Ravens and Kangaroos to meet again Saturday

WINCHENDON, Mass. (January 30, 2015) – The Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team took on a non-conference opponent, the SUNY Canton Kangaroos, on Friday night at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena and suffered a 5-0 loss. Kangaroo freshmen Trevor Yule opened up the scoring at 5:43 of the second period with his first career marker and SUNY Canton would not look back. Yule would be one of three members of SUNY Canton to notch multiple points on the night.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 3-14-0 (2-4-0 Northeast-10). With the win, SUNY Canton -- a Division III independent -- improves to 6-12-1 on the season. The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. to wrap up the two-game weekend set.

Following Yule's goal, Canton sophomore Eric Witzel, who assisted on Yule's opening tally, showed why he is leading the Kangaroos in every offensive category. Witzel sliced through the left side of the Ravens' defense and split two defenders, leaving just the goalie to beat. The lefty then made a hard move to his backhand and slipped the puck between the pads of freshmen goaltender Étienne Roy (Saint-Henri, Quebec).

SUNY Canton would cap the second period scoring with just 1:10 remaining in the period, when a defensive breakdown by the Ravens in the neutral zone created a 2-on-0 for freshman Josh Sova and senior captain George Curry. Curry would eventually get Roy to commit to him on the left side and he moved the puck across to Sova for the easy finish near the right post.

SUNY Canton added two insurance goals in the third period, coming from the blades of Curry and senior Dave Schneider. Curry's goal came off a backdoor cut on the left-wing side, fed by Sova, at 5:34 of the third. Just 34 seconds later, Schneider put home his sixth of the season amid a goalmouth scramble at 6:08.

Roy would end the night with 22 saves, including an impressive glove save in the third period, when he robbed a puck headed for the top-right corner. Roy suffered the loss (1-4-0) in goal for Franklin Pierce, while junior Luis Puig made 27 saves to pick up the win (3-3-0) for SUNY Canton.

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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).