Ravens finish sophomore campaign with 18 wins

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (February 15, 2014) – The Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team turned Wonderland of Ice into a shooting gallery on Saturday afternoon, as it outshot Sacred Heart 47-19, but could only capitalize once as the two teams played to a 1-1 draw in Franklin Pierce's season finale. Sophomore forward Colleen Doucette (Wakefield, Mass.) had the lone goal in the game for the Ravens, while junior defenseman Alex Davis scored for Sacred Heart.

With the tie, Franklin Pierce wraps up its second season at 18-4-2, while Sacred Heart moves to 3-14-6. Franklin Pierce finished 3-0-1 in four games against Sacred Heart on the season.

Two other teams had their first varsity season a year ago, and Franklin Pierce becomes the first of the three to finish with a winning season. University of New England is 6-11-4 in its second campaign with four games to play, while Stevenson stands at 8-14-1 with two games remaining. Among all 53 Division II/III teams, Franklin Pierce's 18 wins currently stands tied for fourth in the country, while its .792 winning percentage ranks sixth.

The Franklin Pierce power play went 0-for-6 on the day and came up empty on a pair of first-period opportunities before the Ravens eventually scored the stanza's only goal. Sophomore forward Karsyn Baker (Detroit, Mich.) took the original shot on the play from the right side, but it was turned aside by Sacred Heart senior goaltender Alexius Schutt. Amid a scramble in the goal mouth, Doucette eventually put away the second-chance opportunity for her seventh goal of the season. Sophomore forward Michaela Faia (Malden, Mass.) also picked up an assist at the 16:56 mark.

For the second straight day, Franklin Pierce held a sizeable shots advantage in the first period, but could only put one puck in the net. The Ravens held Sacred Heart to just one shot on goal over the first 20 minutes, while sending 15 pucks in Schutt's direction.

Sacred Heart had one of the second period's best scoring chances on a late power-play opportunity. With just under three minutes to play in the period, a slick pass across the entire attack zone from the left point found junior forward Melissa Robbins in prime goal-scoring territory near the bottom of the right-wing circle. Robbins one-timed a shot towards the cage, but Franklin Pierce freshman goaltender Shannon O'Neil (Tewksbury, Mass.) was able to slide across her crease to turn aside the threat and preserve the 1-0 lead.

Sacred Heart would eventually tie the game at 1-1 at the 4:53 mark of the third period, as the Ravens got sloppy through the neutral zone. An initial rush up the ice by the Pioneers was diffused by the defense, but Franklin Pierce turned the puck back over before it could push play into the attacking end. The result was a two-on-one rush in on O'Neil, led by senior forward Sara Hanna down the right-wing side. Hanna put the puck on net from the bottom of the faceoff circle and O'Neil made the initial save. However, the rebound stayed in the vicinity of the crease and Davis was able to jam home her second of the season as she crashed the net on the play.

Each team would have a shot to take a 2-1 lead later in the third period, though the goaltenders would be equal to the task. Just after the seven-minute mark, things got hairy in the Franklin Pierce goalmouth again. O'Neil turned aside multiple shots in quick succession to keep the game tied, including stops on Hanna, as well as sophomore forward Hanna Skelley.

As the third period wound past its midpoint, Franklin Pierce successfully killed off a slashing minor to Baker. As the penalty expired, Doucette forced a turnover in the neutral zone and helped spring Baker in on a breakaway as she came out of the penalty box. Schutt was able to turn aside the Ravens leading scorer and keep the game stuck at 1-1.

As was the case much of the afternoon, Schutt was under siege for the remainder of the third period, as she made seven more saves after the Baker breakaway to ultimately send the game to overtime. The two sides combined for only three shots in the five-minute extra session, with Sacred Heart having perhaps the best opportunity, just 35 seconds in. Robbins took control of the puck near her own blue line, deked to the outside of a defender in the neutral zone and powered her way down the right-wing side of the ice. Robbins eventually put the puck on net from the right-wing circle for the scoring chance, but O'Neil sent the puck aside and the teams wound up skating to the 1-1 tie.

After facing just the one shot in the first period, O'Neil made eight saves each in the second and third periods on the way to an 18-save outing in the tie (9-1-1). At the other end of the ice, Schutt piled up 46 saves, to finish with 86 over the two-game weekend series, in the draw (2-7-5) for Sacred Heart.

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).