Nichols held to three shots in middle stanza

BURRILLVILLE, R.I. (January 22, 2013) – A penalty-shot goal by freshman forward Bryana Harron (Woburn, Mass.) 110 seconds into the second period stood as the game-winner on Tuesday night, as the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team posted a 3-1 road win over Nichols at Levy Rink. Junior forward Megan Gerein scored the lone goal in defeat for Nichols.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 5-10-0, while Nichols falls to 3-14-0 (1-9-0 ECAC East). The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Franklin Pierce and avenged a 3-2 overtime loss at home to Nichols on Oct. 27.

The Ravens opened the scoring on the game's first power play, at the 6:58 mark of the first period. Freshman forwards Karsyn Baker (Detroit, Mich.) and Colleen Doucette (Wakefield, Mass.) set up the eighth goal of the campaign for fellow freshman forward Michaela Faia (Malden, Mass.) on a one-timer in front of the net.

Franklin Pierce would make its move in the second period, outshooting Nichols 10-3 along the way. The game would remain at 1-0 until the 1:50 mark of the middle stanza, when Harron was hauled down while on a breakaway by Nichols sophomore defenseman Taylor Brown. Harron was awarded a penalty shot and converted on the goaltender's blocker side for her fourth goal of the season.

The teams would trade goals 2:58 apart in the latter stages of the second, before the third period went without a goal, to create the 3-1 final. On the power play at the 14:37 mark, Gerein's fourth of the season came off assists from sophomore forwards Tawny Buelow and Grace Murphy. Nichols took a penalty just 27 seconds after the Gerein goal, and while the Ravens did not cash in on the man-advantage, they did strike 21 seconds after it expired. Freshman defenseman Nicole Palermo (Warwick, R.I.) netted her second of the year off assists from junior forward Jamie Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) and freshman forward Francesca Paciello (Clinton, N.Y.).

In a game which featured relatively few shots on goal, junior goaltender Amelea Gray (Bozeman, Mont.) made 21 saves against 22 shots to pick up the win (5-9-0) in net for Franklin Pierce. Freshman Nia Kelly stopped 16 of the 19 pucks sent her way and took the loss (3-7-0) in front of the Nichols cage.

The Ravens return to the ice on Friday, Jan. 25, when they travel to Sacred Heart for the front end of a weekend set. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport, Conn. The Ravens next play at home on Friday, Feb. 15 against Sacred Heart at 7 p.m.

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