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FOXBORO - Winning back-to-back championships in anything is hard to do.

But, repeating as the crown holder in a top-notch tournament twice in a five-year span is really something to give your future opponents something to think about.

Employing a tenacious, swarming defense that prevented Bishop Feehan High to get any consistent offense mounted, King Philip Regional High defended its title by skating to a 3-1 victory before another near-capacity crowd in the championship game of the sixth annual Sun Chronicle Holiday Hockey Tournament Wednesday night at the Foxboro Sports Center.

The contest also marked the fifth time that the Warriors and the Shamrocks have met for all the marbles. Mansfield replaced King Philip in the 2004 tournament final.

Mansfield captured the consolation game for the fifth time, riding the 19-save effort of goalie Ryan Kershaw to a 3-0 whitewashing of Attleboro. King Philip came out flying in the first period, managing three shots on Bishop Feehan goalie Tyler Holske in the first three minutes of the game to establish the pace. But, it was a controversial goal with less than one-tenth of a second left in the first period that changed the complexion of the game.

Holding a 1-0 lead, the Warriors got a little breathing room heading into the first break.

Scott Haley fed a pass from the King Philip defensive zone to Garrick Cronin. As the final seconds ticked down, Cronin cut to the front of the net and fired a shot that Holske stopped, but dropped. The puck fell to his feet, but its momentum carried it just over the line as the buzzer sounded. After a conference between the two officials, it was ruled that the puck had indeed crossed over the line before the buzzer.

"We kind of got a bonus at the end (of the first period)," said King Philip coach Bob Piotti. "Whether there was no time or not, they put it up on the board. I wasn't going to tell them to take it down. It wasn't as big a boost as you would think. It just gave us a little more confidence. It gave us a little more wiggle room."

After a scoreless second period, Bishop Feehan brought its fans back into the fray by pulling to within a goal early in the third period. Winger Jon Casali finished off a goal-mouth scramble by prying the puck loose and into the net on a scramble at goalie Dan Bukoff's right. Pat Hannon and Mike McGee assisted on the goal at the 3:59 mark.

Both teams continued to pour on the pressure with both goalies and their defenses standing tall. The Green and Gold got its two-goal back again with just over four minutes to play. Mark Higgins found Peter MacIntyre heading out of the zone and hit him with a pass in the center ice zone. MacIntyre skated in close and lifted in a high shot that found the back of the net for the insurance tally.

Higgins had scored KP's first goal of the game, firing a laser beam from the left point that glanced into the net off a defender's stick in front. Peter MacIntyre picked up an assist on that goal.

"There's no easy games in this tournament, everybody's good. Just because we win it doesn't make us the best. It only means that we were the most opportunistic at the time. I knew that (Bishop Feehan) would come out harder in the second period. We knew they would be inspired to get it back.

"Mark Higgins is such a good player, but you look at our other defensemen--Cam Olean played well, Chris Pellichero, played well. We got Andrew Fox back from an injury and he played well. I think (Feehan) did a good job bottling us up in he offensive zone," added the Warrior mentor.

Feehan coach Phil Hulbig took some consolation with the way the Shamrocks played. "At the beginning of the game, they were on top of us a little bit. We started slow, but then we seemed to pick it up in the second period. We were getting it down there, but we weren't getting it to the net. The first goal deflects off my player's stick and the next goal was right at the buzzer which was a killer. "When you score that late and that controversial and you always worry about the team coming out. But the team came out and responded well. We had some opportunities. They did, too, but Holske came up big," said Hulbig.

King Philip out-shot the Green and White, 29-16, holding Feehan to a single shot in the getaway period.

The consolation contest was also a superb defensive effort with Attleboro's Corey Escobar and Mansfield's Kershaw pitching shutouts for nearly two-and-a-half periods before the Hornets finally broke through.

Mansfield popped home the eventual game-winner, scoring on an opportunistic short-handed situation. Brendan Carroll intercepted a clearing pass, firing on net. Bill Rogazzo jumped on the loose puck, battled a couple of defenders away and jammed the puck home after 5:57 of play in the third period.

This score held up for the next seven minutes until the Hockomock League team tallied with a pair of lightning-quick strikes within 31 seconds of each other. Carroll's backhander after John Harrington's shot from the left point was stopped doubled Mansfsield's advantage at the 12:55 mark. Rogazzo also picked up an assist on the goal.

Just 31 ticks of the clock later, Jon DiFlaminies streaked out of his defensive zone and directed a shot between the post and Escobar's pads into the net for an unassisted tally.

"A win's a win, so I'll take it," said Mansfield coach Mike McGrath. "I think we dominated the first period, but to their credit, they stayed right in the game. I think we were pressing a little bit, especially first and second periods. Third period, we just went in there in a nice even keel. I think that took some of the pressure off them."

Attleboro coach Joe Verderber sees improvement, despite the loss. "For two periods we were only playing three defensemen. We were really playing two lines, plus two and I think we just got a little tired as the third period wore on. All things considered, it was a step in the right direction. I think after the first goal, we kind of lost the focus."

The tournament left King Philip with a 4-0 mark, while Mansfield evened off at 1-1-1. Feehan dipped to 1-2 and the Blue Bombardiers are winless after three games.

Following the game, the All-Tournament Team was announced. Sophomore Mark Higgins of champion King Philip was named Most Valuable Player. Warrior teammate Garrick Cronin joined him on the standout squad. Two Shamrocks were honored including sophomore goalie Tyler Holske and senior Mike McGee. Senior forward Bill Rogazzo of Mansfield was chosen for the all-tourney team, along with Attleboro's senior co-captain Tim Keane.