RINDGE, N.H. (February 23, 2018) – For the fourth straight season, the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team will take part in the semifinal round of the NEWHA Open Tournament on Saturday afternoon. The fourth-seeded Ravens will visit the top seed and host, Saint Anselm, in the day's second semifinal. Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m. at Sullivan Arena in Manchester, N.H.

Franklin Pierce (15-11-2) will be looking to finally exorcise some demons while facing arguably its biggest rival. Saint Anselm (20-3-4) has dominated the all-time series between the intrastate rivals, as the Hawks have never lost to the Ravens in 16 meetings (15-0-1) between the two. Franklin Pierce finally scratched out the first tie in the series earlier this season.

NEWHA Open Tournament
(seeds in parentheses) 

Wednesday, Feb. 21
Game 1: (4) Franklin Pierce defeats (5) Saint Michael's, 2-1 (box score | game story)
Game 2: (3) Sacred Heart defeats (6) Post, 6-0 (box score | SHU game story)

Remainder of tournament hosted by Saint Anselm at Sullivan Arena (Manchester, N.H.).

Saturday, Feb. 24
Game 3: Sacred Heart vs. (2) Holy Cross -- 1 p.m.
Game 4: Franklin Pierce at (1) Saint Anselm -- 4 p.m. 

Sunday, Feb. 25
Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser -- Noon (third-place game)
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner -- 3 p.m. (championship game) 

Scouting the Ravens

Franklin Pierce heads into the weekend portion of the tournament after a dramatic, 2-1 win on home ice against fifth-seeded Saint Michael's in the first round on Wednesday night. After a scoreless first two periods, sophomore defenseman Delaney Guimont (Bedford, N.H.) opened the scoring 6:09 into the third period, but Saint Michael's equalized at the 17:00 mark. It took Franklin Pierce just 67 seconds to find the winner from there though, as senior forward Alex Brolsma (Bloomington, Minn.) broke the tie for good at 18:07.

The Ravens are led by freshman forward Nicole Amato (Billerica, Mass.), who was named one of the NEWHA's Co-Rookies of the Year earlier this week (NEWHA awards). She has a team-leading 37 points on 19 goals and 18 assists. The 37 points matches a school single-season record, while the 19 goals establish a new program single-season high-water mark.

Amato earned an All-NEWHA Second Team selection as well for her work this season, and was joined on the squad by sophomore defenseman Bridgette Prentiss (Buffalo, N.Y.), who has 17 points on three goals and 14 assists this year. Freshman forward Marissa Massaro (Brockton, Mass.) joined Amato on the All-Rookie Team, as she is currently second on the team in scoring, with 33 points on 15 goals and 18 assists.

Though not honored by the league in the year-end awards, Brolsma is currently third on the team in scoring, with 30 points on 16 goals and 14 assists. Her 121 career points (48-73-121) have her tied with Karsyn Baker '16 for the school's all-time scoring record.

In goal, senior Madison Murray (Berkley, Mich.) -- an NEWHA All-Sportswomanship Team selection -- has carried the majority of the load for the Ravens, as she has logged 55% of the team's minutes. Through 17 starts, she owns a 10-5-1 record and has made 289 saves against 321 shots, to post a .900 save percentage and a 2.04 goals-against average.

Scouting the Hawks

On the other side of the ledger, Saint Anselm earned a bye through to the semifinal round by finishing as the NEWHA's top seed and regular-season champion. The Hawks had put together an unbeaten streak of 10 games (7-0-3), before falling at home against Holy Cross, 2-0, in their regular-season finale. Since the calendar flipped to 2018, Saint Anselm is 10-2-3. The Hawks are 8-2-4 on home ice this season.

Saint Anselm is led by a pair of All-NEWHA First Team selections, in senior forward Kaitlyn Spillane and sophomore defenseman Megan Klaus. Spillane is the team's third leading scorer, as she has amassed 25 points on 11 goals and 14 assists, while Klaus sits fourth on the team, with 23 points, on five goals and 18 assists. Sophomore forward Kaley Campbell -- an All-NEWHA Second Team pick -- leads the squad in scoring, with 30 points on 11 goals and 19 assists. The Hawks have 12 players who have collected at least 10 points on the year.

Freshman forward Katy Meehan shared the NEWHA Rookie of the Year award with Amato, after an impressive debut campaign of her own. Meehan is second on Saint Anselm in scoring, with 15 goals and 13 assists for 28 points.

Junior netminder Maddie Scavotto has logged 55% of the team's minutes to lead the Hawks' goaltending corps. Through 15 starts, she has made 243 saves against 258 shots, posted a .942 save percentage and tallied a 0.99 goals-against average on the way to a 10-2-3 record. As a team, Saint Anselm is averaging a 37-16 advantage in shots on goal over its opponents.

Earlier this Season

The two teams met four times during the regular season this year, with Saint Anselm posting a 3-0-1 record in the season series. The two met for a home-and-home series on Nov. 3-4, with Saint Anselm posting a 5-1 win at Franklin Pierce on Friday afternoon (game story) and then collecting a 4-1 victory at home on Saturday afternoon (game story). Meehan had a goal and two assists for three points on Friday, while senior forward Ashley Moran dished out three assists on Saturday.

A Jan. 19-20 home-and-home set was more competitive. Saint Anselm scored a 4-2 win on the road on Friday night (game story), but Franklin Pierce struck back to forge a 2-2 tie on the road on Saturday afternoon (game story), to mark the first-ever draw between the two squads. Sophomore forward Amanda Conger led the way for the Hawks on Friday, with two goals and an assist. On Saturday, freshman forward Haley Parker (Londonderry, N.H.) and Amato provided second-period power-play goals, as the Ravens erased a 2-0 first-intermission deficit.

Previously in the Postseason

The Ravens and the Hawks have met only once previously in the postseason, as the two clashed at Saint Anselm in the semifinal round of the then-NEHC Open Tournament in 2016. Saint Anselm outshot Franklin Pierce 36-12 on the way to a 2-0 victory (game story), courtesy of second-period goals from Spillane and Samantha Boyer.

Headed to the Game?

If you plan on making the trip to the Queen City on Saturday afternoon, directions to Saint Anselm's Manchester campus and the Hawks' facilities can be found here: Saint Anselm Athletic Facilities Directions.

Ticket prices are set as follows:

Adults - $5
Children 12 and under: Free

Per NEWHA policy, no complimentary admissions will be issued.

How to Follow Along

If you prefer to follow the action from home, from work or from elsewhere, both live video and live stats will be available.

Live stats || Video

Up Next

The winner of Saturday's second semifinal will advance to Sunday's championship game, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Sullivan Arena. The loser will participate in Sunday's third-place game, which is slated for a noon faceoff.

Saturday's first semifinal will get underway at 1 p.m., and features second-seeded Holy Cross taking on third-seeded Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart won Wednesday's other first round game, 6-0, over sixth-seeded Post.

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 soccer apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).