By ERIC BENEVIDES

Sports writer

PROVIDENCE - For the second straight night, Mount St. Charles Academy found itself staring at a 3-1 deficit in the second period of a playoff contest with Bishop Hendricken High.
For the second straight night, the Mounties came back with a splendid third-period showing that got them right back into the contest, and for the second straight night, both teams needed overtime to determine the outcome.
But unlike Thursday’s overtime win, the Mounties needed three OT sessions on Friday night to put away their longtime rivals and claim the 40th Division I championship in the program’s storied history.
Series MVP Evan Hoffman notched the game-winning goal 33 seconds into the third OT off a pass from Shane Dunphy to lift the Mounties to a thrilling 5-4 victory and a sweep of their best-of-three series before a small, but very enthusiastic crowd at Providence College’s Schneider Arena.
The championship was the second in a row by the Mounties at the expense of the Hawks, and it was the grand finale to another magnificent campaign orchestrated by legendary head coach Bill Belisle and assistant coach Dave Belisle.
“It was nice to get it back last year, but when you win it again, it shows you are superior again,” said Dave Belisle. “What’s nice about all this is that my father’s been coaching this long and he still has everybody loving him and playing for him, and that’s the key to our success.
“Whatever these boys do, they dedicate to my father because they love him. He’s not only a vision, but he’s an inspiration. We’re very fortunate to have him because he’s what makes Mount successful.” 
Hoffman, a talented junior who missed a handful of games this season with injuries and illnesses, certainly made the Mounties’ playoff run a successful one. On Thursday, he netted a pair of late goals to force overtime, and in last night’s victory, he set up a pair of third-period scores before tucking in the game-winner.
“Evan’s had a tough year with injuries and sickness, but I told him, ‘You’re the best player in the state,’ and I thought he proved it in this series,“ added Dave Belisle. “Evan’s a remarkable hockey player -- one of the best players we’ve had here in a while -- and he’s going to be even better next year.”
The Mounties, who did not bring out their best in the first two periods of Thursday’s game, played a strong game from start to finish and outshot the Hawks by a stunning 45-16 margin, but their net minder, Shane Benjamin, was superb in stopping 40 of the shots.
“I thought we outshot them and outskated them, but we were a little sloppy on their (first) three goals,” admitted Dave Belisle. “I was pleased after the second period, not with the score, but certainly with our effort as compared to the night before.
“But (Bejamin) was the difference in this hockey game as far as keeping it close. He frustrated us and made some excellent saves. We did hit the pipe a couple of times, but it was very frustrating.”
Down by a 3-1 score, the Mounties, who outshot the Hawks by a 16-3 count in the final period, closed to within a score 2:20 into the final period when Zachary Samborsky tipped home the rebound of a shot by Hoffman past the reach of Benjamin.
“After the second (period), I said to the boys, ‘Stay with it. You’re going to get opportunities. We just have to be stronger with our shots,’ and we were,” said Dave Belisle. “I had a good feeling at the end of the second period, and I just said, ‘We need one and it will change the outcome of the game.’ ”
Then with 6:41 to play in the game, Tim Coffey tied the score by flipping in a shot from the left faceoff circle that deflected off a Hendricken player near the net and dropped behind Benjamin.    
With 4:30 on the clock, Shane Dunphy gave the Mounties the lead, but less than a minute to play, Nick Mattiello got the Hawks back on the board and the game soon went into extra time.
After a ho-hum 7½-minute session that saw both sides takes just two shots on net, the game went into a second overtime that last five minutes and saw both teams have to play 4-on-4.
Again, both teams were unable to light the lamp (MSC took all four of the shots), setting the stage for a third five-minute overtime -- with both teams playing 3-on-3 -- and that brought a smile to Dave Belisle’s faces.
“When the period ended, we just had a good feeling that we were going to get one,” said Dave Belisle. “We wanted to end it, and 3-on-3, I really liked our advantage because of some of the skaters that we have on the open ice.”  
Dunphy raced into the Hawks’ end and set up Hoffman with a nice pass that zipped across the mouth of the goal to him, and Hoffman quickly one-timed a shot between Benjamin and the right post, sending off a celebration of red jerseys on the ice and the Mounties fans into a wild frenzy.
The winners drew first blood midway through the first period when Dunphy took a go-ahead pass from Kyle Beauchamp and lifted a low shot that found its way between Benjamin and the right post.
But the Hawks responded with the next three goals, and for the second time in as many nights, they had the Mounties on the ropes.
At 10:51, Matt Salhany was in the right place at the right time, in the middle of a swarm of players in front of the Mounties’ net, when Noel Acciari took a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that deflected off Mattiello on the way to the net and zipped past San Antonio. 
Hendricken then took the lead 1:04 into the middle period when Mattiello, instead of trying to beat San Antonio with an up-close shot around the right post, set up Acciari on the doorstep of the net.
Seven minutes later, Andy Bathgate made it a two-goal game by slamming in the rebound of a shot by Acciari, who took an up-close shot near the right post that San Antonio reached down to stop with his blocker. The Hawks took that 3-1 lead into the break, but they wouldn’t have it for long.   
***
Bishop Hendricken        1 - 2 - 1 - 0 - 0 -- 4
Mount St. Charles        1 - 0 - 3 - 0 - 1 -- 5
First period: MSC -- Shane Dunphy (Kyle Beauchamp), 7:11; BH -- Matt Salhany (Noel Acciari, Matt Metcalf), 10:51.
Second period: BH -- Noel Acciari (Matt Metcalf, Nick Mattiello), 1:04; BH -- Andy Bathgate (Noel Acciari, Alex Cordeiro), 8:02.
Third period: MSC -- Zach Samborsky (Evan Hoffman, Scott Potter), 2:20; MSC -- Tim Coffey (Nicholas Bennett), 8:19; MSC -- Shane Dunphy (Evan Hoffman, Zach Samborsky), 10:30; BH -- Nick Mattiello (Alex Cordeiro), 11:27.
First overtime: No scoring.
Second overtime: No scoring.
Third overtime: MSC -- Evan Hoffman (Shane Dunphy), :33.
Shots on goal: Bishop Hendricken 16, Mount St. Charles 45. Goalie saves: BH -- Shane Benjamin (40 saves); MSC -- Jason San Antonio (12 saves).