Last fall, Dorchester’s Jack Burke didn’t know if he would even be on the BC High hockey team, let alone be putting in a standout performance as the goalie in the ongoing state tournament, but he was determined to try out one last time during his senior year at the Morrissey Boulevard school.
In the early fall one afternoon after a whirlwind of tryouts, the long-time goalie sat on the ice with prospective teammates to hear if he had made the team. He had sat there on three previous occasions and never heard his name called. On this day, though, Coach John Flaherty said that Burke had made the team.
“Everyone just goes into the middle of the circle on the ice after tryouts and Coach Flaherty says if you hear your name, congratulations,” said Burke this week in an interview before practice. “On that day, he called my name. It’s what I kept working for every year. I’ve been going [to BC High] since 7th grade. It’s why I came here, so I had to try again one last time. It was just amazing to hear my name.
“Hard work and determination paid off and what we’re doing now is what the entire team has really worked for together – going for the chips,” Burke said.
Having come into the tournament as the 13th seed in Division 1, BC High has beaten Milton and higher seeds like No. 5 Austin Prep and No. 4 Catholic Memorial, its long-time rival, both Burke shutouts.
The Cinderella run came to an end Tuesday night when No. 1 seed St. John’s Prep skated to a berth in the championship game with a 2-1 win over the Eagles at Tsongas Arena in Lowell. Burke stymied the heavily favored opponents for nearly three periods before the tying goal was notched with less then a minute left in the third period. According to a report on the game in the Patriot Ledger, it was the first goal allowed in 10 consecutive periods by Burke and the Eagles defense. Burke had 26 saves on the climatic night.
For all that has happened in recent days, Burke wasn’t moved into a starting role until well into the season Flaherty said Burke has emerged just at the right time.
“Jack has always worked hard and has taken advantage of skills and practices,” he said . “We have just started to see the fruits of that right now. He’s playing confident and making the saves he needs to make and a couple of spectacular ones here and there as well.”
Burke is one of four Dorchester players on a team that also includes Luke O’Sullivan, Brendan Burke (no relation), and Jackie Murphy.
Goalie Burke said he got his start in hockey watching the Bruins on television with his dad on television, and then playing on the ice with Stephanie O’Sullivan of Dorchester Youth Hockey’s (DYH) Learn to Skate program.
“I loved Dorchester hockey and it was my first experience,” he said. After that experience, he then played for Boston Advantage, the Boston Jr. Terriers, South Shore Kings, and the Boston Breakers. He said he started as a forward, and moved to the net with Boston Advantage. “I like being in the net,” he said. “You’re not always in the middle of the game, but then it suddenly gets intense. I like being in high-pressure situations.”
When not on the ice, he enjoys hanging out in the Florida-Ashmont street neighborhood where he lives with his parents, Derek and Jessica, and his sister Sarah.
He said he loves how people in Dorchester are so involved and laid back. A dedicated student who enjoys English the most, Burke said it has been rewarding getting out to other areas of the state via his hockey playing.
“It really broadens your base of friends, and hockey is a small, tight community,” he said. To that point, he said, in this year’s state competition, he has faced shots from friends he’s played with and against over the years.
But in his preparation for the tournament games, it has been his demeanor that has kept himself and the team loose and confident. “It’s really not hard to describe,” he said. “There’s no special science to it. I show up and play and make sure to stay in the game. You have to get loose and stay calm and not let it all get in your head so much.”
