McGuckin makes 30 saves

WINCHENDON, Mass. (January 31, 2015) – Sophomore forward Connor Mauro (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and freshman forward Evan Marek (Enfield, Conn.) scored in the first period on Saturday night, but four unanswered goals over the final two periods spelled defeat for the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team, which fell 5-2 at the hands of SUNY Canton in non-conference play at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Sophomore forward Eric Witzel scored twice in the victory for SUNY Canton to cap his five-point weekend (3-2-5).

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 3-15-0 (2-4-0 Northeast-10), while SUNY Canton -- a Division III independent -- improves to 7-12-1. For the Kangaroos, the seven wins is a new program high-water mark.

SUNY Canton opened the scoring just 2:42 into the proceedings on Saturday night, with the seventh of the season for sophomore forward Nick Vasilopoulos. The Kangaroos cycled the puck in the left-wing corner, eventually getting it to freshman forward Tyler Ralph, who stepped out into the left circle. From there, he sent a pass across the slot to a cutting Vasilopoulos, who finished from just outside the right post. Freshman forward Thomas Crabtree had an assist on the play as well.

Franklin Pierce scored twice in the remainder of the first stanza to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. First, Mauro created his own opportunity to put home his sixth of the campaign at 8:55. SUNY Canton had possession in the attacking end, when its defensemen attempted to complete a saucer pass from left point to right point while under pressure from Mauro. Mauro was able to bat the pass out of midair with his stick and spring himself on a breakaway the other way. Ultimately, he slipped the puck between the pads of SUNY Canton junior goaltender Louie Puig to tie the game.

Marek later struck on the power play at the 18:04 mark. Sophomore defenseman Alex Schleper (Sutton, Mass.) and freshman forward Jonathan Haun (Buffalo, N.Y.) combined to work the puck to Marek, who had his back to the net at the bottom of the left circle. Marek turned and blindly threw the puck on net, but his shot slipped between Puig's pads and turned into Marek's second goal of the year.

Franklin Pierce would take eight minor penalties over the final two periods, which ultimately led to two power-play goals for SUNY Canton -- which went 2-for-9 with the man-advantage on the night -- as part of four unanswered scores for the Kangaroos. In a 4-on-4 situation early in the second period, freshman forward Josh Sova led the rush into the offensive end. Sova made a deke move as he crossed the blue line, which allowed him to create space to leave the puck for junior forward George Curry outside the top of the left circle. Curry took the puck in stride, made a power move towards the goal and put home his seventh goal of the season at the 5:17 mark of the middle period.

Witzel's first goal of the night came on the power play at the 10:24 mark and would ultimately stand as the game-winning goal. Off of assists from freshman defensemen Ben Beasley and Brett Costello, Witzel took the puck in the left-wing circle and was able to walk it out front before beating freshman goaltender Tom McGuckin (Clayton, N.J.) for his ninth goal of the campaign.

The Kangaroos added two more goals in the third period to create the 5-2 final. On a 5-on-3 near the midpoint of the period, Costello took a pass from freshman defenseman Brandon McMartin and went top shelf from the left circle for his fourth of the season at 9:55. At 13:52, a cross-ice pass from senior forward Dave Schneider on the left side set up a one-time finish for Witzel at the right post, while Beasley added a helper as well. For Witzel, it was his third multiple-goal game of the season.

McGuckin finished with 30 saves against 35 shots and suffered the loss (1-5-0) between the pipes for Franklin Pierce. At the other end of the ice, Puig made 23 stops against 25 shots to pick up the win (4-3-0) in net for SUNY Canton.

The Ravens return to the ice on Tuesday, Feb. 3, when they remain home to host Saint Michael's in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening faceoff is set for 7 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). 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).