Chris Grando’s short-handed game-winning goal at 4:20 of overtime propelled Boston College past a plucky 10-seed Merrimack, 4-3, sending the Eagles to the Garden. They will face arch-rival Boston University in Friday’s opening semifinal game at the TD Garden.
The Eagles fell behind on the shot chart for the second straight game, but unlike Friday when BC scored just a single goal, the game’s only marker, it jumped to a 2-0 lead on goals by Mike Booth, the first of his career, and J.D. Dudek.
Merrimack, though, had not one, but two goals to answer before the end of the second. Johnathan Kovacevic scored at 15:39 before Ludvig Larsson snuck one past BC goaltender Joe Woll on a power play with 26 seconds left in the period.
BC responded at 4:14 of the third when Julius Mattila fired home his 12th goal of the season, but the ever-scrappy Merrimack team tied things with 4:55 remaining on a Tyler Irvine tally.
