WINCHENDON, Mass. (March 4, 2021) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team was tied with UMass Dartmouth through 40 minutes on Thursday afternoon at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. The two teams were decidedly untied 20 minutes later when the final horn blew. The Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth poured in four third-period goals to hand the Ravens a 6-2 loss in non-conference play.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 1-2-0, while UMass Dartmouth improves to 2-0-0. The two teams will meet again on Saturday at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena to wrap up the two-game set. Opening faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

UMass Dartmouth tallied the only goal of the first period, at the 16:08 mark. Freshman forward Elliot Burgin slipped a pass out of the right-wing corner and found junior linemate Jimmy Pelton out front. Pelton was initially stymied by senior goaltender Ian Wallace (West Islip, N.Y.), but was able to put home a second-chance opportunity for his second goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce leveled things at 1-1 just 2:12 into the second period. Sophomore forward Conor Foley (Nahant, Mass.) banged home a rebound out front for his third goal of the campaign, after both junior defenseman David Cambria (West Bridgewater, Mass.) and sophomore forward Dom Norris (Thurmont, Md.) had earlier shot attempts turned aside.

The Corsairs reclaimed the lead just over four minutes later, at 6:31. Senior forward Dillon Radin forced a turnover at his own blue line and took off the other way on a breakaway. He used a left-to-right move to open up Wallace's five-hole and slipped the puck between the netminder's pads for his second of the year.

The Ravens again drew level, this time with a power-play marker at 12:27. Sophomore forward Tyler Rudek (Woonsocket, R.I.) took a shot from the right circle which was saved, and fellow sophomore Jackson Dobek (Natick, Mass.) took a hack at the rebound on the right-wing side of the crease. Dobek wound up brushing the puck between the pads of the goaltender and over to the left post for sophomore Jason Ladzinski (Norcross, Ga.), who knocked his first of the year into the yawning cage.

The wheels would fall off in the third for the Ravens, who were outshot 20-5 in the final frame. A pair of early goals put UMass Dartmouth ahead to stay. First, at 3:07, a tic-tac-toe passing play left freshman Zach Tarantino with the puck in the slot, and he was able to take advantage by cashing in his first collegiate goal. Less than 90 seconds later, at 4:31, freshman Michael Mania and senior Kai Kapossy combined to work the puck to the right point for freshman defenseman Cade Hanley. Hanley popped a long shot through traffic and into the back of the net for his first college score as well.

The Corsairs added a pair of insurance markers in the final three minutes to create the 6-2 final. First, a Franklin Pierce defender lost his edge and wiped out while trying to clear the zone. Junior forward Blake Harlow was the beneficiary, as he scooped up the loose puck and snapped home his first of the year from the right circle at 17:02. Kapossy added his second of the season in an empty-net situation at 19:40 to cap the scoring.

Wallace (0-1-0) was under siege in his first appearance of the season and finished with 37 saves against 42 shots in a losing effort in the Franklin Pierce crease. Senior goaltender Parker Butler (1-0-0) made his season debut as well at the other end and made 20 saves against 22 shots to backstop UMass Dartmouth to victory.