Early five goal deficit stops Ravens Reynolds leads Raves with a team-high three points

COLCHESTER, Vt. (Feb. 25, 2006) - The Franklin Pierce Ice Hockey team suffered a tough 8-5 loss to Saint Michael's College in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament this evening at Cairns Arena. Saint Michael's College senior Alex Watts (Cheshire, Conn./Berkshire School) led all scorers, totaling a game-high four points on four assists.

Saint Michael's jumped out to an early 4-1 lead mid-way through the first period. Senior captain Jonathan Perez (Sherman Oaks, Calif./Berkshire School) started the scoring for the Purple Knights, 6:59 into the first period, off assists from sophomore Erik Caron (Kanata, Ontario/Smith Falls Bears) and freshman Chris Healey (Salem, N.H./ New Hampshire Junior Monarchs).

Franklin Pierce fired back three minutes later, as senior tri-captain Jason Pierce (Maynard, Mass./Nashoba Valley) registered his first goal of the game, (fourth goal of season). The tie was short-lived, however, as Saint Michael's rallied off three unanswered goals at the end of the first period to take a three goal advantage.

During the second period, Saint Michael's opened its lead to 7-2 as Healy, Caron, and junior Chris Thurston (Wallingford, Conn./Fairfield Prep) each recorded a Purple Knight goal. Pierce notched the lone goal of the period for the Ravens, his second of the game.

In the third period, Franklin Pierce exploded for three early goals, cutting the Saint Michael's lead to 7-5. Senior Shawn Dooley (Rockland, Mass./Archbishop Williams) opened the scoring with his second goal of the season just 1:19 into the period. Junior Styles Bridges (Canton, N.Y./SUNY Canton) added to the Raven's heat, as he collected his first collegiate goal of his career at Franklin Pierce. Just 0:13 later, sophomore Ben Reynolds (Wallingford, Pa./Green Mountain Glades) tallied his eighth goal of the seasons to bring the Ravens within two goals.

After a Saint Michael's timeout, the Purple Knights added another goal to secure the victory. Sophomore Tim Dancey (Anaheim, Calif./Berkshire School) recorded his 17^th goal of the season to propel the Purple Knights to the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Semifinals.

Franklin Pierce goaltender Steven Moore (Londonderry, N.H./American International) totaled 29 saves his first collegiate start for the Ravens, while Saint Michael's goaltender Derek Jackson (Clinton, N.Y./Gunnery School) registered 21 saves for his eighth victory of the season.

Franklin Pierce ended its season with an overall record of 1-19-4, 0-12-3 in the ECAC NE and 1-4-0 in the NE-10. Saint Michael's College (1-19-4, 1-4-0 NE-10) will face Southern New Hampshire University in the semifinal match up on Wednesday.

GAME STATISTICS

Saint Michael's 8, Franklin Pierce 5
Saint Michael's (9-13-4, -0 NE-10)                             4          3          1          -           8
Franklin Pierce  (1-19-4, 1-4-0 NE-10)                       1          1          3          -           5

Scoring Summary
First Period: SMC: Jonathan Perez (Erik Caron, Chris Healey), 6:59; FP: Jason Pierce (Mark Gibbons), 9:23; SMC: Jared Silver (Alex Watts, Nick Dancey), 10:41; SMC: Healey (Perez, Andrick Deppmeyer), 15:321; SMC: Tim Dancey (Silver, Watts), 15:48
Second Period: SMC: Chris Thurston (Watts, Dancey), 7:10; SMC: Caron, 11:34; FP: Pierce (Ben Reynolds, Mike Anderson), 12:20; SMC Healey, 19:07
Third Period: FP: Shawn Dooley (Reynolds, Matt Clemente), 1:19; FP: Styles Bridges, 5:55; FP: Reynolds, 6:08; SMC: Dancey (Silver, Watts), 10:44;
Goaltenders:
FP: Steve Moore (60:00), 29 saves
SMC: Derek Jackson (60:00), 21 saves
Shots on Goal:
FP: 6-10-10-26
SMC:  17-10-10-37
Three Stars:
First Star: Tim Dancey (SMC)
Second Star: Ben Reynolds (FP)
Third Star: Chris Healey (SMC)