Ravens stop three-game skid

WINCHENDON, Mass. (February 7, 2015) – Sophomore goaltender Shannon O'Neil (Tewksbury, Mass.) stopped all 30 shots which came her way on Saturday night, including 23 over the final 40 minutes, to lead the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team to a 2-0 win over Holy Cross in ECAC East play at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Sophomore forward Lanie Matsumoto (Fort Collins, Colo.) and junior forward Bryana Harron (Woburn, Mass.) scored in the victory for the Ravens.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 15-5-1 (9-4-0 ECAC East) and stops its three-game losing streak, while Holy Cross falls to 12-6-3 (8-3-2 ECAC East). Franklin Pierce has swept the two-game season series between the two clubs.

The Ravens got the only goal they would need on Saturday night at the 11:26 mark of the first period. The puck came to junior defenseman Hayley Arnold (Barre, Vt.) at the left point, and she teed up a slap shot from there. The puck was deflected en route by Matsumoto and beat Holy Cross senior goaltender Alexandra Stevenson for Matsumoto's fifth goal of the season.

Meanwhile, O'Neil was holding the line in the Franklin Pierce net, en route to her second shutout of the season (third career) and the win (6-3-1). Of her 30 saves on the night, 13 came in a second period which saw the Ravens look sluggish at times. The Franklin Pierce power play was afforded four chances in the middle stanza, but came up empty while registering just three shots. For its part, the Ravens' penalty kill was impressive, killing off three chances, including 50 seconds of 5-on-3, during which O'Neil came up with five stops.

The teams would play fairly even in the third frame, with Holy Cross enjoying a 10-7 shots advantage, though the Crusaders were unable to solve O'Neil. Holy Cross pulled Stevenson for the extra attacker with 89 seconds to play, but could not put a shot on goal in its last-ditch effort to tie the game.

Junior forward Colleen Doucette (Wakefield, Mass.) rang the left post on a neutral-zone bid for the empty net in the final 30 seconds. She would settle for an assist instead, as she picked up the lone helper on Harron's empty-net goal, which came from just outside the blue line. Harron's third goal of the season came at 19:51 to ice the Franklin Pierce victory.

Stevenson finished with 18 saves against 19 shots and suffered the loss (7-4-3) in goal for Holy Cross.

The Ravens return to the ice on Friday, Feb. 13, when they remain home to host Plymouth State in an ECAC East contest. Opening faceoff is set for 8:30 p.m. at the 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 women's ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).