Dennis tallies goal, assist

WINCHENDON, Mass. (February 18, 2012) – Sophomore forward Brandon Dennis (Williamsport, Md.) tallied a goal and an assist on Saturday night, but the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team was defeated, 3-2, at home by Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference play at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Sophomore forward Brian Troy broke a 2-2 tie with the game-winning goal for SNHU with just 90 seconds to play in regulation.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 5-12-4 (4-5-2 Northeast-10), while Southern New Hampshire improves to 2-19-1 (1-10-0 Northeast-10). The victory snapped a 14-game losing streak for SNHU; the Penmen had last won at Suffolk on Nov. 22, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

SNHU put home the only goal of the first period with 1:56 to play in the opening frame. Junior forward Craig Carbonneau sent the puck to the right-wing corner to sophomore forward Tyler Pascucci, who slipped a pass to the top of the right circle. Freshman forward Steven Berry took the feed and snapped a shot to the top-left corner, popping the water bottle off the top of the cage while netting his fourth goal of the season to open the scoring.

The second period went without a goal and SNHU took the 1-0 lead into the third period, where the teams traded two goals each to create the 3-2 final.

The Penmen doubled the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal at the 6:07 mark of the third stanza. With the Ravens killing a major penalty after junior defenseman Tyler Cornele (Cape Coral, Fla.) was given a game misconduct for hitting from behind, Berry sent the puck to Carbonneau on the right side and the defense shut down the initial attack on the net. However the puck wound up on the stick of freshman defenseman Casey Goll at the top of the left circle, and he rifled a shot to the back of the net for his second of the season.

The Ravens would rally to tie the game in the latter half of the period with a pair of power-play goals. First, junior defenseman Brendan McCarron (Andover, Mass.) scored his fourth of the campaign while the Ravens were on the power play with a two-man advantage. Dennis and junior forward Dino Federico (Canton, Mass.) teamed up to get the puck to McCarron at the right point. McCarron sent the puck towards the net, and it was deflected by the defense en route as Franklin Pierce cut the deficit to 2-1 at the 10:02 mark.

With time winding down, the Ravens went back on the man-advantage with 3:23 to play in regulation, as freshman defenseman Dane Caracino was whistled for slashing. Federico would pick up another assist, as he sent the puck to sophomore defenseman Andrew Dadds (Mount Ephraim, N.J.) in the right-wing corner. From there, Dadds waited to draw a defender and slipped the puck into the slot for Dennis, who one-timed it between the pads of SNHU sophomore goaltender Tyler Holske to tie the game at 2-2 with 2:23 to play. It was the seventh goal of the year for Dennis, five of which have come on the power play.

However, the tie would be short-lived, as SNHU struck for the game-winning goal just 53 seconds later. Sophomore forward Zach Lubinski sent a pass to Troy at the bottom of the left circle and Troy beat junior goaltender Pat Dunn (Quincy, Mass.) on the blocker side with 90 seconds to play for his third goal of the season. Franklin Pierce pulled Dunn for the extra attacker for the final 45 seconds, but could not come up with the tying goal.

Dunn made 20 saves and took the loss (0-4-1) between the pipes for Franklin Pierce. Holske turned aside 23 shots to pick up the win (2-17-0) in front of the net for SNHU.

Franklin Pierce posted a 25-23 advantage in shots on goal in the game and went 2-for-7 on the power play. Southern New Hampshire finished 1-for-5 with the man-advantage.

The Ravens return to the ice on Tuesday, Feb. 21, when they travel to Westfield State for a non-conference contest. Opening faceoff for the season finale is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. at Amelia Park in Westfield, Mass.

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).