By PETER CONNELL

Sports Writer

SMITHFIELD - Smithfield's run of success through the 2008 High School Summer Hockey League season came to a sudden and upsetting end last week on home ice where the Ice Hawks stunned the regular-season champs in double-overtime, 5-4.

The Hawks, with a roster dominated by Connecticut lads, had finished fourth in the six-team RISHL National Conference and took a 6-7 record into the playoffs. The Sentinels were first at 11-2, with one of the losses at the hands of the Ice Hawks when they had a numbers problem and could skate just one and a half lines.

The Hawks met coach Joe Mattera's Burrillville sextet in the championship final Sunday night. The Broncos (8-5) also pulled off a minor upset by ousting the 9-4 N.R.I. Reds (Mount St. Charles) in the other semi-final.

Cody Lange put the home team on the board first at the 8:07 point of the opening period at the end of nice give-and-go with John DelPadre. The Ice Hawks knotted it at one-all with 4:08 left when Eric Brouillard whipped a low shot past Vinny Tudino.

Then, with the clock ticking down to all zeroes Lange suddenly struck again, stuffing the puck behind Hawks goalie Kyle Manuilow. The time of the tally was 15:00; Tim Judge got the assist. Each team had 16 shots on goal in the frame.

Anthony Giuliani gave the hometown lads a 3-1 lead, taking a pass from Paul Ryan and firing it home at the 6:17 point. The Ice Hawks scored a power play goal with 3:15 left at the end of a flurry of shots that Tudino stopped but finally was beaten, making it a 3-2 game after two. Smithfield had a small 17-15 edge in shots in the wide-open period.

The visitors drew even 3:10 into the third period when James Baker and Keith Drakos worked a two-on-one across the Smithfield blue line and Drakos' blast from the right face off circle zipped past Tudino. But, the green took another lead, this time at 4-3, at the end of another two-on-one breakaway. Tim Judge scored with 6:49 remaining off assists from Paul Harrison and DelPadre.

The hosts began concentrating on defense but the Hawks found a seam 1:39 later and knotted the count again. Austin Sampson got the equalizer with assists from Dan Newell and Baker. At that point the shots on goal totals were 49-47 in favor of the Hawks. It was 4-4 heading into the first sudden death overtime period. Both sides skated up-and-down during the scoreless seven and a half-minute session. The Hawks had a slim 10-9 edge in shots.

Finally, with fatigue starting to take over on both squads, the Ice Hawks put an end to it with 5:26 remaining the second extra period when Sampson back-handed the disc to the left of Tudino as he was screened by Ryan Shafer.

Smithfield Coach Ben Turner's roster was short by one key player as leading scorer Colby Fugere was away.

Two of the league's three conferences completed their season last week. First-place Prout Memorial (12-1) knocked off second-place Scituate (8-4-1), 6-4, to capture the Metropolitan crown and North Kingstown won the American title.