Ravens tie with 2:38 to play, win 2:57 into extra period

Box Score

WINCHENDON, Mass. (February 20, 2010) – Senior forward Phil LaBreck (Thornton, N.H.) scored the game-winning goal on a partial breakaway 2:57 into overtime on Saturday night to give the Franklin Pierce University ice hockey team a 4-3 victory over Stonehill in Northeast-10 Conference play at The Winchendon School Ice Arena. The overtime winner came after senior defenseman William Dugan (Norwood, Mass.) scored his first career goal to tie the game with 2:38 to play in regulation.

With the win, Franklin Pierce falls to 7-14-2 (4-6-1 Northeast-10), while Stonehill falls to 9-13-1 (2-7-0 Northeast-10) with the loss.

After a majority of the first period went scoreless, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring at the 13:39 mark. Just after a Ravens power play expired, sophomore forward Pat Shortt (New Haven, Conn.) collected a rebound in the high slot and snapped hit home for his second goal of the season. Junior forward Sean Woodring (Rogue River, Ore.) took the original shot from the left circle, while sophomore forward Bill Sullivan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) picked up the second assist.

The lead would be short-lived, as Stonehill evened things up just 60 seconds later, when freshman forward Christopher Gorovitz jammed home his ninth of the season amidst a skirmish out front, while junior defenseman John Yokow and senior forward Pete Roundy grabbed the assists. Freshman forward Roscoe Sweeney (Falmouth, Mass.) reclaimed the lead for Franklin Pierce with 28 seconds to play in the period, as he buried a one-timer in the slot for his 12th of the season off a feed from the left-wing corner by LaBreck, while sophomore forward Anthony Chighisola (Whitman, Mass.) added the second assist.

Stonehill once again tied the game, this time 2:32 into the second period while on the power play. Freshman forward Dana Borges put home the rebound from the slot for his fifth of the season. Junior forward Andrew Webb took the original shot from the right circle and Gorovitz picked up an assist as well.

Gorovitz then gave Stonehill its only lead of the night two minutes into the third period, as he snapped home a shot from the left circle after forcing a turnover in the attacking end.

From there, a pair of Franklin Pierce seniors took over to rally for the victory on Senior Night for the Ravens. With less than three minutes to play in regulation, Dugan held in a Stonehill clearance attempt at the left point. He wristed a shot towards the net from there and picked up the first goal of his career as it deflected off of the Stonehill defense and into the goal. Later, 2:57 into overtime, Chighisola made a pass up the left side to spring LaBreck on a partial breakaway. The Franklin Pierce captain slipped the puck behind Stonehill junior goaltender Mike Manna to give the Ravens the victory.

Sophomore goaltender Ben Siok (Holden, Mass.) made 25 saves in net to earn the win (4-8-2) for Franklin Pierce. Manna stopped 38 shots, but took the loss (2-6-1) between the pipes for Stonehill.

Franklin Pierce posted a 42-28 advantage in shots on goal in the game and went 0-for-3 on the power play. Stonehill finished 1-for-4 with the man-advantage.

The Ravens will return to the ice on Saturday, Feb. 27, in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. Franklin Pierce’s opponent and the site of the game are yet to be determined. Check http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu during the week for more details as they become available.