Fields sets new single-season goals mark with his 15th marker of the year

Boxscore

HOOKSETT, N.H. (February 23, 2008) – Senior Brandon Hammermeister (Calgary, Alberta/ Fernie Ghostriders) scored the game-winning goal with 1:53 remaining in the third period as Southern New Hampshire University outlasted Franklin Pierce University to earn a 5-4 Northeast-10 and ECAC Northeast Conference men’s ice hockey victory on Saturday evening at the Ice Den.

With the win, Southern New Hampshire (11-11-1, 3-2-0 NE-10, 7-7-1 ECAC NE) moved into third place in the Northeast-10 and clinched a home game in the first round of the Northeast-10 Tournament on March 1. Franklin Pierce (6-18-0, 1-4-0 NE-10, 4-12-0 ECAC NE) will be the fifth seed in next week’s NE-10 Tournament, and will play either SNHU or Stonehill College in the opening round.

Hammermeister was one of three Penmen to record a goal and an assist on the evening, along with classmate Josh Goodman (Highland Mills, N.Y./Peterborough Jr. Bees) and freshman Bob Bryant (Nashua, N.H./New England Jr. Huskies). Senior Michael Sabo (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) added a pair of assists for Southern N.H.

Sophomore Casey Goodell (Rochester, N.H./Laconia Leafs) led all scorers with a game-high two goals, his third multi-goal game of the season and fourth of his career. Freshman Sean Woodring (Rogue River, Ore./Eugene Generals) scored his eighth goal of the year to break the school’s single-season freshman scoring mark with his 21st point of the season.

Senior captain Joe Fields (Towamencin, Pa./Green Mountain Glades) also broke yet another school record, as he set a new single-season goals mark and snapped a tie with Brian DelSavio ’07 with his 15th tally of the year. Fields currently holds every major offensive record at Franklin Pierce, as he is the school’s leader in career and single-season goals, assists and points.

Southern New Hampshire outshot Franklin Pierce, 15-8, and scored three times in the decisive third period to squeak out the win. The Penmen began the period with a pair of tallies in the first 1:24 of the frame, as Goodman found the net 48 seconds in and Bryant beat sophomore goaltender Jon Tuttle (Concord, N.H./Concord) a mere 36 seconds later to cap a four-goal comeback.

Despite the quick start, Franklin Pierce regained momentum with a pair of tallies midway through the period to re-tie the game at four. Woodring notched his seventh power-play marker of the year 5:03 into the frame off a pass from sophomore Steve Della-Calce (East Stroudsburg, Pa./New Jersey Dynamo) to bring the Ravens within one, and Fields tied the game with his record-15th tally of the year 4:37 later off the stick of junior Jeff Kasper (South Boston, Mass./Catholic Memorial).

But Hammermeister found the net for the 14th time this season with just under two minutes remaining in the third period, and the Ravens were unable to find the equalizer in the waning minutes.

The Ravens began the contest well, as they outshot SNHU, 14-6, in the first period and Goodell scored the first two goals of the game to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage. His first tally came at the 15:45 mark of the first period while on the power play, as he took a pass from junior Kyle Kruse (Sagamore Beach, Mass./Bourne) and beat SNHU netminder Shane Brooks (Kennebunk, Maine/Northern Cyclones). The lead grew to two 8:03 into the second period, as senior Ryan Strayer (Murfreesboro, Tenn./ Enfield (Conn.)) found Goodell for his ninth of the season.

Southern New Hampshire came back quickly, however, scoring twice in a 1:35 span to knot the game at two. Sophomores John Frey (Westminster, Colo./Cushing Academy) and Kent Honeyman (Marietta, Ga./Cushing Academy) scored the two goals at 9:11 and 10:46 of the middle frame, respectively, and the teams went into the third period tied at two.

The Raven power-play scored on two of its seven power-play opportunities to finish its regular season third in the nation with a 30.9 success rate (47-for-152) on the man advantage. Franklin Pierce also held its opponent without a power play goal for the third consecutive game and hasn’t allowed a man-up goal in its last 17 chances, both school records.

Saturday’s matchup concludes the Ravens’ 2007-08 regular season, with the team’s six wins tying the school record for regular-season wins in a season. Unless Stonehill earns at least three points in its final two conference games next week, the Ravens will travel to Bridgewater, Mass., to take on the Skyhawks next Saturday in the first round of the NE-10 Tournament.