The Bishop Hendricken Hawks are moving on to the semifinals after completing a commanding quarterfinal series against the Barrington Eagles. Hendricken held Barrington scoreless throughout the entire series, first winning 3-0 this past Friday and finishing the series off in a blowout-style 8-0 victory at The Abbey. Coming into the playoff matchup Hendricken was a clear favorite, being the number one seed. Pregame, Hawks Head Coach Michael Soscia spoke on the high expectations for the team coming into the playoffs.
“There’s always that pressure, when you play any sport for Hendricken there’s always a little added pressure to win, but the guys rise to the challenge every time, we’ve been in some good situations throughout the year, and they’ve come through. It’s a whole new season, playoffs are a whole new season,” said Soscia.
On the other side of the ice, Barrington Eagles Head Coach Kevin Croke spoke on the challenge of facing the defending champions for the fourth time this season.
“Bishop Hendricken is a great program, they’re state champs, number one seed, there’s not a lot of weaknesses in there, and they have guys who can score goals. They have Crain [Griffin Crain] and Regine [Nick Regine], just rip the shots from the top of the faceoff, circle bar down, that’s going in on any goalie in Rhode Island. They’re solid, they’re well-coached and they’re a formidable team, not only in Rhode Island, but throughout New England,” said Croke.
It did not take long for Hendricken to prove why they are the number one seed and defending State Champions, with a goal scored by junior forward Nathan Marshall just over a minute into the game, he was assisted by juniors Andrew Smith and Christopher Hughes. From then on, the Hawks dominated puck possession and delivered some big hits.
The second Hendricken goal came about seven minutes after Marshall’s and was scored by one of the shining stars for the Hawks this season, junior Griffin Crain, flicking the puck into the top left corner, while Smith picked up another assist. Right before the conclusion of the first period, Crain picked up a second goal, this time getting it in through the bottom left side. It almost seemed too obvious that Crain was going to get at least one goal, with him being the team’s leading scorer, with 20 goals coming into the matchup. Coach Soscia spoke on Crain’s magnificent season thus far before the game.
‘’He’s a joy to have on the team, he works hard, he competes hard in practice, always looking to improve day in and day out, he’s a team leader, he can play forward, he can play defense, he’s not afraid to mix it up down low, he’s just a great all-around athlete. He plays baseball as well, that’s his number one sport believe it or not,’’ said Soscia.
After being smothered offensively by the Hawks, the Eagles started to get some scoring chances, but to no success. Hendricken on the other hand, remained trigger happy, with a second goal by Marshall with 7:43 on the clock, Marshall was assisted by Smith and Hughes once again. About a minute later, the Hawks would make it 5-0, with senior Stephen Nardelli tipping in a one-timer by junior Jack LaRose, sophomore Aiden Ferriera picked up credit for the assist as well.
The Hawks would remain hungry, with Crain getting a hat trick to make it 6-0, with 4:24 left in the second period. Credit for the assists would go to junior William Cavanagh and senior Nick Regine. Believe it or not, this was a very clean game penalty-wise, with neither team drawing a penalty until 11 minutes into the second period, with Barrington getting the first powerplay, which they desperately needed. Unfortunately for Barrington, the Hawks penalty kill was business as usual, not allowing a goal.
Hendricken would then get a powerplay of their own, and as one could guess by this point, it did not take long for them to cash in. Regine would score the powerplay goal, tipping in a one-timer by Smith with less than a minute to go in the period. The Hawks would go into the second intermission flying high, up by seven goals, with the offense exploding and the defense being the gold standard. Hawk’s sophomore goaltender Colin Murray came to play as usual, being absolutely automatic and in the zone. The numbers speak for themselves.
Things would start to wind down in the third period, with the scoring tapering off until senior Aiden Pennacchini said they weren’t done yet, scoring to make it 8-0. Marshall and sophomore James Carrera would pick up the assists.
After an up and down season, Barrington is out of the playoffs after one series, but the future for them appears to be bright ahead. The Eagles have a very young roster and most of their starters and key contributors are underclassmen, with top scorers such as Chase Watts, Henry Kelsey, Cody Wood, and Drake Almeida all being sophomores. Barrington may not have been a huge threat in the playoffs this season, but it looks like they very well could be in years to come. Coach Croke spoke on the youth of the Barrington roster pregame.
"We're young and we're resilient, we have a lot of solid talent, but we're young, most of our players are sophomores and juniors. We have four young sophomore defensemen that have really stepped up this year. Absolutely [I think the youth of the team is a strength now and in years to come], I think they don't realize the gravity of the moment, so I don't think they're afraid, I don't think you'll see any of them playing afraid," said Croke
With Barrington now out of the way, the Hawks will move on to the next challenge, which will be the Warwick Co-op. It is expected that Hendricken will be a big favorite once again, especially with them playing their best hockey at the right time, as they're accustomed to. At the same time, anything can happen in sports, and no team is to be overlooked, with the Warwick Co-op handing the Hawks their lone league loss on the season back in December. The pieces are starting to fall into place, and it is shaping up to be another intriguing postseason of division one hockey.
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