Federico, Walsh each provide two assists

WINCHENDON, Mass. (January 4, 2012) – Junior forward Sean Dunn (Quincy, Mass.) scored twice and added an assist to finish with three points on Wednesday night, but the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team was defeated, 7-5, by Saint Anselm in Northeast-10 Conference play at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Junior forward Michael Carr (South Boston, Mass.) added his first two goals of the season for Franklin Pierce, while sophomore forward Kevin Vanous led Saint Anselm with 2-1-3.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 1-6-3 (1-2-1 Northeast-10), while Saint Anselm improves to 5-3-1 (2-0-1 Northeast-10, 2-3-1 ECAC East). It will be the only meeting of the year between the two teams, meaning Saint Anselm earned the two points in the Northeast-10 standings.

Franklin Pierce opened the game like a house afire, potting four goals in the opening 12 minutes. Dunn picked up the first two goals of the contest, as he stuffed a puck in at the left post just 38 seconds into the stanza and followed by putting away a breakaway at the 3:37 mark for his third goal of the season.

The Ravens continued the scoring less than six minutes later, when the third time was the charm for junior forward Roscoe Sweeney (Falmouth, Mass.), as he picked up his second of the year. Sweeney was stopped on consecutive chances by Saint Anselm sophomore goaltender Robert Kang before pushing home the third attempt at 9:09. Carr capped the first-period scoring at the 11:40 mark when he jammed in a goal amidst a skirmish in front of the goalmouth.

Sophomore forward Teddy Walsh (Quincy, Mass.) dished out assists on each of the frame's bookend goals, while junior forward Dino Federico (Canton, Mass.) picked up two helpers as well, assisting on the second and third Franklin Pierce goals.

Saint Anselm stormed back to tie the game at 4-4 with four successive goals of its own in the second period. The Hawks made hay with the man advantage in the middle period, as sophomore defenseman Greg Merrill, freshman forward Johnny Daniels and Vanous each converted on power plays, at the 5:41, 8:56 and 11:24 marks, respectively. The first two came off pinpoint snapshots from nearly identical spots at the top of the right-wing circle, while the third came when Vanous got his stick to a rebound at the bottom of the left-wing circle. The Hawks struck for the equalizer on a two-on-one down low, as freshman forward Liam McKillop slid a pass across the slot to junior forward Tucker Mullin, who put away his third of the season at 14:11.

Saint Anselm used two goals in the first 7:02 of the third period to take control of the game. At 1:57, Vanous slipped a wrist shot behind Franklin Pierce sophomore goaltender Dave O'Brien (Groton, Mass.) from a sharp angle on the right side. At 7:02, freshman forward Sean Jenkins redirected a shot by junior forward Mike Richard to pick up his team-leading fifth goal of the season.

Less than 90 seconds later, Dunn sprung Carr on a partial breakaway with a feed through the neutral zone, and the latter beat Kang inside the left post at 8:25, to draw the Ravens within one at 6-5. However, at 13:49, a partial odd-man rush at the other end would lead to Richard's third goal of the season, as he found a loose puck before the defense could, to create the 7-5 final.

O'Brien totaled 37 saves and took the loss (1-2-2) between the pipes for Franklin Pierce. Kang stopped 13 shots and picked up the win (4-0-0) in front of the Saint Anselm net.

Saint Anselm posted a 46-16 advantage in shots on goal in the game and went 3-for-6 on the power play. Franklin Pierce finished 1-for-2 with the man-advantage.

The Ravens return to the ice on Friday, Jan. 6, when they remain home to host SUNY Geneseo in a non-conference contest. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).