O'Brien makes 35 saves

WINCHENDON, Mass. (February 23, 2013) – In its ninth appearance in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship, the second-seeded Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team was finally able to notch the first postseason victory in program history on Saturday night with a 5-3 win over third-seeded Southern New Hampshire in the semifinal round at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Senior forward Roscoe Sweeney (Falmouth, Mass.), a team captain, scored the game-winning goal and added two assists in the triumph.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 9-12-3, while Southern New Hampshire concludes its season at 7-15-2. The win avenged a loss in Franklin Pierce's previous postseason appearance, when it fell on home ice to SNHU in overtime, 3-2, in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Championship on Feb. 26, 2011. The Ravens advance to the title game at top-seeded Saint Anselm on Saturday, March 2, after the Hawks defeated fourth-seeded Stonehill, 6-3, on Saturday night. Opening faceoff of the championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Sullivan Rink in Manchester, N.H.

The Ravens opened the scoring with the first period's only goal, at the 12:14 mark. Senior forward Sean Dunn (Quincy, Mass.) jammed home a rebound for his sixth of the season, after the initial shot from the point by sophomore defenseman Brendan Fitzpatrick (Winthrop, Mass.) was stopped. Sophomore forward Tim Sullivan (Rye, N.H.) also picked up an assist on the play.

Franklin Pierce scored three times in the second period to stretch the lead to 4-0. At 11:17, senior forward Dino Federico (Canton, Mass.) forced a turnover in the offensive end on the right side and snapped a shot to the top corner from the right circle to score his fourth of the campaign, unassisted. Just 88 seconds later, the Ravens' entire top line got in the act on the third goal of the game, as senior forward Michael Carr (South Boston, Mass.) got the puck to Sweeney on a cycle down low. Sweeney slipped a pass across the slot to the left hash mark, where graduate student forward Anthony Chighisola (Whitman, Mass.) one-timed his ninth of the year to the back of the net.

The Chighisola goal prompted a SNHU timeout, which could not stop the bleeding, as Sweeney got his eighth of the season for the eventual game-winner 2:50 later. Carr's work on the forecheck generated a 2-on-1 down low, and he flipped the puck across the goalmouth for Sweeney to finish at the left post. The fourth Franklin Pierce goal chased SNHU junior goaltender Tyler Holske from the game in favor of freshman Dave Letarte.

The Penmen would set out on a comeback attempt in the third period. A tripping penalty to sophomore forward Dane Caracino at 2:16 forced SNHU into a defensive zone faceoff. Immediately off the draw, junior forward Zach Lubinski forced a turnover and sprung himself the other way on a shorthanded breakaway, resulting in his fifth of the season at 2:26.

Franklin Pierce reclaimed the four-goal lead at 5-1 at the 6:19 mark. An ill-advised breakout play by the SNHU defense turned the puck over the Sweeney inside the blue line. The change of possession produced a 2-on-0 for the Ravens, with Sweeney feeding senior forward Adam Dallaire (Waltham, Mass.), who scored his third of the year.

SNHU continued to push the issue, scoring 1:31 and 3:32 after the Dallaire goal to close the gap to 5-3. At 7:50, Lubinski scored his second of the night on a light shot from the left-wing halfboards that snuck through Franklin Pierce junior goaltender Dave O'Brien (Groton, Mass.), while sophomore defenseman Michael Durelli and sophomore forward TJ Bond picked up the assists. At 9:51, with the Penmen on the power play, junior forward Brian Troy stuffed home the rebound of a shot by freshman forward Joe Collins for his third goal of the season. Sophomore forward Bryan Wright picked up an assist as well.

Franklin Pierce junior defenseman Kyle Craig (Quincy, Mass.) was penalized for hooking at 12:18 and tripping at 17:50, giving SNHU a pair of power-play chances down the stretch. The Penmen got Letarte to the bench for the final 77 seconds as well, but could not find further goals, as the Ravens finished off the 5-3 victory.

O'Brien made 35 saves to pick up the win (7-4-1), his fifth in as many starts, in net for Franklin Pierce. Holske stopped 19 of 23 shots sent his way and took the loss (7-11-2) before being relieved. Letarte made 10 saves against 11 shots the rest of the way.

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).