McGuckin, Haun Lead Men’s Ice Hockey Past SNHU, 4-1

HOOKSETT, N.H. (January 19, 2018) – Despite facing a 51-35 disadvantage in shots on goal, the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team was able to pull out a 4-1 victory on the road at Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference play on Friday night. The Ravens got a 50-save performance from senior goaltender Tom McGuckin (Clayton, N.J.) and scored four unanswered goals after surrendering the opening tally at the Ice Den. Senior forward Jonathan Haun (Buffalo, N.Y.) notched a goal and an assist in the win.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 5-11-1 (2-4-1 NE10), while Southern New Hampshire falls to 7-4-2 (3-3-1 NE10). The two teams will meet again on Saturday night, this time at Franklin Pierce, to wrap up the three-game season series. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena in Winchendon.

Southern New Hampshire opened the scoring just 11 seconds into the proceedings on Friday night. Junior forward Artem Efimov-Barakov put home his fifth goal of the season, unassisted.

Franklin Pierce would even the score before the first intermission, at the 13:33 mark. Senior forward Evan Marek (Enfield, Conn.) gained control in the neutral zone and chipped the puck ahead to senior forward David Wilcox (Stillwater, Maine), who took it into the zone and snapped a shot from the top of the circle. His shot was saved by SNHU senior goaltender Ryan Slatky, but junior forward Travis Geraci (Old Bridge, N.J.) crashed the net and put home the rebound for his first goal of the campaign.

After a scoreless second period, it was the Ravens' turn to strike for an early goal, just seven seconds into the frame. A SNHU defenseman lost his edge and went down in his own end, which allowed Haun to swoop in, gather a now-loose puck and quickly put away his fifth goal of the year. The goal would eventually stand as the game-winner.

Franklin Pierce added a pair of insurance markers later in the final stanza. Freshman defenseman Patrick Gagliardi (Bedford, N.H.) would put home his first collegiate goal at 7:18, right off a faceoff. Haun won the draw back to Gagliardi, who unloaded a slap shot through traffic and beat Slatky over the glove hand.

Finally, the Ravens were able to generate a 3-on-1 chance into the offensive end, with sophomore forward Cameron Shepardson (Albany, N.Y.) possessing the puck. Shepardson held to draw the defender, then slipped a pass to sophomore forward Alex Lester (Methuen, Mass.), who dumped a wrist shot into an all-but-vacant net at 14:57 for his team-leading 10^th goal of the season. For Shepardson, the assist ran his point streak to five games (5-5-10).

McGuckin (3-8-1) stole the show in the crease for Franklin Pierce and piled up 50 saves against 51 shots to pick up the win. Meanwhile, Slatky (4-4-2) finished with 31 saves against 35 shots in a losing effort for SNHU.

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 ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).