The Bishop Hendricken hockey team pulled off a three-peat this past weekend when it shut out rival La Salle 2-0 in the state championship at Providence College.

The star of the show for Hendricken was sophomore goalie Brayden Nebus, who finished with 22 saves and shut down the potent Rams attack. Nebus transferred from Cranston West and was the team’s backup until late in the season when starter Colin Murray missed time with an illness.

Nebus rose to the occasion in the postseason, allowing just one goal against Warwick in the semis before shutting out La Salle on Saturday.

Will Cavanagh put the Hawks ahead 1-0 in the first period. Neither team would find the back of the net again until Cavanagh added an empty-netter with 11 seconds left in regulation to put the exclamation point on the win.

“It feels great, I feel like I’m on top of the world. It’s perfect to be here with these guys, this is my favorite team that I’ve ever been on. It was a fun season,” said Nebus, who credited his teammates for allowing him to lock in. “I couldn’t have done it without them, I think they were the biggest part of why I got the shutout today. If we didn’t score that early goal and keep playing off that, I wouldn’t have had the shutout today.”

“Brayden was our MVP. He made so many big saves for us,” added Cavanagh. “He made so many saves for us tonight and he kept us in the last game. He made a huge stop in the second period (of the semis), that goal would have put us down 2-0. That save was the momentum shift we needed.”

Although Cavanagh felt the pressure of the moment heading into the matchup, his first goal, which wound up being the game-winner, helped him and his teammates shake off the nerves.

“When I scored that goal, that really settled me into the game because I was nervous. After that, it was just another hockey game. Getting that first goal, it was a huge momentum shift but we knew it was going to be tough and that we’d have to grind it out,” said Cavanagh.

The Hawks will return much of their lineup next fall, including Nebus, Crain, Nate Marshall and Andrew Smith.

Cavanagh will be heading to prep school next year, so he was thrilled to claim one more title with this group.

“This team is so close, all of my best friends are on this team. It’s a lot more special to win when you love everyone on the team. That’s the key to winning these championships. Having a group of kids that come together. You have one another’s back and you know it. We had that this year and we had that last year. That’s essential to winning,” said Cavanagh.

Nebus is also looking forward to adding to the team’s history.

“Three-peat is great. I want a four-peat now,” Nebus said.