Sweeney piles up five points; Chighisola collects four

Box Score

FOXBORO, Mass. (January 30, 2010) – Freshman forward Roscoe Sweeney (Falmouth, Mass.) scored three goals and added two assists to total five points on Saturday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University ice hockey team picked up a 7-4 victory over Stonehill in Northeast-10 Conference play at Foxboro Sports Center. Sophomore forward Andrew Diozzi picked up two points with a goal and an assist for Stonehill in defeat.

The seven goals were the most scored by Franklin Pierce since an 8-4 win at Assumption on Feb. 2, 2008.

With the victory, Franklin Pierce improves to 5-13-2 (2-5-1 Northeast-10), while Stonehill falls to 7-10-1 (1-4-0 Northeast-10) with the loss. With the win, Franklin Pierce matches its program record for most Northeast-10 Conference victories in a season.

The goals came early and often, as the two clubs combined for six goals in the first period. Franklin Pierce sophomore forward Anthony Chighisola (Whitman, Mass.) opened the scoring with his 13th goal of the season on the power play 3:01 into the contest. Diozzi answered with his 10th of the year for Stonehill just 4:25 later. Sweeney picked up his first point of the contest with an assist on Chighisola’s score, while freshman forward Jonathan Schanke (Wallingford, Conn.) added a helper as well.

Later in the period, Franklin Pierce scored three times in a span of 3:12 to claim a 4-1 lead. First, Schanke picked up his fifth of the season from senior forward Phil LaBreck (Thornton, N.H.) and Chighisola at 10:50. Just 67 seconds later, Sweeney scored his first of the night and seventh of the season with an unassisted tally. Sweeney would strike unassisted once again at the 14:02 mark with a shorthanded goal. Stonehill sophomore forward Pat Greene pulled the Skyhawks back within two goals with his fifth of the season at the 16:23 mark and Franklin Pierce took a 4-2 lead into the first intermission.

Stonehill would pick up the only two goals of the second period to create a 4-4 tie heading into the third period. First, senior forward Pete Roundy struck for his sixth of the season on an assist from freshman forward Christopher Gorovitz at the 5:42 mark. Just 84 seconds later, freshman forward Dana Borges tied the game with his second of the season off a pass from fellow freshman forward George DeMello.

Franklin Pierce then scored three goals in the third period to come away with the 7-4 victory. First, at the 7:12 mark, Sweeney completed his hat trick and picked up the eventual game-winning goal with another unassisted, shorthanded goal, this time with the Ravens at a two-man disadvantage. It marked the first time in Franklin Pierce program history a player had scored two shorthanded goals in a season, let alone in a single game. It was also the third shorthanded score of the season for the Ravens, which matches a program record previously set in 2002-03 and 2003-04. Sweeney joined LaBreck as the only Ravens to ever score with the team at a two-man disadvantage, as LaBreck accomplished the feat earlier this season against University of New England.

The Ravens would get insurance markers from Chighisola and LaBreck at the 17:12 and 18:34 marks, respectively, to put the game away. Sweeney assisted on the first of the two goals to complete his five-point afternoon. Chighisola added an assist on the game’s final goal to complete his own four-point contest.

Senior goaltender Jon Tuttle (Concord, N.H.) started in front of the net, made 13 saves over the first 27:02 and did not factor in the decision for Franklin Pierce. Sophomore Ben Siok (Holden, Mass.) turned aside 16 shots over the remainder of the contest to pick up the win (2-7-2).

Junior goaltender Mike Manna started and allowed four goals on eight shots over the first 14:02 between the pipes for Stonehill. He was pulled in favor of sophomore Tyler Jackson, who stopped 16 shots and took the loss (5-5-0) for the Skyhawks.

Stonehill posted a 33-27 advantage in shots on goal in the game but went 0-for-9 on the power play and allowed two shorthanded goals. Franklin Pierce finished 2-for-6 with the man-advantage.

The Ravens return to the ice on Saturday, Feb. 6, when they return home to host Southern New Hampshire in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at The Winchendon School Ice Arena in Winchendon, Mass.