Little nets first Raven goal

WINCHENDON, Mass. (November 9, 2013) – A wild scramble in the final seconds on Saturday night led to a game-tying goal by Assumption sophomore forward Brandon Bete with three-tenths of a second to play at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena, as the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team lost its lead late in a 3-3 tie in Northeast-10 Conference play. The game's six goals were scored by six different players, with all but Bete collecting their first goal of the 2013-14 campaign.

With the tie, Franklin Pierce moves to 0-3-1 (0-0-1 Northeast-10), while Assumption now stands at 1-1-1 (0-0-1 Northeast-10). The two teams will meet again on Jan. 4 and Jan. 25, both at Assumption, to round out the three-game Northeast-10 season series.

With Franklin Pierce clinging to a 3-2 lead late in the third period, senior forward Sean Dunn (Quincy, Mass.) took a roughing penalty with 3:04 remaining. Though Assumption did not convert on the ensuing power play, it was able to pull sophomore goaltender Chris Hemhauser with 63 seconds to play. Ultimately, the Greyhounds made a final surge in the final 10 seconds as the penalty's final seconds ticked away. The roughing minor expired with four seconds to play, leaving Dunn with not nearly enough time to get to a developing scrum in the slot in front of the Franklin Pierce net. Bete was able to dig the puck out and lift a backhand over sprawled out senior goaltender Dave O'Brien (Groton, Mass.) and into the net as the final second ran off the clock. The timing was close, but ultimately, the puck found the goal with 0.3 seconds to play as Bete's second of the year tied the game at 3-3.

Both teams came up empty in overtime, as Assumption converted what had appeared a sure loss into a last-second tie, effectively narrowing the Northeast-10 series between the two sides to a two-game series. Earlier in the day, the Greyhounds opened the scoring at 12:38 of the first period. Junior defenseman Matt Dalton launched the original shot from the center of the blue line, but O'Brien came up with the save. Dalton would pick up an assist on the play as junior forward Brennen Shaw put away the rebound for the first period's only goal.

Just 30 second into the second stanza, Franklin Pierce would lose its top-line center and captain for the remainder of the night. Along the right-wing halfboards within his own end, senior forward Ted Walsh (Quincy, Mass.) made a high hit and put his elbow into the head of an Assumption player, which put the player's head into the boards. Walsh was quickly assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for contact-to-the-head-elbowing.

Despite the loss, Franklin Pierce killed off the major penalty and then rallied with a pair of second-period goals to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. The first came at the 7:00 mark, after senior defenseman Kyle Craig (Quincy, Mass.) took a shot from the right point which was blocked aside by the defense. Dunn was able to corral the rebound and put it away to tie the game at 1-1. Later, senior forward Bryan Colella (Medfield, Mass.) got the puck near the left-wing halfboards and sent it to sophomore defenseman Stephen Whyte (Plymouth, Mass.) at the left point. Whyte wound and fired, and senior forward Ilester Little (Dallas, Texas) was able to deflect it en route to score his first goal as a Raven after transferring in from New England College.

The Ravens would cash in again at the 2:23 mark of the third period to extend the lead to 3-1. Junior defenseman Brendan FitzPatrick (Winthrop, Mass.) took the original shot on the play and the rebound wound up with junior forward Tim Sullivan (Rye, N.H) on the left-wing side of the cage. Sullivan cut behind the net, wrapped around and stuffed the puck inside the right post to notch the apparent insurance goal.

The two-goal lead would not be enough however, as Assumption began to mount its comeback with a power-play goal at 13:48, just 16 seconds after Dunn was whistled for boarding. Senior forward Ross White was able to bang home a rebound from the slot, while junior defenseman Joe Arcieri and senior forward Mike Heyde picked up assists. The White goal set the stage for Bete's late heroics.

O'Brien chalked up 27 saves on the night in front of the Franklin Pierce net on the way to the tie (0-2-1). At the other end, senior Bobby Bowden started and made 29 saves against 32 shots, must was assessed a 10-minute misconduct for arguing a call 5:32 into the third period. Sophomore Chris Hemhauser took over and played the rest of the way, even after Bowden was released from the penalty box. Hemhauser stopped all six shots he saw while the Greyhounds rallied as he picked up the tie (0-0-1).

The Ravens return to the ice on Tuesday, Nov. 19, when they remain home to host Southern New Hampshire in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 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).