The Bishop Hendricken hockey team had a chance to put away the defending state champion La Salle Academy Rams on Saturday night at Levy Ice Rink in Burrillville, but La Salle captain Matthew Manown had other ideas, as he scored the game-winning goal just 10 seconds into the second overtime for a 7-6 victory that tied the best-of-three series at one game apiece.

Hendricken took the first game Friday night, 7-2, at Warwick’s Thayer Arena, scoring five unanswered goals in the second and third periods.

The Hawks finished in second place in the Cimini Division with a 12-6-1 record, compiling 24 points behind Mount Saint Charles’ 25 points. La Salle posted an 11-7 record with 23 points in Rhode Island’s best division in boys’ hockey.

The Rams struck first in Game 2 when Evan McGreen found the back of the net five minutes into the game. Five seconds later, Matthew Pimental scored as the Hawks found themselves down 2-0. But the Hawks did not panic. After a La Salle penalty for too many men on the ice, captain Reilly Miller got the Hawks on the board with an unassisted power play goal. Two minutes and 45 seconds later, Hendricken tied the game on its second power play goal. This time, it was Patrick Creamer who put home the rebound.

La Salle would get the lead back 44 seconds later on the first of three goals by Manown, as the Rams took a 3-2 lead after 15 minutes.

The Hawks would outshoot the Rams in the first period, 18-9.    

Hendricken tied the game as the second period opened on another power play goal by Creamer, making it a perfect 3-for-3 for the Hawks on their man advantage.

McGreen’s second goal of the game made it 4-3 Rams and Manown added another one minute and 45 seconds later, as the defending champs took a 5-3 lead into the third period. Hendricken had a great opportunity, but could not cash in on a late 5-on-3 power play in the second period, as the Rams finally killed off a penalty successfully.

The Rams opened up their biggest lead of the night, 6-3, after a Christian Sorensen goal less than two minutes into the final period.

The Hawks were not about to give up easily, as they would score three unanswered goals to deadlock the game at six.

Cameron Duprey’s goal ignited the comeback, assisted by Andrew Hopgood, which was followed 48 seconds later by a Miller score.

La Salle had a chance to break the Hawks’ momentum on a breakaway, but Hendricken goalie Wyatt Alberigo came up with a big save, keeping it a one-goal game with only three minutes and five seconds left in regulation.

Miller then scored for the third time in the game, knotting it at six off of a rebound from La Salle goalie Taylor Peltier with 2:08 remaining in the third. Miller now has scored five goals in the series.

The two teams headed to overtime, where Alberigo came through with some huge saves. His counterpart, Peltier, was not to be outdone in the extra period, as the Hawks put the pressure on the Rams’ senior goaltender. Peltier would register seven saves in the overtime and she would finish the game with 37 saves.

With two minutes left in overtime, Manown committed a penalty that would give the Hawks a 4-on-3 advantage for the rest of the overtime. It looked as if Hendricken had the game won on a goal with 3.5 seconds left, but the officials disallowed the goal, saying the whistle blew before the puck entered the net.

“The referees did a great job on that call,” said Hendricken head coach Jim Creamer. “They said it was not a goal, so it was not a goal. There was no controversy at all.”

So there would be a second overtime, which saw Manown’s  heroics, as he atoned for his previous penalty. His third goal of the night set up a winner-take-all game 3 at Thayer Arena, which was scheduled for Monday night. Results were unavailable at press time. The winner of the Hawks-Rams series will play No. 1 Mount Saint Charles, which beat Smithfield in two games in their semifinal series.

“I give our kids a lot of credit,” Creamer said. “We were in some bad situations and battled back from being down 2-0 and 6-3. The loss stings, but it is not the final blow. We need and will be ready to play the next game. I thought our power play was very good tonight, but give all the credit to La Salle, they did what they had to do. We will try to be a little better in our own end come Game 3.”