WINCHENDON, Mass. (January 6, 2022) – In a Thursday matinee which saw both teams fielding underpowered lineups, the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team hosted Westfield State at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena, as both teams opened the second half of their respective seasons. The Ravens got an equalizer from junior Vito Carlo (Las Vegas, Nev.) midway through the third, but surrendered the game-winner just 1:51 later, as senior Triston Theriot lifted the visiting Owls to a 3-2 non-conference win.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 4-9-0, while Westfield State improves to 7-4-2.

Westfield State opened the scoring 2:47 into a busy first period, on a strong individual effort from John-Michael DiGregorio. The senior got the puck in the neutral zone from fellow senior Jason Diamond and walked into the offensive end one-on-one against graduate student Paul Antkowiak (Salem, N.H.). DiGregorio made a move to the middle of the slot to elude Antkowiak, continued in on goal, deked to the left post and slid the puck past the pad of senior Kyle Martin (Westford, Mass.) for his fourth goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce tied the game up after the midpoint of the period with a goal from sophomore Jackson Dobek (Natick, Mass.). After winning an offensive zone faceoff, senior Chris Stevenson (Arvada, Colo.) found Dobek at the top of the left circle. Dobek held the puck for a second and then fired top-shelf, over the shoulder of sophomore Valtteri Valtonen for his first of the season at 11:37.

The Owls added another goal with 1:40 remaining in the frame to take a 2-1 lead into the locker room. After forcing a turnover behind Martin's net, sophomore Matt Pelletier popped the puck into the slot for line mate Cody Morris, who was left entirely unattended in the goal mouth. The sophomore had oodles of time to finish, but needed little, as he buried a one-timer for his fourth of the year.

The Ravens generated scoring chances throughout a second period where they outshot the Owls 14-7, but Valtonen stopped all 14 attempts on his net, as the two teams played a scoreless frame. Midway through the third, Franklin Pierce would draw level with a power-play marker at 10:23. A faceoff win on the left side sent the puck to the blue line for senior David Cambria (West Bridgewater, Mass.), who moved it to the right side for senior Ryan Gorbett (Cleveland Heights, Ohio). Gorbett took a step towards the slot and sent a pass back across the zone for Carlo who quickly put away a shot from the left circle for his first of the campaign.

The tie would be short-lived however, as Westfield State took the lead for good just 1:51 later. With an extra attacker on the ice in a delayed-penalty situation, senior Jake Ratcliff gained the zone on the left and moved the puck to Theriot at the middle of the blue line. Theriot put a low shot through traffic from there, which managed to find its way home for his third of the season, at 12:14.

Senior Kyle Martin (Westford, Mass.) minded the Franklin Pierce crease and made 25 against 28 shots while suffering the loss (1-3-0). On the other side of the ice, Valtonen (5-3-1) made 25 saves on 27 shots in the win.

Franklin Pierce will be back in action for another non-conference game at home against Plymouth State on Tuesday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m.