O'Brien makes 35 saves

WINCHENDON, Mass. (January 28, 2012) – Sophomore goaltender Dave O'Brien (Groton, Mass.) stopped 35 shots on Saturday night, including all 17 sent his way in a frenetic second period, to lead the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team to a 4-2 win over Assumption in Northeast-10 Conference play at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. FPU had 11 different players register a point in the victory.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-9-4 (3-2-2 Northeast-10), while Assumption falls to 9-8-1 (5-2-2 Northeast-10). Combined with a tie at Assumption on Nov. 16, the Ravens have now clinched one of the two standings points available for the three-game season series. The two clubs will meet again on Feb. 8 at Assumption, where a win or a tie will give Franklin Pierce the second point as well. An Assumption win would split the points between the two teams.

The two teams would trade goals in the opening period. Just 5:38 into the contest, Assumption opened the scoring when senior forward Taylor Larsen corralled the puck in the middle of the left-wing circle. Larsen turned and flipped a wrist shot which found its way between O'Brien's pads and into the net. Sophomore forward Kyle Zobler added the lone assist on Larsen's 10th of the season, which tied him for the team lead.

It looked as if the Greyhounds would take the 1-0 lead into the locker room before the Ravens drew even with 7.2 seconds to play in the stanza. Sophomore forward Brandon Dennis (Williamsport, Md.) sent the puck to junior forward Tyler Cornele (Cape Coral, Fla.) on the right side. Cornele found junior forward Michael Carr (South Boston, Mass.) open in the slot, and Carr one-timed the puck inside the left post before Assumption senior goaltender Nick Blanchette could get across his crease. It was the team-leading seventh goal of the season for Carr, who has reached double digits in points (6-4-10) for the second time in his career.

The Ravens would strike for the only two goals of the second period, despite being outshot 17-8 in the frame, to jump to a 3-1 lead. The first came at the 9:27 mark, and was similar to the Carr goal, though working from left-to-right this time. Junior forward Sean Dunn (Quincy, Mass.) dished the puck to senior forward Bill Sullivan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) in the left circle. Sullivan slipped a pass through the slot to the right-wing circle, where senior forward Justin Adams (Homer, Alaska) put away his first of the season on a one-timer. Just over seven minutes later, at 16:59, senior forward Pat Shortt (New Haven, Conn.) added his first of the season as well, when he sent a howitzer to the top-left corner from the bottom of the right circle off an assist from junior forward Tom Mills (Oxford, England).

The two sides would trade power-play goals in a penalty-filled third period. With the Ravens on a 4-on-3 advantage early in the frame, junior defenseman Wes Russell (Marlboro, Mass.) sent the puck to sophomore defenseman Kyle Craig (Quincy, Mass.) at the right point. Craig's shot found its way through traffic and into the net for his first career goal to lengthen the lead to 4-1. Junior forward Dino Federico (Canton, Mass.) added the secondary assist at 6:14.

Assumption pulled within a goal on its own power play – this one of the traditional, 5-on-4 variety – at the 18:12 mark. Sophomore forward Ross White finished his seventh of the season at the top of the crease on assists from Larsen and junior forward Keven Meehan. It would prove to be too little too late for the Greyhounds, who pulled Blanchette for the extra attacker over the final 88 seconds to no avail.

O'Brien made 35 saves to pick up the win (2-3-3) between the pipes for Franklin Pierce. Blanchette turned aside 31 shots and took the loss (3-5-0) in front of the Assumption net.

Assumption posted a 37-35 advantage in shots on goal in the game and went 1-for-5 on the power play. Franklin Pierce finished 1-for-3 with the man-advantage.

The Ravens return to the ice on Tuesday, Jan. 31, when they travel to Saint Michael's for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Cairns Arena in South Burlington, Vt. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Saturday, Feb. 4 against Stonehill at 7:30 p.m.

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).