The Bishop Hendricken hockey team continued its dominance over rival La Salle when it handed the host Rams a 6-2 defeat in Smithfield last week.

The title rematch was closely contested through two periods of play and the defending champion Hawks led 2-1 heading into the third period. The Hendricken offense took off in the final 15 minutes to roar to four goals and run away with the win.

Senior captain Griffin Crain continued to fill the stat sheet and came up with three goals, two coming in the third period. Jack LaRose found the back of the net twice while Nick Stevens added a goal of his own in the third. Hendricken goalie Colin Murray turned in a strong outing in net, stopping 39 of 41 shots faced.

“We prepared for it all week, we watched film on them and we knew their game plan. We were prepared, it was all about execution. All of our lines were rolling, we came out flying in the third and that was the difference. It was a great team win,” said LaRose, who felt that the team’s intensity in practice has helped it outskate opponents throughout the year. “We skate hard in practice, we get after it. We come out flying in the third all the time and I attribute that to stamina and how hard we work in practice.”

With the win, the Hawks improved to 11-1 and remained in possession of first place in Division I-A, while the loss dropped the Rams to second place in Division I-B. Hendricken’s lone loss of the year was to Prout, who remains in first place on the other side of DI.

Although Hendricken’s four-goal win over the powerhouse Rams was an eye-opener for those watching, LaRose and the Hawks were just happy to get another important win over a potential playoff opponent.

“It’s very important. That’s a big win for us and the standings are tight right now. It was huge getting a win against La Salle. Any win against a top-three team is a statement win. We don’t look at it that way, though. It was just a good win against a good team,” said LaRose.