The fifth-seeded Ravens will take on the fourth-seeded Skyhawks Saturday at 1:40 p.m.

RINDGE, N.H. (February 28, 2008) – The Franklin Pierce University men’s hockey team will take on Stonehill College in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Bridgewater Ice Arena in Bridgewater, Mass.

The Ravens and Skyhawks met once this season, as Stonehill took a 6-1 victory over Franklin Pierce on Dec. 10 in Bridgewater. Linemates Matt Curran (Scarborough, Maine/North Yarmouth) and Brendan O’Brien (Braintree, Mass./Deerfield Academy) combined for seven points on a goal and six assists for the Skyhawks, while sophomore Phil LaBreck (Thornton, N.H./Laconia Leafs) scored the lone goal of the game for the Ravens.

Franklin Pierce is seeded fifth in the NE-10 Tournament for the fourth consecutive season after a 6-18-0 regular-season record and a 1-4-0 conference mark. Stonehill, the fourth seed, enters the postseason with an 11-10-2 (3-2-0 NE-10) record, finishing in a tie for third place in the conference but losing the tiebreaker with Southern New Hampshire University.

The Ravens boast the best offense in the Northeast-10, averaging 3.71 goals per game. The leader of the Raven attack is the school’s all-time scoring leader, senior captain Joe Fields (Towamencin, Pa./Green Mountain Glades). Fields has set new program single-season records for goals and points in his senior season with a line of 15-16-31 and ranks in the top-five in the NE-10 in goals (2nd), assists (T-4th) and points (3rd) this year.

LaBreck ranks second on the team in goals with a career-high 12 (T-5th NE-10), while junior Coursen Schneider (Stony Point, N.Y./Avon Old Farms) and sophomore Casey Goodell (Rochester, N.H./Laconia Leafs) have both potted nine goals on the season. Goodell is tied for second on the team in points with junior Jeff Kasper (South Boston, Mass./Catholic Memorial), as both players have recorded 23 points on the year.

Senior captain Pete Wilson will lead the nation's third-best power play against the conference's best penalty kill this weekend.

Against the least-penalized team in the conference, the Ravens will depend on the efficiency of their power play, which ranks first in the NE-10 and third in the nation with a 30.9 percent success rate (47-for-152). Senior captain Pete Wilson (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) leads the conference in power-play points (7-12-19) and ranks second among NE-10 defensemen in scoring this season with seven goals and 14 assists. Freshman Sean Woodring (Rogue River, Ore./Eugene Generals), who leads the NE-10 in freshman scoring and broke the school’s record for points by a freshman last week, ranks second in the conference in power-play scoring, as 17 of his 21 points (8-13-21) this season have come on the man advantage.

The goaltender position has been in flux for much of the season, as four goalies have started at least three games for Franklin Pierce in 2007-08. However, sophomore goaltender Jon Tuttle (Concord, N.H./Concord) has started the last six games (2-4-0) for the Ravens and has posted team-bests with his 3.63 goals against average and .877 save percentage. Tuttle has never faced Stonehill in his brief career but will be in net for Franklin Pierce as the team searches for the first postseason win in program history this weekend.

Stonehill, which boasts the second-best offense in the conference at 3.57 goals per game, is led by O’Brien and Curran, the two Skyhawks with more than 20 points on the year. O’Brien holds the team lead in points with eight goals and a team-best 20 assists (2nd NE-10) for 28 points (T-4th NE-10), and is tied for third in the NE-10 with 15 power-play points on the year. Curran leads the team with 11 goals and has added 11 assists for 22 points, and also is easily the most penalized player on the squad with 23 penalties for 67 minutes.

The Skyhawks also rank second in the NE-10 in scoring defense (3.65 goals per game) largely due to the stellar goaltending play of freshman Mike Manna (Framingham, Mass./Xaverian). Manna ranks second in the conference with a 2.85 goals against average and a .916 save percentage in 16 games this year, and made 32 saves in the win over Franklin Pierce earlier this season.

The winner of Saturday’s game will take on top-seeded Saint Michael’s College in the Northeast-10 Tournament Semifinals on March 5 in Colchester, Vt. The conference championship game will be played on March 8 at the home of the highest remaining seed.