Ravens forge third-period tie, but then suffer late defeat

BIDDEFORD, Maine (February 7, 2014) – Sophomore forwards Francesca Paciello (Clinton, N.Y.) and Karsyn Baker (Detroit, Mich.) each scored on Friday night, but two other shots which rang off of the pipes proved costly for the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team, which fell on the road, 3-2, against University of New England at Harold Alfond Forum. Freshman defenseman Cassandra Connolly had a pair of assists in the win for UNE.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 17-3-1 and sees its unbeaten streak snapped at nine games, while Univ. of New England improves to 6-10-4. With the win, UNE avoids the season sweep at the hands of the Ravens, who took two of the three meetings between the two clubs.

The two teams combined for three goals in the first period, with UNE taking a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. It was the Nor'easters who struck first, at the 10:18 mark, after Connolly set up freshman defenseman Richelle Skarbowski on the left point on the power play. Skarbowski took the original shot from there, though the drive never made it on net. Instead, it was deflected and fell to sophomore forward Jenni Poulin in the slot, just above the hash marks. Poulin had a shooting lane from there and scored her team-leading 10th goal of the season by beating Franklin Pierce freshman goaltender Noelle White (Corona, Calif.) low and inside the left post.

Franklin Pierce quickly responded, just 32 seconds later, at the 10:50 mark. Sophomore forward Bryana Harron (Woburn, Mass.) dug out a loose puck in the right-wing corner and got it to Paciello. The latter was able to jam it home at the right post for her fourth goal of the campaign.

It would take less than three minutes for UNE to reclaim the lead at 2-1, at 13:37. The play developed quickly on the left-wing side of the offensive end and left sophomore forward Marissa Clifford-Biederman with the puck heading into the left corner. She was able to flip a pass out front for freshman forward Gabby Crugnale, who one-timed her seventh of the year to the back of the net. Freshman defenseman Amy Curry picked up an assist on the play as well.

The Ravens nearly answered immediately, as sophomore forward Michaela Faia (Malden, Mass.) found herself with a partial breakaway just 15 seconds after the Crugnale goal. Faia beat UNE sophomore Courtney Kendall up high, but the puck clanged off the crossbar and bounced away harmlessly.

Later in the first period, at 17:20, Kendall was lifted in favor of fellow sophomore Samantha Scobee, who minded the net the rest of the way for the Nor'easters.

Franklin Pierce had another golden opportunity 7:29 into the second period, as Baker took the puck at the top of the right-wing circle, weaved her way around a couple of defenders and made her way into the slot. She took a wrist shot back to the right, against her momentum, and cleanly beat Scobee, who was caught sliding the other way. However, the shot rang off the right post and drifted off into the corner as the game remained 2-1. In the end, the middle stanza would go scoreless.

Baker would wind up getting on the board at the 6:30 mark of the third period, with her team-leading 16th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2. Baker forced a turnover in the neutral zone and started her own partial breakaway the other way. Scobee got a piece of Baker's shot from the left side, but the puck got behind the goaltender and trickled inside the right post before anybody could track it down.

From there, the two teams settled in and it began to look like overtime might be in the offing in Biddeford. Instead, the Nor'easters were able to find the game-winning goal with just 2:46 to play in regulation. Freshman forward Mary Wirth was the first to find the puck amid a goalmouth scramble and scored her first collegiate goal by flipping the puck over the sprawled White, who had made the initial save on the play. Connolly and freshman forward Emily Corrales picked up the helpers at 17:14.

Franklin Pierce got White to the bench in favor of the extra attacker for much of the final 100 seconds, but the Ravens were unable to tie the game again, as UNE came away with the 3-2 victory.

White finished with 26 saves on the night and suffered the loss (8-3-1) for Franklin Pierce. At the other end, Kendall made eight saves against nine shots in her 17:20 between the pipes, while Scobee stopped 18 of 19 shots over 42:40 to pick up the win (2-2-1) for UNE.

The Ravens return to the ice on Tuesday, Feb. 11, when they travel to Saint Anselm. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sullivan Arena in Manchester, N.H.

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).