LaBreck notches a career-high three goals; Fields ties school’s single-season goals mark

Boxscore

WORCESTER, Mass. (February 2, 2008) – Franklin Pierce University scored eight of the last 10 goals of the game and cruised to an 8-4 victory over Assumption College in Northeast-10 and ECAC Northeast Conference men’s ice hockey action on Saturday night at the Charles Buffone Hockey Rink.

Sophomore Phil LaBreck (Thornton, N.H./Laconia Leafs) led the way for the Ravens with his first career hat trick, only the ninth in program history. Junior Coursen Schneider (Stony Point, N.Y./Avon Old Farms) continued to be very productive since returning to the lineup, scoring once and assisting on three goals for four points. Seniors Joe Fields (Towamencin, Pa./Green Mountain Glades) and Ryan Strayer (Murfreesboro, Tenn./Enfield (Conn.)) and sophomore Casey Goodell (Rochester, N.H./Laconia Leafs) also had a goal and an assist each for the Ravens.

Fields’ goal gave him 14 markers on the season, tying him with Brian DelSavio ’07 for the school’s single-season record. With his hat trick, LaBreck also moved into a tie for fourth on the single-season goals list with 12 tallies.

Sophomore Jon Tuttle (Concord, N.H./Concord) once again played solidly in net for the Ravens, making 24 saves to earn his second career victory in as many starts. Franklin Pierce out-shot Assumption by a comfortable 43-29 margin, including taking 31 shots to Assumption’s 18 over the final 40 minutes of play. Junior Casey McNally (Lunenburg, Mass./Lunenburg) took the loss for the Ice Dogs, allowing six goals in 41:53.

After allowing Assumption a two-goal advantage following one period, the Ravens’ offense exploded for four goals in each of the final two periods. Strayer began the onslaught only 1:13 into the second period, taking an outlet pass from Schneider and wristing a shot past McNally from the high slot. Just over four minutes later, Schneider struck on the power play, one-timing a pass from sophomore Rob Perretta (Staten Island, N.Y./Brockville Tiki's) in the left circle.

After Assumption’s Matt Paget (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) regained the Ice Dog lead with an unassisted tally at the 12:00 mark, the Ravens struck twice in 22 seconds to give the Ravens the lead for good. First, LaBreck potted an easy rebound of a Schneider shot from just outside the crease to tie the game at three. Then at the 13:39 mark, sophomore Casey Goodell (Rochester, N.H./Laconia Leafs) set up in the slot and one-timed a pass by Strayer to give the Ravens a 4-3 lead that the team would not give up.

Franklin Pierce continued to put pressure on Assumption in the third period, beginning with Fields’ goal only 21 seconds into the final frame. The senior captain notched his 14th of the season and 36th of his career off the rebound of a Perretta attempt, with senior captain Pete Wilson (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) also recording an assist.

LaBreck then put the game away with a pair of tallies only 3:41 apart, notching a power-play marker at 1:53 after Schneider’s initial attempt was blocked and then taking a nice feed from junior Shane Murphy (Tolland, Conn./The Gunnery School) at the right post and beating Jamie DiGiulio (Peabody, Mass./Tilton School).

With their sixth win of the season, the Ravens tied the school record for wins set by the 2004-05 squad. Franklin Pierce (6-14-0, 1-3-0 NE-10, 4-8-0 ECAC NE) will look for its record seventh victory of the season next Saturday at home, when the Ravens celebrate Senior Night against UMass Dartmouth beginning at 7 p.m. Assumption (5-14-0, 0-5-0 NE-10, 2-8-0 ECAC NE) will host Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.