BREWER – Seventh-seeded Brunswick was poised for an upset Wednesday night.

The Dragons had just scored the tying goal midway through the third period of their Eastern Maine Class A hockey quarterfinal against No. 2 Brewer, and were applying all kinds of pressure in front of the Witches’ net.

But Brewer had not only one, but two answers to the Brunswick charge, as sophomore Eric White came up big in goal and classmate Nick Risser scored the winning goal with 6:10 left in the match as the Witches advanced with a 2-1 victory at the T.J. Ryan Center.

The second-ranked Witches (17-4) will face No. 3 Waterville (13-7-1) in Saturday’s semifinals at the Colisee in Lewiston.

White made 28 saves on 29 shots in overcoming a strong 27-save performance by Brunswick netminder Matt Pellerin.

White’s performance included point-blank saves from close range on shots by the Dragons’ Carl Sickel and Collin Monette shortly after Brunswick had forged a 1-1 tie on a goal by sophomore Nicholas Votta at 7:09 of the final period.

“We knew we’d have a tough time scoring on White tonight, but we had a lot of great chances,” said Brunswick coach Dave Boucher. “We were trying to go for rebounds. He was going to make the first save, but we had some chances on the rebounds and just couldn’t put it home.”

Less than two minutes after Votta’s goal, Brewer regained the lead when Risser scored from the slot after taking a crossing pass from the right wing by Dylan Fitzpatrick. That pass trickled through Brewer’s Ryan Nadeau and a Brunswick defender right to an open Risser, who shot the puck between Pellerin’s legs for his 21st goal of the season.

“Risser’s goal was huge, the biggest goal of the night right there,” said Fitzpatrick. “Killing their momentum like that was definitely something we had to do, otherwise it would have been one of those do-or-die situations.”

White made that goal stand up despite an aggressive effort from a Brunswick team that loomed as a dangerous quarterfinal opponent after shutout victories during the season against the likes of top-ranked Lewiston and Bangor.

“We play as well as long as Eric White plays well, and he played well in the net tonight,” said Brewer coach Bill Schwarz.

White credited a defensive corps that included Prentiss Swett, Chris Lopez, Andy Bush and Matt Helfen for reducing the pressure on him in goal.

“Our defense held them out around the perimeter so they weren’t getting too many great shots, so it was kind of easy for me,” said White. “For the most part we played pretty well. Our defense played tremendous for most of the game and held them without too many Grade-A opportunities.”

Brewer’s first forward line of Fitzpatrick, Risser and Nadeau also accounted for the Witches’ first score, with Fitzpatrick netting his 33rd goal of the winter at 12:07 of the second period.

Risser set up the attempt by blocking a Brunswick clearing pass at the left point and sending the puck ahead to Fitzpatrick .

The Brewer junior then skated from the corner toward the net, moved out in front and stuffed the puck between Pellerin’s legs.

“We like to cycle the puck down low, and we got our cycle working well and caught them off-guard and caught a few of them high,” said Fitzpatrick. “Nick got me the puck and I drove to the net and put it home.”

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WITCHES 2, DRAGONS 1

Brunswick (11-9) 0 0 1 – 1

Brewer (17-4) 0 1 1 – 2

First period – No scoring. Penalties: Brew, Coombs, high sticking, 2:22; Brew, Helfen, tripping, 8:30; Brew, Swett, hooking, 13:59.

Second period – 1. Brew, Fitzpatrick (Risser) 12:07. Penalties: Brew, Risser, interference, 4:00.

Third period – 2. Brun, Votta (Lachance) 7:09; 3. Brew, Risser (Fitzpatrick-Ryan Nadeau) 8:50. Penalties: Brun, Cohen, checking from behind, 2:48; Brun, Cohen, misconduct, 2:48; Brun, Caparratto, cross checking, 12:07

Shots on goal: Brunswick 5-11-13-29; Brewer 9-10-10-29

Goaltenders: Brunswick, Pellerin (29 shots-27 saves); Brewer, White (29-28)

Power-play opportunities: Brunswick 0 of 4; Brewer 0 of 2

Attendance: 125 (est.)