WINCHENDON, Mass. (12/17/22) – The Franklin Pierce women's hockey team put a stamp on the first half of the 2022-23 season at home versus Union College on Saturday evening, playing to a 3-1 non-conference final at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena in Winchendon, Massachusetts. The decision also closed out a two game series between the pair of squads, with each team earning a victory.

The Ravens drop to 8-10-2 (5-5-2 NEWHA) overall following the regulation loss, while Union improves to 9-9-1 (3-5-1 ECAC) with the win.

It took all of three minutes for Union to open the scoring following a redirect in front of the net by center Celeste Beaudoin. Just under twelve minutes into the opening frame, the Dutchwomen made it a 2-0 contest following a second-chance effort by forward Riley Walsh, who cleaned up a lose puck off a save by Raven netminder Jill Hertl (Highland Park, Ill.). However, Pierce would not go silently in the first period, as freshman winger Avery Farrell (Otsego, Minn.) put the finishing touch on a beautiful passing play, cutting the Union lead to 2-1 on the powerplay. For Farrell, it was her eighth goal of the season, but would come as the only point on the board for Pierce.

The majority of the second period saw a close battle between the two teams, but the momentum slowly shifted in favor of Union later in the frame. At the 16:15 mark of the period, defender Meredith Kilian added the insurance goal, once again on the second effort, to place the Dutchwomen in winning position with a 3-1 lead. Throughout the final 20 minutes of action, Union limited many of Pierce's looks at the net, and would preserve their two-goal lead all the way to the final buzzer.

Jill Hertl took the loss for the Ravens, stopping 24-of-27 shots faced in the effort. Union goaltender Sophie Matsoukas turned aside 25-of-26 for her ninth win of the season. Union had a busy evening in the penalty box as well, providing the Ravens with nine powerplay opportunities, limiting them to just the one powerplay goal. The Pierce penalty kill was perfect, going 4-for-4 on the day.

Women's hockey will return following the start of the new year on Friday, January 13^th to kick off a home-and-home matchup versus NEWHA opponent Stonehill College, with puck drop at 7:30 p.m from Jason Ritchie Arena.