Rohrich's Hat Trick Powers Men's Hockey to a 5-1 Win at Saint Michael's

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (1/21/23) – Freshman Devin Rohrich (Pittsburgh, Pa.) registered his first collegiate hat trick as the Franklin Pierce men's hockey team snapped their recent seven game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over Saint Michael's College on Saturday afternoon at Cairns Arena.

The win earns men's hockey a split with the Purple Knights following yesterday evenings 6-4 setback, and improves their record to 9-12 (6-5 NE10) on the season with the win. Saint Michael's falls to 7-9-1 (6-5-1 NE10) with the loss at home.

Rohrich scored what would be the first period's only goal after forcing a Saint Mike's turnover nearly in front of their own goal, as he stole the puck from the top of the left circle and danced his way in for a top-shelf backhander to give Pierce the 1-0 lead. In addition to the one-goal lead, Pierce would go on to outshoot the Purple Knights 16-9 through the opening 20 minutes of play.

At the 7:43 mark of the period, Rohrich returned for more with his second goal of the night, once again off poor puck management by the Purple Knights in their own end. As Saint Michael's was attempting to clear the puck, sophomore Michael Flaherty (Rockland, Mass.) pinched down at the line and sent the puck to a wide open Rohrich in front, where he finished it off for the 2-0 lead. Just over a minute and a half late, senior defender Steven Jacobs (Hingham, Mass.) sent a missile to the top corner from the point on the power play, making it a 3-0 contest for the Ravens. However, the Knights were not going to go quietly in the second, and cut the deficit to 3-1 as forward Jeremy Routh picked up a sizeable rebound at the left circle and sent the puck into a gaping cage.

The score remained 3-1 deep into the final frame, with the Ravens hitting a pair of late empty netters courtesy of forwards Chris Stevenson (Arvada, Colo.) and Devin Rohrich, which completed the hat trick night for the Raven freshman, and the 5-1 win for Pierce.

Graduate starter Kyle Martin (Westford, Mass.) made his return to the Raven crease, making 37 saves on 38 shots faced for his eighth win of the season (8-4). Purple Knight starter Marshall Murphy (5-6-1) claims the loss for Saint Michael's after making 31 saves on 34 shots faced.

Men's hockey will make their return to Jason Ritchie Ice Arena to open a three game homestand, beginning on Tuesday,  January 24^th against Stonehill College at 7:00 p.m.