs said.
“Playoffs were a bit of an upset. We didn’t make it to nationals. We played the Charleston Colonials in a best of 3 series to go to nationals. We lost the first game and I think we underestimated them. The second game we came ready to play and showed them we wouldn’t go without a fight as we out shot, out hit and outplayed them. The third game we went up 4-0 in the second period then we fell. We were doing everything right but we didn’t do it the whole game. We dropped a 4-0 lead and lost 7-5.”
Jacobs went on to add, “In the final seconds of the game we all just came to tears. And after the handshakes when we got into the dressing room, we all cried and hugged each other. We all told each other how much we loved and were going to miss everyone if it was the last time we were to play or see each other again.”
When asked about playing hockey in Florida, Jacobs admitted that it was nice to skip the winter for once.
He also said, “Being able to dress in shorts and wearing flip flops almost everyday was so nice. Sometimes it was hard to concentrate every now and then.”
This life experience of playing hockey in Florida is something that Jacobs will never forget.
