BOSTON (February 3, 2017) – Trailing 1-0 heading into the second period on Friday afternoon, the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team left the wild middle frame with a 3-2 lead at Edward T. Barry Ice Rink. The third would go scoreless, as the Ravens held on for a 3-2 win over Massachusetts Boston in New England Hockey Conference play. Senior forward Michelle Holmes (Goffstown, N.H.) had a goal and an assist on the day, while fellow senior forward Marisa Ketterman (Palmer, Alaska) provided a pair of assists.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 13-5-1 (9-4-0 NEHC), while Massachusetts Boston falls to 13-7-0 (7-5-0 NEHC).

UMass Boston got the only goal of the first period on Friday afternoon, courtesy of a fortuitous bounce. Senior defenseman Kat Armstrong took a long shot through traffic from the middle of the blue line. The shot slipped over the shoulder of Franklin Pierce senior goaltender Shannon O'Neil (Tewksbury, Mass.), and then things got weird. The puck clanged off the crossbar, bounced back, hit O'Neil in the back of the head, fell to the ice and trickled across the goal line to open the scoring. Armstrong wound up with the first goal of her senior season, while senior forward Kristen Embrey picked up the lone assist at the 8:59 mark.

The second period was a raucous one, as the two sides combined for four goals. Franklin Pierce opened the period with a power play which carried over from the end of the first period. The Ravens needed just 37 seconds to cash in after the middle stanza started. Holmes sent the puck down the left side for Ketterman at the bottom of the left circle. The latter slipped a pass across the top of the crease for senior forward Lanie Matsumoto (Fort Collins, Colo.), who had an easy, one-time finish into an all-but empty net for her sixth goal of the campaign.

The Beacons reclaimed the lead, at 2-1, less than three minutes later, at the 3:19 mark. Again Armstrong took a shot from the point through traffic, this time from the left side of the blue line. This time the puck did not get through cleanly, as freshman forward Julia Nolan deflected the shot en route to tally her sixth goal of the year. Sophomore defenseman Arielle Gallucci provided an assist on the play as well.

Franklin Pierce responded just 96 seconds later, making it three goals in the opening five minutes of the second period, as the Ravens tied the game at 2-2 at 4:55. Carrying the puck forward on the left wing, freshman forward Meg Gilbride (Braintree, Mass.) dropped a pass for Holmes in the left circle. Holmes snapped a shot from the faceoff dot which cleanly beat UMass Boston junior goaltender Rachel Myette to the top shelf for Holmes' 11th goal of the season. Freshman forward Kelsey Holmes (Warwick, R.I.) tacked on an assist on the play.

The Ravens struck for the eventual game-winning goal, and what would turn out to be the final goal of the game, at the 14:36 mark. Senior forward Alysha Raimo (Fitchburg, Mass.) put away her sixth of the campaign from the slot, off of assists from Ketterman and senior defenseman Katie Flynn (Sandwich, Mass.).

O'Neil (11-4-1) finished with 27 saves against 29 shots to pick up the win in the crease for Franklin Pierce. Myette (7-6-0) stopped 31 of 34 shots and suffered the loss between the pipes for UMass Boston.

The Ravens return to the ice on Saturday, Feb. 4, when they travel to Southern Maine for an NEHC contest. Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m. at USM Ice Arena in Gorham, Maine.

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' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).