Blue Devils bedevil Liquidators in final

The Blue Devils had to take the long road in order to reach the

championship game of the 2002 Boys and Girls Club roller hockey season.

They needed to win two matches, including an upset win, just to reach

the title match. But once they traveled to the final, they didn’t stop

there, as they bedeviled the top-seed Liquidators in an overtime

thriller, 3-2, to claim the crown.

Taylor Parks scored the second of his two goals, just below the

circles, four minutes into the overtime session to decide the match.

Parks opened the scoring with a goal in a productive first period that

saw Hunter French score from near half court and Andrew Hernandez stop

everything the Liquidators sent his way.

Following a scoreless second period, Jacob Graham scored on a power

play early in the third period to draw the Liquidators within 2-1. With

time winding down in regulation play, and the Blue Devils with two men in

the penalty box, Graham scored with a minute left on the penalty to tie

the score and send the match to overtime.

Hernandez went on to record 20 saves on 22 shot attempts.

The Liquidators’ Kyle Jenkins finished with 27 saves against 30 shot

attempts.

Graham finished the season as the league’s second leading scorer with

59 goals and three assists, just behind the Black Hawks’ Keith Tura who

had 59 goals and six assists.

The third-seeded Blue Devils opened the postseason with a 7-2 win over

the Chargers. Connor Reid powered the Blue Devils with five goals and one

assist. Hernandez recorded 33 saves.

In the second round they upset the No. 2 seed Black Hawks, 7-3. Parks

scored five of those goals and assisted another as the Blue Devils

avenged two regular season defeats to the Black Hawks.

The Liquidators reached the championship game by virtue of a 9-6 win

over the fifth-seed Blue’s Clues. Graham burned the nets for seven goals

and Jenkins had 18 saves.