Harron contributes pair of helpers

WINCHENDON, Mass. (January 17, 2015) – Junior defenseman Sarah Sheils (Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored three times, including a pair of power-play goals, on Saturday night to lead the way for the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team in a 5-1 win over Nichols in ECAC East play at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Senior forward Lisa Coskren netted the lone goal in defeat for Nichols.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 13-2-1 (6-1-0 ECAC East) and has won six in a row, while Nichols falls to 4-9-0 (1-6-0 ECAC East). Franklin Pierce now boasts a 21-game unbeaten streak on its home ice, dating to a loss to Sacred Heart on Feb. 16, 2013, the final game of the Ravens' inaugural season.

The Franklin Pierce power play, which went 3-for-8 on Saturday night, opened the scoring with the first period's only goal at the 7:48 mark. The play started at the right point with sophomore forward Alysha Raimo (Fitchburg, Mass.), who laid the puck off on the right side for Freshman forward Hailee Craig (Canton, Mich.). Craig sent the puck across to the left point for junior defenseman Haylea Barbieri (Plainville, Mass.), who stepped into a wrist shot from there. The shot fluttered over the shoulder of Nichols freshman goaltender Lindsay O'Connell and into the top-left corner for Barbieri's second goal of the season.

The Ravens struck twice more before the game's midpoint to push the lead to 3-0. First, Sheils picked up her first of three goals on the night at the 5:29 mark of the second period. The original shot on the play came from junior defenseman Hayley Arnold (Barre, Vt.) at the left point, but was blocked by the defense and deflected into the right-wing corner. Ultimately, Sheils walked the puck out of the corner, in front of the crease and slipped it between O'Connell's pads for her sixth goal of the campaign. Junior forward Karsyn Baker (Detroit, Mich.) added an assist on the play as well.

Sheils struck again at 9:49, this time on the power play. Trying to find its way out of the defensive end, the Nichols penalty kill turned the puck over directly to Sheils in the high slot. Sheils wasted no time picking the top-left corner from there to notch her second multiple-goal game of the season, as well as her career.

Just 52 seconds later, Nichols picked up a power-play goal of its own at the 10:41 mark to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Franklin Pierce penalty kill blocked a pair of shots on the play, as senior forward Alyssa Bufis let fly from the right point, but the shot was knocked down by the defense. The puck caromed to the middle of the blue line for senior defenseman Taylor Brown, who teed up another shot from there. Again, the drive was knocked down by the defense, but this time led to a scramble in the goalmouth. Coskren was eventually able to get her stick to the puck and force it into the net for her third goal of the year.

Franklin Pierce reclaimed the three-goal lead on the third of the season for junior forward Francesca Paciello (Clinton, N.Y.) at 14:10 of the middle frame. The shot on the play came from the left-wing faceoff dot and O'Connell was able to get a piece of the puck, though it ultimately wound up behind her and across the goal line to make it 4-1. Sophomore defenseman Katie Flynn (Sandwich, Mass.) and junior forward Bryana Harron (Woburn, Mass.) picked up the helpers on Paciello's fourth of the season.

The Ravens also had the lone third-period goal on Saturday, as Sheils finished off her first career hat trick with a power-play score at the 16:08 mark. Amid a scramble in front of the crease, Harron and sophomore forward Marisa Ketterman (Palmer, Alaska) combined to work the puck out to Sheils in the high slot. Again Sheils picked the top corner, this time to create the 5-1 final. For Ketterman, the assist pushed her point streak to six games (5-7-12), dating back to Dec. 12 at SUNY Canton. It is her second six-game scoring streak of the season and her third career point streak of five or more games.

Sophomore goaltender Shannon O'Neil (Tewksbury, Mass.) stopped 27 of the 28 shots on her net to pick up the win (5-2-1) between the pipes for Franklin Pierce. O'Connell finished with 33 saves against 38 shots and was stuck with the loss (1-4-0) in net for Nichols.

The Ravens return to the ice on Saturday, Jan. 24, when they travel to Saint Michael's for an ECAC East contest. Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m. at Cairns Arena in South Burlington, Vt. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Friday, Jan. 30 against Saint Anselm at 5 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).