WINCHENDON, Mass. (November 18, 2017) – Stonehill struck four times in a span of just 6:48 surrounding the second intermission on Saturday night, as the visiting Skyhawks dealt the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team a 5-3 defeat at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Junior forward Shamus Maloney scored twice for Stonehill in the Northeast-10 Conference contest, while freshman forward Logan Stark added his third goal of the weekend series.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 2-4-0 (0-3-0 NE10), while Stonehill improves to 2-2-1 (2-1-1 NE10). The two teams split the weekend series and will meet later in the season, at Stonehill on Feb. 13, to wrap up the season series.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring on Saturday, with the first period's only goal. Sophomore forward Alex Lester (Methuen, Mass.) forced a turnover in the neutral zone and kick-started his own rush down the left-wing side and into the offensive end. From the middle of the left circle, he picked the top-right corner, for his fourth goal of the season, unassisted, at the six-minute mark.

The majority of the second period would go scoreless, before Stonehill set off on an offensive barrage on either side of the second intermission. The Skyhawks tied the game at 15:43, when some pretty passing resulted in a power-play goal. From the right point, freshman defenseman Sean Conley sent the puck to sophomore forward Conor Cassidy in the middle of the left-wing circle. Cassidy held for a moment, and then slipped a pass to the top of the crease for Maloney, who banged home his third of the season from there.

The Skyhawks took the lead for good at the 19:20 mark. Stark jammed home his third goal in two nights from right on top of the crease, while sophomore forwards James Varney and Connor Jewett picked up the assists.

Stonehill continued the onslaught out of the break, with two goals in the opening 2:31 of the third period to surge to a 4-1 lead. Just 96 seconds into the frame, sophomore defenseman Michael Seibold dumped the puck down the ice from his own blue line, sending it off the boards in the right-wing corner. The puck rebounded into the right-wing circle and Maloney won the race to the puck, negating a potential icing call in the process. Maloney pushed towards the net and slipped his second goal of the night between the pads of Franklin Pierce senior goaltender Austin Christopher (Winthrop, Maine). Junior defenseman Thomas Mahoney added an assist as well, at 1:36.

The Skyhawks opened the lead to three goals at 2:31. Sophomore forward Cameron Wright threw the puck out front from the right-wing corner, and freshman forward Nick Schofield was at the top of the crease to touch it past Christopher. Sophomore forward Ryan Smith added the secondary assist on Schofield's first collegiate goal.

Franklin Pierce cut the gap to 4-2 with a goal at the 13:41 mark. Junior defenseman Blaise Kilroy (Spring City, Pa.) took the original shot on the play, from the left point, but it was knocked down by the defense. The rebound settled for senior forward David Wilcox (Stillwater, Maine) out in front of the net, and he put home his second of the campaign from there.

With the deficit narrowed to two, the Ravens pulled Christopher for an extra attacker as the game ticked inside of two minutes remaining. Stonehill would capitalize with an empty-net goal at 18:37, to make it 5-2. Sophomore forward Jack Scannell intercepted a pass at center ice, carried to the blue line and put his first goal of the season into the gaping net, unassisted.

Franklin Pierce would create the 5-3 final with a goal at 19:08. Sophomore forward James Morrissey (West Haven, Conn.) won a battle for the puck in the left-wing corner and slung a pass across the slot. He found junior defenseman Jack Williams (Suffield, Conn.) at the bottom of the right-wing circle, and the latter had an easy, one-time finish for his first goal of the year.

The Ravens again got Christopher to the bench for the extra attacker, but could find no further offense, as Stonehill left town with the two-goal victory.

Christopher (1-1-0) finished with 28 saves against 32 shots and suffered the loss in net for Franklin Pierce. At the other end of the rink, junior netminder Billy Palmer (2-2-1) stopped 18 of 21 shots to pick up the win for Stonehill.

The Ravens return to the ice on Tuesday, Nov. 21, when they travel to Westfield State for a non-conference contest. Opening faceoff is set for 7:35 p.m. at Amelia Park Ice Arena in Westfield, Mass.

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).