Ravens visit Saint Michael's on Tuesday

WINCHENDON, Mass. (February 1, 2014) – Senior forward Bryan Colella (Medfield, Mass.) and sophomore forward Brendan Glynn (Quincy, Mass.) each found the net on Saturday night, but it would not be enough for the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team, which suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Stonehill in Northeast-10 Conference play at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Junior forward Kevin Aufiero had a pair of goals in the win for Stonehill.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 4-13-2 (2-5-1 Northeast-10), while Stonehill improves to 12-9-0 (7-0-0 Northeast-10). Stonehill, which also won in Winchendon on Nov. 30, has clinched the three-game season series between the two squads and has earned the resulting two points in the Northeast-10 standings.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring at the 6:45 mark of the first period. Colella found space coming out of his own end to lead a rush up the ice down the left-wing side. In the attack end, he cut around a defender, made his way to the slot and beat Stonehill junior goaltender Chris Tasiopoulos inside the right post for his second goal of the season. Junior forward Bryan Gillentine (Atlanta, Ga.) picked up the assist on the play.

Colella's score would be the only first-period marker, and much of the second period would go without further scoring. Stonehill appeared to tie the game at the 13:42 mark, when Aufiero backhanded a rebound into the net. However, said net was moving on the play, and the officials ruled it had come off of its moorings before the puck went in. The goal was waved off, much to the ire of the Stonehill bench, which picked up a minor penalty while protesting the decision.

The Skyhawks would later pick up a pair of goals in the final 3:06 of the period to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. First, with a two-man advantage, Aufiero put a cross-slot pass from sophomore forward Dan Graham inside the left post to tie the game at 1-1. Junior defenseman Brendan Greene also provided a helper on Aufiero's fifth goal of the campaign, with the power-play goal coming at 16:54. Just 98 seconds later, Aufiero struck again, this time with Stonehill shorthanded. Sophomore forward Garrett White picked up the lone assist on the play, as the Stonehill forwards crashed the net to produce the goal at 18:32.

Stonehill would push the lead to 3-1 at the 4:46 mark of the third period, when White wrapped around the net and stuffed home his fourth goal of the season. Senior forward Bryan Rooney provided the assist.

Franklin Pierce would close to within a goal at the 7:02 mark. Glynn finished off his fourth goal of the season at the left post, while freshman forward Aaron Blaker (Rolling Meadows, Ill.) and senior forward Tyler Cornele (Cape Coral, Fla.) picked up the assists. However, the Ravens were unable to find the equalizer over the remainder of the third period, as Stonehill came away with the 3-2 victory.

Senior goaltender Dave O'Brien (Groton, Mass.) finished with 31 saves, but suffered the loss (2-10-1) in front of the Franklin Pierce net. Tasiopoulos stopped 28 shots to pick up the win (10-5-0) between the pipes for Stonehill.

The Ravens return to the ice on Tuesday, Feb. 4, when they travel to Saint Michael's for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at Cairns Arena in South Burlington, Vt. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Wednesday, Feb. 19, against Southern New Hampshire at 7 p.m.

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).