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LOWELL — For one period, Central Catholic was flying.

The Raiders were skating with speed and purpose, dishing out hits and pin-point passes, and grabbing their first lead of the series on an Alex Lester score.

BOSTON — It took less than a minute, but for Haverhill's Elijah Harris it felt like an hour.

Andover .... , didn't qualify Brooks ... Central Catholic ..... 16-5-3, lost 1sr round Super 8 Haverhill .... 9-10-2, lost D2N first round; 1st tourney berth and most wins since 10-9-2 06-07 .................................... Londonderry....... Methuen .... didn't qualify North Andover ... didn't qualify North Reading .... 16-3-2, D2N quarters Pentucket-Georgetown ..... 6-14, didn't qualify 10th year in row ......................................... Phillips .... Pinkerton...... Salem ... Amesbury-Whittier .... 8-9-4, D2N first round Windham-Pelham ..... Timberlane .....

Billy Stahley scored twice as Central Catholic did all of its scoring in the first period on the way to beating Acton-Boxboro 3-2 to clinch the Merrimack Valley Conference/Dual Country League title. Alex Lester added the other Raider goal, while Corey Webber and Richie Greenberg each had two assists.

TEWKSBURY — Not long ago, there was concern around the Central Catholic hockey team, following tough losses to Malden Catholic and Austin Prep, the Nos. 1 and 4-ranked team in the state.

But with the Super 8 selection and state tournament seedings now less than a week away, the Raiders continue to send a clear message to the local hockey world.

Lloyd Hayes hauled in the puck, skated in a breakaway and fired a shot that squited through the pads of the gialie 5-hole with less than two minutes to left to give Central Catholic a 4-3 victory over perennial powerhouse Catholic Memoral, the No. 3 ranked team in the state.

Corey Webber (2), Sean Holly, Eric Robbins, Zach Cote and Christian Thompson scored as Central Catholic blanked Andover 6-0.

With Central Catholic trailing by a pair of goals with five minutes left in the game, Alex Lester and Kevin Regan each potted a goal to give the Raiders a 2-2 tie with Westford Academy.

Lloyd Hayes picked up the puck near the blueline, dodged a defender, put a move on the goalie and fired the puck over his shoulder for a goal with 1:54 left in regulation. Hayes then scored an empty-netter with 0:38 to clinch Central Catholic's 5-3 win over Springfield Cathedral.

WILMINGTON —Central Catholic’s Alex Lester saw the puck pop into the air, and as the clock ticked down he made the only move he could think to make.

He swung his stick.

“Lloyd (Hayes) made a great play beating a man and putting the puck on net,” said Lester. “I saw it in the air and I just swung at it. I knocked it out of the air and into the net.”