SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (January 27, 2018) – A pair of first-period power-play goals were all the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team needed on Saturday afternoon, on the way to a 3-0 win at Saint Michael's in New England Women's Hockey Alliance play. Freshman forward Nicole Amato (Billerica, Mass.) and senior forward Alex Brolsma (Bloomington, Minn.) put home goals in the first stanza, while Amato added an empty-net goal in the third at Cairns Arena.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 12-7-2 (6-7-1 NEWHA), while Saint Michael's falls to 3-17-0 (3-11-0 NEWHA).

The only goal the Ravens would need came on a man advantage 5:33 into the Saturday matinee. Leading the play down the left-wing side, freshman forward Marissa Massaro (Brockton, Mass.) left the puck for Amato in the left circle. Amato collected the puck and fired a shot just inside the right post from the faceoff dot in the left circle. Sophomore defenseman Bridgette Prentiss (Buffalo, N.Y.) added an assist as well, on Amato's team-leading 13^th goal of the season.

Brolsma made it 2-0 with a 5-on-3 goal at the 17:19 mark. Freshman defenseman Carolyn Drowne (Bridgewater, Mass.) stepped into the initial shot on the play from the high slot, though it was saved by Saint Michael's junior goaltender Nicole Talcott. Brolsma was battling for position outside the top of the crease and was the first to find the rebound, which she chipped up into the top-right corner to double the lead. Sophomore defenseman Katie Neuburger (Fayetteville, N.Y.) tacked on the secondary assist on Brolsma's 11^th goal of the campaign.

Brolsma's 43^rd career goal was also her 112^th point as a collegiate player (43-69-112). She is now just nine points behind Karsyn Baker '16, who holds the school record of 121 points (59-62-121). Brolsma already owns the program record for career assists.

The second period and much of the third period went scoreless, but were certainly not without some chippy play. In all, the two teams combined for 32 minutes of penalties on 16 minor penalties. Franklin Pierce finished 2-for-7 on the power play, while Saint Michael's came up empty on nine chances with the man advantage.

Amato finally sealed the deal inside the final minute with an empty-net tally, after the Purple Knights brought Talcott to the bench for the extra attack. Amato chased down a loose puck along the left-wing boards near the hash marks and quickly released a shot, which banked off the inside of the right post and in to cap the scoring. Massaro and Prentiss were ultimately credited with the assists at 19:10.

Senior goaltender Madison Murray (Berkley, Mich.) stopped all 17 shots on her goal to earn the win (7-2-1) and her third career shutout in net for Franklin Pierce. At the other end of the ice, Talcott (3-15-0) collected 39 saves against 41 shots, but suffered the loss for Saint Michael's.

The Ravens return to the ice on Feb. 2-3, when they return home to host Sacred Heart in an NEWHA weekend series. Opening faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena in Winchendon.

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).