WINCHENDON, Mass. (January 10, 2017) – Winless in its last eight, the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team came into Tuesday night's home non-conference contest in need of a win to prevent the skid from stretching closer to two months in length. A pair of first-period power-play goals erased an early 1-0 lead and freshman forward Matthew Toombs (Pleasanton, Calif.) would later provide the second-period game-winner -- his second goal of the night -- as the Ravens got back in the win column with a 3-2 defeat of Daniel Webster at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 7-9-1, while Daniel Webster falls to 1-14-0. The Ravens -- who outshot the Eagles 41-31 on the night -- are now just two games in back of the program record for wins, set in 2012-13, when the team went 9-13-3.

Daniel Webster opened the scoring on Tuesday night, after junior forward Chris Timm led a 2-on-1 up the ice on the right-wing side. He unleashed his shot from the right circle, which was turned aside by Franklin Pierce junior goaltender Tom McGuckin (Clayton, N.J.). However, the rebound caromed off to the left-wing side, to the stick of charging junior forward Ryan Murray, who immediately deposited the puck into the yawning net at the 6:52 mark. Junior forward Anthony Langevin added an assist as well, on Murray's team-leading seventh goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce had allowed eight power-play goals against over its previous two games, but was able to utilize the man-advantage for its own gain later in the first period. The Ravens converted on their only two power-play chances of the night to surge to a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission. First, just 16 seconds into the night's first power play, sophomore defenseman Jack Williams (Suffield, Conn.) let loose a hard slapshot from the middle of the blue line, which found its way through traffic and into the top-right corner to even the game at 1-1. Sophomore forward Nicholas Fotiu (Falmouth, Mass.) and sophomore forward Nick Indelicato (Pembroke, Mass.) provided the helpers on Williams' second goal of the campaign, at the 13:21 mark.

Just over two minutes later, the Ravens took the lead for good, on Toombs' first of the night at the 15:48 mark. The goal was the result of strong puck movement around the perimeter, which eventually exploited a defensive miscue. Junior forward Jonathan Haun (Buffalo, N.Y.) started the play from the left side, moving the puck to freshman defenseman Cameron Shepardson (Albany, N.Y.) at the middle of the blue line. Shepardson, in turn, worked it over to Toombs near the top of the right circle. The movement had found the open man, as Toombs was left with plenty of time and space to step into a wrist shot, which picked the top-right corner for his fourth goal of the year. For Shepardson, the assist marked his first collegiate point.

The two goals allowed Franklin Pierce to take a 2-1 lead into the second period. It marked the first time the Ravens had held a lead in the second period or later since prior to Thanksgiving.

Toombs tacked on his fifth goal of the season as an insurance marker 4:22 into the second period. A pair of Ravens defensemen worked the puck around the point and got it to Toombs on the left side. His shot from the left halfboards beat Daniel Webster senior goaltender Morgan Hudson to the short side and made it a 3-1 game. Senior defenseman Alex Schleper (Sutton, Mass.) and sophomore defenseman Dylan Yameen (Methuen, Mass.) provided the assists on the play.

Daniel Webster closed back within a goal with a power-play tally at the 7:54 mark. Taking the puck in the right-wing circle, sophomore defenseman Tre Mason was able to find a seam across the slot and slipped a pass to the bottom of the left-wing circle for sophomore forward Tanner Todd. Todd had the quick finish from there for his fifth goal of the season, while senior defenseman Matt Ho added an assist as well.

From there, the remainder of the second period and the entirety of the third would go by the boards without further scoring. McGuckin staved off 16 third-period shots from Daniel Webster, and the Ravens killed off three third-period power plays, to preserve the one-goal victory.

McGuckin (7-9-1) finished with 29 saves against 31 shots to pick up the win in net for Franklin Pierce. Hudson (0-6-0) piled up 38 saves against 41 shots, but suffered the loss in the crease for Daniel Webster.

The Ravens return to the ice on Saturday, Jan. 14, when they remain home to host Stonehill in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening faceoff is set 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' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).