Craig dishes out pair of assists

CANTON, N.Y. (February 15, 2014) – Sophomore goaltender Kyle Moran (Marshfield, Mass.) piled up 42 saves for the second straight day on Saturday afternoon to keep the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team in the game, but SUNY Canton eventually came away with a 5-4 overtime victory in non-conference play at Roos House. Senior forward Ilester Little (Dallas, Texas) forced overtime by capping a two-goal, third-period rally with 1:59 to play in regulation, while junior forward Austin Root scored the game-winning goal for SUNY Canton.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 4-16-3 (2-7-1 Northeast-10), while SUNY Canton improves to 6-14-3.

Canton took a 4-2 lead into the third period and the score remained the same through the midpoint of the frame, as the Kangaroos looked to close out the game. Franklin Pierce had other ideas and staged a two-goal rally down the stretch to force the extra session. The first came at the 11:47 mark, after senior defenseman Kyle Craig (Quincy, Mass.) put the puck on net from the left-wing circle. Canton junior goaltender Morgan Barr made the first save, but the rebound fell to freshman defenseman Alex Schleper (Sutton, Mass.) on the right side. Schleper quickly shuffled his second goal of the season into the gaping net to cut the gap to 4-3.

Canton took a penalty immediately after the Schleper goal, but Franklin Pierce was unable to capitalize on the last of its four power-play chances on the day. Instead, the game stayed stuck at 4-3 until the final minutes, when Little's second of the campaign knotted things at 18:01. Little and sophomore forward Brendan Glynn (Quincy, Mass.) charged into the offensive end together, with the latter centering to the former, who beat Barr over the glove hand.

Little's equalizer set the stage for Root's overtime game-winner. The goal came immediately off a faceoff, as sophomore forward Saylor Preston won the draw back to Root at the point. Root put his fourth of the season -- and his first career game-winner -- inside the right post at the 3:13 mark to touch off the Canton celebration.

Earlier in the day, the two sides traded goals 37 seconds apart in the latter stages of the first period. Canton struck first at the 15:04 mark, after freshman forward Zach Paisley worked the puck into the offensive end. Paisley circled behind the net to the right-wing side and zipped a pass into the slot. Cutting junior forward Dave Schneider got on the other end of the pass and one-timed his sixth goal of the year to the back of the net to open the scoring.

Less than a minute later, at 15:41, Craig and sophomore forward Paddy Murphy (York, Maine) set up the play which erased the short-lived lead. The duo got the puck to freshman forward Connor Mauro (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who put a shot through traffic for his first collegiate goal.

The teams combined for four goals in a busy second period, with Canton putting home three special teams goals, as the Kangaroos struck twice on the power play and added a shorthanded goal for good measure. Canton struck for a second-chance goal on the power play at 9:52 to take a 2-1 lead. Junior defenseman J.R. Lafferty took the original shot from a sharp angle just outside the crease and Moran turned it aside. Sophomore forward Kristian Leach was hounding the net on the right side and jumped on the rebound for his seventh of the season. Freshman forward Sam McLaughlin also had an assist on the play.

The Ravens went on the power play shortly after the Leach goal, but it would be Canton which scored to extend the lead to 3-1. Senior defenseman Cory Giczewski sprung himself on a breakaway and flipped his team-leading 10th of the season to the top corner at 13:25, unassisted.

In need of a goal, Franklin Pierce responded just 40 seconds later, at 14:05, shortly after the power play had concluded. Freshman forward Brett Oldaker (Canonsburg, Pa.) set up freshman defenseman Matthew Geib (Cleveland, Ohio) at the top of the left circle and the latter wired his first collegiate goal to the top-left corner to pull the Ravens within a goal at 3-2.

Penalty trouble later in the middle stanza put Canton on a two-man advantage, which it capitalized on at 18:13 to take the 4-2 lead into the second intermission. Lafferty picked up his second assist of the afternoon by setting up Giczewski, who scored his second goal of the game by ringing a shot off the crossbar and down into the net.

Moran matched his career high for the second straight day by making 42 saves, but suffered the loss (2-4-2) in net for Franklin Pierce anyway. Barr finished the contest with 26 saves at the other end of the ice to pick up the win (3-6-3) between the pipes for SUNY Canton.

The Ravens return to the ice on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when they return home to wrap up the season by hosting Southern New Hampshire in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena in Winchendon.

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).