NORTH BILLERICA – Sophomore Blake Graham made certain BC High advanced to the state semifinals to take on Central Catholic when he scored a brilliant shootout goal to lift the Eagles to a 3-2 victory over Walpole in the Super 8 hockey matchup Saturday at Chelmsford Forum.
Graham gave the Eagles a hard-fought, 2-1 series win in the third and decisive game. He faked a shot and made a brilliant move that got Walpole senior goalie James Corcoran out of position, then Graham ripped it past the sprawling goalie for the winner.
“I had that move in my head since I got off the bench, so I knew where I was going,’’ Graham said. “I saw the goalie was coming out of the crease, so I thought I’d pump a shot and just walk around him.’’
Sophomore goalie Luke Garrity backstopped the Eagles with four saves in the shootout, including a stop on senior Pat Donovan that ended the game. Walpole sophomore Ryan Boyajian beat Garrity in the shootout, and had a first-period goal, and senior Danny O’Connell had the other BC shootout tally.
“We fought through, we did well,’’ said BC High coach John Flaherty. “I’m happy with our guys, we stuck to the plan and we did it well.’’
Senior Michael Ball opened the scoring for BC High (16-3-4) in the first period, tucking a backhand shot between Corcoran’s legs at 9:09 of the first. Boyajian struck back for Walpole (23-2-1) to tie it up, and Donovan put the Rebels on top with 46 seconds left in the first.
BC High sophomore Thomas Kramer had the lone goal of the second period, a one-time blast on the power play with 1:40 left in the frame.
After a scoreless third and two overtimes, the best scoring chance for either team came on a penalty shot awarded to Walpole senior Owen Hunter in the second OT, but he was stonewalled by Garrity.
“The guys had my back,’’ Garrity said. “[Thomas] Kramer came up to me after the first goal and told me ‘You got this,’ and that they were going to win it for me.’’
For Walpole, a historic season came to a disappointing end.
“You couldn’t ask for anything more from these guys, they gave it everything they had,’’ said Walpole head coach Ron Dowd. “We just played BC High to a standstill three times. That’s something to be said about these guys . . . I’m very proud of them.’’
James Duffy can be reached at james.duffy@globe.com.
