LOWELL — The doubters still persist, but Walpole continues to just tune out the noise.
Behind a 35-save performance by senior goalie James Corcoran, and an early first-period goal from sophomore Conor Foley, the seventh-seeded Rebels defeated No. 2 BC High, 1-0, at the Tsongas Center in Lowell Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three, Super 8 quarterfinal round.
With the victory, Walpole (23-0-1) became the first public school Super 8 entrant to win a best-of-three quarterfinal game since that format was introduced back in 2013.
“These kids have done it all year long, but this (series) is a long way from over,” said Walpole coach Ron Dowd, whose team beat Catholic Memorial, 2-1 in overtime, in one of the two Super 8 play-in games last week. “No one still believes that we should still be here (in the Super 8), and that is not me making this up, so it was easy to keep the kids focused.”
Foley accounted for the only scoring of the day just 89 seconds into the game when he collected the puck after an Eagles turnover at center ice, skated in alone, and beat BC High goalie Luke Garrity (25 saves) with a nifty backhand to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead at 1:29 of the first period.
Through the rest of the first period and all of the second, BC High (14-3-4) found little space against the defensive shell implemented by the Walpole defense, which limited the Eagles to shots from the perimeter, and when BC High did find space, Corcoran was up to the task.
Walpole, content to play conservative with its 1-0 lead, had all it could handle from the Eagles over the final 15 minutes — BC High finished with 19 third-period shots — but Corcoran stopped Matt Keohane on a semi-breakaway early in the frame before coming up with several late saves in the final minute after the Eagles pulled Garrity for an extra skater.
“James is a rock; he is our everything,” Dowd said after Corcoran’s 14th shutout of the season.
Game 2 will be played Tuesday (7 p.m.) at the Chelmsford Forum.
WALPOLE 1, BC HIGH 0
Walpole (23-0-1) 1 0 0 — 1
BC High (14-3-4) 0 0 0 — 0
FIRST – Walpole, Conor Foley (un.), 1:29
SECOND – No scoring.
THIRD – No scoring.
SAVES – W, James Corcoran, 35; BCH, Luke Garrity, 25
