Marchionda, Gibbons each tally goal, assist

MANCHESTER, N.H. (January 24, 2016) – A strong first 20 minutes was offset by a lackluster final 20 minutes on Sunday afternoon for the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team, which saw a 4-0 second-intermission lead evaporate into a 4-4 tie with Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference play at Verizon Wireless Arena. Sophomore forward Kyle Valliere scored twice, including the game-tying goal to key the SNHU comeback effort.

With the tie, Franklin Pierce moves to 2-14-1 (0-4-1 Northeast-10), while SNHU now stands at 5-13-2 (3-3-2 Northeast-10). As SNHU defeated the Ravens at Franklin Pierce, 6-1, on Nov. 7, the Ravens now need a win in the series finale to split the two points in the season series. The final game between the two teams is slated for Feb. 6 in Winchendon.

The Ravens came out flying in the Queen City on Sunday afternoon, putting home three goals in the first half of the opening period. First, the crimson and grey capitalized on a power-play opportunity just 3:46 into the proceedings. Senior defenseman Dan Gibbons (Quincy, Mass.) had the finish for his second goal of the season, while senior forward Michael Marchionda (Hyde Park, Mass.) picked up the lone assist.

After moving back to five-on-five hockey, the Ravens doubled the lead to 2-0 just 47 seconds later, at the 4:33 mark. Senior forward Paddy Murphy (York, Maine) would score his third of the season from the middle of the slot, as he one-timed home a centering feed from sophomore forward Blake Manginell (Troy, Mich.), while fellow sophomore forward David Wilcox (Stillwater, Maine) added a helper as well.

Finally, at the 7:22 mark, Franklin Pierce capped the early onslaught by forcing a turnover as the Penmen tried to clear their defensive end. Junior defenseman Taylor Fletcher (Leominster, Mass.) forced the giveaway and worked the puck to senior forward Matt Batis (Lakewood, N.Y.) cutting into the zone. Batis picked up his third of the season when he beat SNHU sophomore goaltender Matthew MacInnis on the play.

The Ravens kept the pressure up in the second, scoring the only goal of the middle frame at the 12:33 mark. With Franklin Pierce working on a two-man advantage and with the puck on the left-wing side, the SNHU defense loss track of Marchionda on the right side. Gibbons was able to get a pass across the ice to Marchionda, who was left uncovered in the right circle. With plenty of time to control and fire, Marchionda picked the top-left corner with a wrist shot to score his first goal of the season and build the lead to 4-0. Senior forward Brendan Glynn (Quincy, Mass.) added an assist on the play as well.

The Penmen refused to go quietly into the Manchester afternoon, however, rallying for four goals in a span of 5:10 in the opening 11 minutes of the third frame. Valliere bookended the scoring with his two power-play goals, as he opened the third stanza's scoring with his ninth of the season at the 5:23 mark. Franklin Pierce sophomore goaltender Tom McGuckin (Clayton, N.J.) made the initial save on the play on a shot from the left side by senior forward Jim Gabrione, but senior defenseman Anthony Laperriere collected the rebound in front of the left post and dished it to the right for Valliere, who had the easy finish into the empty net. It was the first salvo of an impressive SNHU third period, during which the Penmen would record an 18-7 shots advantage.

Laperriere would get on the board with a goal of his own 94 seconds later, at 6:57, as McGuckin left another rebound and the defense could not lock down the goalmouth area. Junior forward Devin Murray was in the slot, took a feed from junior forward Nathan Bergeron and threw it on net. Laperriere was staked out at the left post and stuffed home his third of the campaign on the rebound.

Only 20 second later, at 7:17, Gabrione put away his fifth of the season, with junior forward Jay Sylvia picking up the lone assist as the Penmen closed the gap to 4-3.

Valliere capped the comeback another 3:16 later, with another power-play marker at the 10:33 mark. This time, McGuckin was cleanly beat, as Valliere snapped a wrist shot to the top-left corner from the right circle, off of assists from Laperriere and MacInnis.

The final 9:27 of the third period and all five minutes of overtime would go without further scoring, though Franklin Pierce had the better of the offensive chances in the extra session. The Ravens could not connect on a pair of 2-on-1 chances down low in the offensive zone in the overtime. Most notably, Glynn got his stick to a cross-slot feed at the top of the crease while crashing to the right post about halfway through the period, but his redirect went wide on the left side and the game remained 4-4, as it would finish.

McGuckin (1-6-1) piled up 37 saves against 41 shots on goal between the pipes for Franklin Pierce. At the other end of the ice, MacInnis (0-2-1) made 30 saves against 34 shots.

The Ravens return to the ice on Thursday, Jan. 28, when they return home to host Stonehill in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening faceoff is set 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 soccer apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).