Doucette scores 11th of the season

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (February 9, 2013) – Freshman forward Colleen Doucette (Wakefield, Mass.) scored her team-leading 11th goal of the season on Saturday afternoon, but it would be the only goal of the day for the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team, which dropped a 3-2 decision to Saint Michael's at Cairns Arena. Sophomore forward Kristen Spulecki scored both goals in the win for Saint Michael's.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 6-13-0, while Saint Michael's improves to 2-19-1 (1-15-0 ECAC East). For Saint Michael's, the win snapped a 12-game losing streak and a 17-game winless stretch. The two teams split their two-game weekend series.

After nearly the entire first period went without a goal, Saint Michael's opened the scoring 15 seconds before the first intermission. Spulecki's first of the afternoon came off assists from junior forwards Macey Thomas and Courtney Burnett.

After the second period went without further scoring, the Purple Knights added an early-period goal to go with the one from late in the first, as Spulecki took the team lead with her fifth of the campaign. The pivotal insurance goal came 25 seconds into the stanza on the power play with senior forward Melissa Hallisey and senior defenseman Allison Graf picking up the helpers. Spulecki finished the two-game weekend set with three points on two goals and an assist, figuring in on three of Saint Michael's four goals.

From there, Franklin Pierce set about attempting a third-period comeback, though ultimately it would not be enough. At 3:52, Doucette found the back of the net after a setup by freshman defenseman Samantha Bureau (Ottawa, Ontario) to pull the Ravens within a goal at 2-1. Just less than five minutes after the goal, Franklin Pierce drew a tripping penalty from Spulecki, but the ensuing power-play chance would be short-lived, as freshman forward Francesca Paciello (Clinton, N.Y.) was whistled for checking 34 seconds later.

The best chance to complete the rally came at 13:47 of the third, as another tripping penalty, this one to senior forward Madelena Santore, gave Franklin Pierce its first full power play chance of the day. Head Coach David Stockdale utilized his timeout to set up the man-advantage, and the Ravens generated five shots on goal over the two minutes. Saint Michael's senior goaltender Erin Stevens was equal to the task however, and saved each of the five.

Franklin Pierce got its goaltender to the bench in favor of an extra attacker in the final minute, which almost paid off as well. The Ravens had four shot attempts as time ran down, with one stopped by the defense and two turned aside by Stevens before freshman defenseman Hayley Arnold (Barre, Vt.) rang the game's final shot off the pipe and the Purple Knights held on for the 2-1 victory.

Junior goaltender Amelea Gray (Bozeman, Mont.) stopped 27 shots and took the loss (6-12-0) in net for Franklin Pierce. Stevens made 39 saves to pick up the win (2-17-1) at the other end for Saint Michael's.

The Ravens return to the ice next weekend when they wrap up the season by returning home for a two-game weekend set against Sacred Heart. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15 and noon on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena.

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).