Parade to Penalty Box Hurts Men’s Ice Hockey in 11-6 Loss at UMass Dartmouth

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (December 7, 2017) – After a night of disciplined hockey against Southern New Hampshire at home on Tuesday, the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team reverted back to a penalties-by-volume approach on the road on Thursday night, and paid the price. A staggering 13 minor penalties led to five power-play goals, as host UMass Dartmouth dealt the Ravens an 11-6 loss in non-conference play at Hetland Arena. Senior defenseman Jerry Laakso (2-2-4) and junior forward Jonathan Ruiz (1-3-4) had four points apiece to lead the way for UMass Dartmouth, while three Ravens tallied three points each in defeat.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce hits the semester break at 2-9-1, and is winless in its last seven (0-6-1). UMass Dartmouth improved to 5-6-1 with the victory. For the homestanding Corsairs, it marked the first double-digit scoring output in over a decade, dating to a 10-3 win over Worcester State on Nov. 22, 2005.

The goals came early, often and pretty much constantly on Thursday night, as no period featured fewer than four scores. UMass Dartmouth opened with the game's first three goals over the opening 8:30, including a pair of early power-play tallies. First, at 4:41, Laakso put home his third goal of the season with a one-time blast from the center of the blue line on the man-advantage. Senior forward Mike Sones had the feed from the left circle, after he had taken a pass from senior forward Casey Shea at the top of the right circle.

Just 37 seconds later, at 5:18, freshman defenseman Nicholas Short scored his first collegiate goal, which was his first of two scores on the night. Short slipped a long wrist shot through traffic from the left point, while junior defenseman Noah Anderson and junior forward Connor Court provided the assists. Another power-play goal, at 8:30, made it 3-0 in a hurry, as junior forward Kenny Tencza jammed home his fourth goal of the campaign at the left post, amid a scramble out front.

Franklin Pierce head coach Shaun Millerick burned his timeout following the Tencza goal and then proceeded to verbally set fire to his team at the bench during the break. The torching worked, temporarily at least, as the team refrained from taking further penalties until the very tail end of the period.

The Ravens would even get some power-play time of their own and cut the gap to 3-1 at 13:50, on a two-man advantage. From the left point, sophomore forward Alex Lester (Methuen, Mass.) sent the puck to the left circle for senior forward Jonathan Haun (Buffalo, N.Y.), who in turn sent it to sophomore forward Shepheard Stahel (Plano, Texas) at the top of the right circle. The latter let fly from there through traffic and found his second goal of the year.

UMass Dartmouth would reclaim the three-goal lead before the intermission though, at 15:51. Just after the end of a penalty kill, the Corsairs set off on an odd-man rush into the offensive end. Ultimately, senior forward Brandon Berkley sprang sophomore forward Steven Leonard in all alone on the goalie. The latter went from his forehand to his backhand and tucked a shot inside the left post for his third goal of the season.

The second period was all UMass Dartmouth, as the Corsairs rattled off four goals, including a trio of power-play markers, in the stanza. Just 61 seconds into the frame, Laakso put a shot to the top shelf from the middle of the blue line, off of an assist from Ruiz. The fifth Corsair goal spelled the end of the day for the Franklin Pierce starting goaltender, senior Austin Christopher (Winthrop, Maine), as he gave way to freshman netminder Ian Wallace (West Islip, N.Y.).

The lone even-strength goal of the period came in a 4-on-4 situation at 5:38. On a rush into the attack zone, Ruiz cut into the high slot from the left side to open a shooting lane and buried his chance from above the hash marks, while Laakso provided an assist. On a 5-on-3 advantage at 13:16, Short took a point-to-point feed from junior defenseman Mason Nichols and blasted home a one-timer from the top of the left circle. Also on the power play, in the final moments of the period, junior forward Brendan McDonough corralled a loose puck in the left circle on a rush and snapped a shot home at 19:47, for his second goal of the season, as the Corsairs took an 8-1 lead into the second intermission.

The third period turned into a goal bonanza, as the two teams combined for eight scores on the way to the 11-6 final. Franklin Pierce struck first, at 6:13, as Wilcox jammed home a rebound at the left post, while Stahel and sophomore forward Cameron Shepardson (Albany, N.Y.) contributed the assists.

UMass Dartmouth would make it 9-2 just 40 seconds later, at 6:53, when Leonard wound up with a goal on the deflection of a shot by Short from the right point. Laakso tacked on another assist, on Leonard's second of the night. The Corsairs pushed into double digits at 8:26, when freshman forward Kai Kapossy popped his third goal of the campaign from the bottom of the left circle, off an assist from senior forward Casey Shea.

Lester, who finished with 2-1-3 on the night, struck for his team-leading seventh goal of the season at 10:13, to make it 10-3. He was left all alone in the slot and snapped home a quick shot off a feed from the right side by junior forward Nicholas Fotiu (Falmouth, Mass.), while Shepardson added his second assist of the game.

The fifth and final power-play goal of the night for UMass Dartmouth made it an 11-3 game at 13:29. Anderson flipped home a shot from the right half boards for his second goal of the season, with Nichols providing the lone assist.

Franklin Pierce netted three goals over the final 4:31 to create the 11-6 final. In a 4-on-4 situation at 15:29, Lester took a feed from freshman defenseman Paul Antkowiak (Salem, N.H.), crashed the net on a rush down the left-wing side and stuffed the puck in, while junior defenseman Jack Williams (Suffield, Conn.) also provided an assist.

Williams would tally his second goal of the year at 17:59, as he fired home a shot from right circle, off of a feed from the right half boards by Stahel, with Shepardson chipping in the secondary assist. Finally, on a two-man advantage at 19:55, junior defenseman Blaise Kilroy (Spring City, Pa.) banged home a rebound out front to cap the scoring with his first goal of the year. Haun and freshman forward Seamus Pecararo (Canton, Mass.) were credited with assists on the play.

Christopher started in net for Franklin Pierce, made 16 saves against 21 shots on goal and did not factor in the decision, thanks to the late barrage of Franklin Pierce goals. Wallace (0-1-0) logged the next 30:28, working into the third period, and took the loss after making 22 saves against 27 shots. Sophomore goaltender David McDonough (Braintree, Mass.) came on to make his collegiate debut over the final 8:30 and finished with three saves against four shots.

At the other end of the ice, junior goaltender Tommy Bay (2-0-0) logged the opening 48:26, made 25 saves against 27 shots and picked up the win in the crease for UMass Dartmouth. Senior netminder Jacob Ferreira stopped four of eight shots while working the remaining 11:34 between the pipes.

The Ravens have hit the semester break and will not return to action until the other side of New Year's, when they travel to Suffolk for a non-conference contest on Jan. 6. Opening faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Rink in Boston.

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).