WINCHENDON, MASS. (2/8/23) - A solid three-period effort from the Franklin Pierce men's hockey team was not enough against Stonehill College on Tuesday night, as the Ravens fell 5-3 to the Skyhawks in a non-conference matchup at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce drops to (9-17-1, 6-9-1 NE-10), while Stonehill improves to (13-4-2, Independent Division 1) with the road victory.

The Skyhawks got on the board first in the opening period, when forward Jake Cady sped past a pair of Raven defenders to slip a backhander past the short side of starter Jeremy Connor (Hazlet, N.J.) to take the 1-0 lead. Shortly thereafter, the Ravens evened the odds at one apiece just 1:35 after the opening goal, as junior Trevor Lawler (East Bridgewater, Mass.) picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and placed a shot on a breakaway, leaving a playable rebound inside the crease. The next man in was junior forward Cody Rumsey (York, Pa.), who tucked it in the net for his 5^th goal of the season, with Lawler snagging the assist. However, the Skyhawks would capitalize on the power play off a goal by Matthew Pimental, after he buried a rebound along the right post to put Stonehill back in front, 2-1 prior to the end of the period.

In the early stages of the second period, Stonehill added a third goal into the mix after top-line center Dean Schwenninger took advantage of a Raven turnover in their own defensive zone, sliding the puck five-hole on Connor for the 3-1 lead. Despite the quick start, the Ravens would once again cut the deficit to one on their own power play, as Cody Rumsey drove around the net and produced a rebound off an initial shot that found winger Michael Flaherty (Rockland, Mass.), who poked it through for his 4th goal of the season. The score would remain 3-2 entering the third period.

The Skyhawks opened the final period with a bang, as William Tripp threaded a beautiful outlet pass to Nolan Fitzpatrick, who beat Jeremy Connor five-hole on a breakaway just 2:54 into the third period, making it  a 4-2 game. However, as they had done on a number of occasions on the night, Pierce was able to bring the score back down to within one. From in deep, senior defender Josh Kippenhan (Hibbing, Minn.) scored his first goal of the season after his pass towards the front of the net was redirected into the goal by a Skyhawk stick, making it a 4-3 Stonehill with just over 7:00 to play. 

After the hard-fought effort, the Skyhawks eventually put the game on ice with an empty netter in the final seconds, courtesy of Frank Ireland, giving them the 5-3 win.

Jeremy Connor suffered the loss in net for the Ravens (0-5-0), turning aside 28-of-32 shots he faced. Gavin Fitzpatrick earned the win in net for the Skyhawks (7-2-1), making 29 saves on 32 shots faced. Both teams would break through once on the power play, with Stonehill finishing 1-for-3 and Pierce going 1-for-4.

The Ravens travel to Shelton, Conn. for a weekend in-conference series against the Post University Eagles, with the first matchup being on Friday night at 8:00 p.m.