WINCHENDON, Mass. (January 28, 2022) -- Junior forward Ava Kison (Eau Claire, Wis.) was up to her old tricks again at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Two years ago, two of the Badger State native's first three career goals had been overtime winners. She would play hero again on Friday night, as the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team found itself tied with New England Women's Hockey Alliance rival Saint Anselm through 60 minutes. It took just 80 extra seconds to find a winner, as Kison intercepted a pass in her own end, took off the other way and roofed a shot from the right circle to make the Ravens 3-2 winners. It was her second goal of the night, to go with one assist, as she figured in on all three Franklin Pierce goals.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 12-8-1 (8-3-0 NEWHA) and has won four in a row, including three straight coming out of the semester break. With the loss, Saint Anselm falls to 8-11-3 (5-5-3 NEWHA). The game was scheduled as the front end of a home-and-home series, but Saturday's return trip to Saint Anselm has been postponed due to impending Winter Storm Kenan. The two teams have yet to agree on a makeup date.

With the usual centers of both of their top two lines out of the lineup on Friday night, the Ravens came out and posted a 14-10 advantage in shots in the first period anyway, on the way to a 35-27 margin for the game. It was Saint Anselm which opened the scoring though, at the 9:04 mark of the opening stanza. Freshman Tyra Turner forced a turnover on the forecheck, which led to a shot from the high slot by fellow freshman Gracee Donovan. Senior Emme Ostrander (Westborough, Mass.) made the first save, but junior Margaret Sullivan was on the scene to clean up the rebound out front for her second goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce had an answer less than three minutes later, at 11:57, with a rebound goal of its own. Junior Katelyn Brightbill (Silver Spring, Md.) set up fellow junior Becca Kniss (Eden Prairie, Minn.) for the initial shot, which was turned aside by junior goaltender Allie Kelley. In a scramble at the top of the crease, Kison was able to get her stick to the puck and brush it back to the bottom of the left circle for Kniss, who finished what she started and buried her fifth of the campaign.

The two teams would trade goals in the second period as well. The Ravens struck first this time, with a power-play marker at 13:31. Graduate student Marissa Massaro (Brockton, Mass.) left the puck for Kniss on the right-wing half-boards. Kniss sent the puck towards the net from there and found Kison at the bottom of the right circle for a nifty redirect and the latter's sixth of the year.

It took just 78 seconds for Saint Anselm to answer, as the Hawks leveled the game at 2-2 at the 14:49 mark. Sophomore Brinna Martin started things with a blocked shot in the defensive end, and then senior Kelly Golini started the rush the other way. Golini got the puck to Turner in the neutral zone, and then Turner sprung Donovan in on a partial breakaway on the right side. Ostrander stymied Donovan, but the trailing Turner knocked home her sixth of the season on the rebound.

Both teams had a pair of power-play chances in the third, including one apiece in the final six minutes, but neither could find the net again in regulation. Perhaps the best chance of the period came when Saint Anselm set up Golini in the middle of the left circle at the 13:34 mark. Golini had room to shoot and put some steam behind it, but Ostrander snared the puck with her glove hand before it could find the top-right corner.

It all conspired to set the stage for Kison in the 3-on-3 overtime period. Saint Anselm had possession in the offensive end, and Martin attempted a wrist shot from the middle of the blue line, which was blocked by a defender and came right back to her. Under pressure, Martin tried to hustle a pass to the left wing, which was picked off by Kison, who took off the other way with the game on her stick. Steaming down the right wing, Kison could not get a step on Martin, who hurried back, but did not need it. Instead, Kison held into the right circle, drifted below the faceoff dot and buried her shot into the top-right corner to touch off the celebration.

Ostrander (5-6-0) finished with 25 saves against 27 shots to pick up the win in the Franklin Pierce crease. Kelley (7-11-2) stopped 32 of 35 shots in defeat for Saint Anselm.

The Ravens are scheduled to return to action with a NEWHA weekend series at Saint Michael's on Feb. 4-5. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday at Cairns Arena in South Burlington, Vt.