Chighisola, S. Dunn, Sweeney all score in final regular-season home game

WINCHENDON, Mass. (February 19, 2013) – Graduate student forward Anthony Chighisola (Whitman, Mass.) and senior forwards Sean Dunn (Quincy, Mass.) and Roscoe Sweeney (Falmouth, Mass.) each scored a goal in their final regular-season home game at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena on Tuesday night, but the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team was defeated, 7-3, by Westfield State in non-conference play. Prior to the game, Franklin Pierce honored its 12-player senior class on Senior Night.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 8-12-3 (6-4-1 Northeast-10), while Westfield State improves to 14-8-3 (9-6-3 Massachusetts State).

Westfield State opened the scoring at the 2:28 mark of the first period, with a snap shot from the left circle by freshman defenseman Mike Puddifant on the power play. He picked up his fourth goal of the year after the puck squeezed between the pads of the goaltender and the near post, while freshman forward P.J. McCadden and sophomore forward TJ Powers picked up the assists.

The Owls would add two more goals in the latter stages of the period to take a 3-0 lead into the first intermission. At 16:54, sophomore forward Nic Vidoni slipped a pass from the left-wing corner into the slot for sophomore forward Frank Zuccaro, who one-timed a shot to the top-right corner for his fifth of the campaign. At 17:38, senior forward Lucas Romero and junior forward Vince Perreault worked their way to a two-on-one down low, with the former pushing the puck across the crease from the right side for the latter to finish at the left post for his 11th of the season.

Franklin Pierce got on the board just 17 seconds into the second to cut the lead to 3-1. On the first possession of the period after the opening faceoff, Chighisola jammed a puck home in front of the net for his eighth of the year, off an assist from Sweeney.

Westfield State got the next two to push the lead to 5-1 with 7:59 to play in the middle stanza. At 8:34, Vidoni and junior forward Taylor Murphy got the puck to the point for freshman defenseman Kyllian Kirkwood, who took a long shot which turned into his third goal of the season when it slipped between the pads of Franklin Pierce senior goaltender Pat Dunn (Quincy, Mass.). At 12:01, sophomore forward Dan Loughlin took possession of the puck in the left circle and deked is way past multiple players to the goalmouth. His shot was stopped, but junior forward Tyler Prendergast converted the rebound for his sixth of the year. The Prendergast goal prompted a timeout from the Franklin Pierce bench and saw Pat Dunn removed in favor of junior goaltender Dave O'Brien (Groton, Mass.).

The Ravens answered 2:16 later to stop the bleeding and cut the lead to 5-2. On the power play, freshman forward Brendan Glynn (Quincy, Mass.) pushed the puck to Sean Dunn, who took a shot from the left circle. The puck was deflected in front of the net, either by the defense, or by the stick of sophomore goaltender Ian Perrier, popped over Perrier, and landed in the net. The goal was Sean Dunn's fifth of the season, as well as his third in as many games. Just 4:13 later, Franklin Pierce appeared to close the gap to 5-3, with 1:30 to play in the second, but had a shorthanded goal washed out after a hand pass was called.

Only 21 seconds after the disallowed goal, Westfield State cashed in on the power play, after junior defenseman Billy Miller fired a shot wide from the point. The rebound kicked off the backboards and right to Romero, who scored his third of the year.

The teams traded goals in the third to create the 7-3 final. At 2:48, an end-to-end rush by the Owls ended with Murphy cutting across the goalmouth from right to left and slipping the puck under O'Brien for his sixth of the season. At 19:05, Sweeney stuffed home a rebound to score his seventh of the campaign.

Pat Dunn started, made 16 saves against 21 shots over the opening 32:01 and took the loss (2-7-2) in net for Franklin Pierce. At the other end, Perrier made 25 stops to earn the win (12-6-2) for Westfield State.

The second-seeded Ravens return to the ice on Saturday, Feb. 23, when they host third-seeded Southern New Hampshire in the semifinal round of the Northeast-10 Championship. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).