Men’s Ice Hockey Keeps Things Interesting, Stuns Framingham State, 3-2 (OT)

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (November 22, 2022) -- It was a… unique night on Tuesday at Loring Arena. The Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team trailed 2-1 through two periods. The deficit was a result of the Ravens surrendering a pair of shorthanded goals just 24 seconds apart on the same power play, a rare enough feat on its own. Things only got more unusual from there, as Franklin Pierce still trailed with two seconds to play, but then won the game at Framingham State anyway, 3-2 (OT).

The Ravens got a goal from senior Stephen Jacobs (Hingham, Mass.) in the dying moments of regulation, and then graduate student Chris Stevenson (Arvada, Colo.) played overtime hero for the second time in as many games, with just six seconds remaining in the extra session. Senior Conor Foley (Nahant, Mass.) -- the reigning Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week -- factored in on all three Franklin Pierce scores, with a goal and two assists.

With the non-conference victory, Franklin Pierce improves to 6-3-0, while Framingham State falls to 3-4-1.

Franklin Pierce had the only goal of the first period on Tuesday, with a power-play marker at 16:29, on a tic-tac-toe passing play. Jacobs started things in the right circle, and found a seam across the slot to junior Cody Rumsey (York, Pa.) in the bottom of the left circle. Rumsey quickly fired the puck back over to Foley, who banged home his team-leading ninth of the season -- in just nine games -- at the right post.

Framingham State turned the tables in the second period, as the Rams found a pair of shorthanded tallies in quick succession. First, sophomore Cam Lindsay picked off an attempted D-to-D pass, took off the other way and snapped his third of the year inside the left post on the breakaway at 8:51. On the very next shift, sophomore Devonte Dixon attempted a hard clear from his own goal line, which was deflected at the blue line by Lindsay. The deflection proved fortuitous, as Lindsay effectively sprung freshman Sam Larkin in on another shorthanded break. Larkin faked a shot from the slot and deked to the right post for his second of the campaign, at 9:15.

The 2-1 lead held for the next 20:44. Unfortunately for the Rams, they had claimed the lead with 20:45 to play, and Franklin Pierce tied the game at 19:59 of the third. Initially, a shot from the left wing hit Foley out front, with the rebound squirting free for Rumsey, on the goal line and outside the left post. Rumsey found a passing lane and slipped the puck across the top of the crease for Jacobs, who hammered home his second of the year from the bottom of the right circle.

The Ravens waited until the waning moments of overtime to strike as well, as the winner came just six seconds before the contest would have ended in a tie. Foley was knocked down while driving into the right circle, but did not let that deter him. From the seat of his pants, he brushed the puck to Stevenson in the slot, and the Coloradan did the rest. For the second straight game, Stevenson deked his way to the right post and slid home the overtime winner, his fourth goal of the season.

Sophomore Brogan McDonald (Gorham, Maine) stopped 27 of 29 shots in the Franklin Pierce crease to pick up his first collegiate win (1-0-0). At the other end of the ice, sophomore Trevor Stenberg (0-3-0) made 24 saves against 27 shots in the loss for Framingham State.

The Ravens are back in action in tournament play at Castleton this weekend. Franklin Pierce will open play against the host Spartans at 7 p.m. on Friday.