WINCHENDON, MASS. (1/13/23) – The Franklin Pierce women's hockey team entered the second period knotted up 1-1 with opponent Stonehill College on Friday afternoon but ran into a defensive roadblock with three unanswered opponent goals on the way to 6-3 New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) setback at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena.

The loss drops the Ravens to 8-11-2 (5-6-2 NEWHA) on the season calendar, while the visitor Skyhawks improve to 11-12-1 (8-7-0 NEWHA) respectively.

It did not take long before the evening saw its first goal, which came off a wrist shot from sophomore forward Mikayla Kelley (Eagan, Minn.) at the bottom of the right circle to put Pierce in the lead, 1-0. However, despite controlling much of the flow of play throughout the first period, the Skyhawks evened the odds on an unassisted goal with 00:06 seconds left from Alexis Petford, sending the teams to the locker rooms deadlocked at 1-1.

The second period was a nightmare for the Ravens, as the late first period goal carried over the momentum in Stonehill's favor. At the 4:05 mark, Skyhawk forward Kathryn Karo gave Stonehill their first lead of the night, setting the stage for Alexis Petford's second of the contest just 1:32 later, to suddenly place the Skyhawks ahead 3-1. However, the struggles did not end there for the Ravens as the Skyhawks would add one more before periods' end, pulling away 4-1 on Gracie Sacca's eighth goal of the season.

Nearing the final five minutes of the game, the Ravens found themselves presented with a pair of power-play opportunities, both of which resulted in goals. The first came at 14:15 on a loose puck off an initial shot by Jenna Ruiz (Webster, Wis.) that found Mikayla Kelly for her second goal of the night, and her sixth of the season. The second came just minutes later after freshman forward Avery Farrell (Otsego, Minn.) cut to the middle off the wall and ripped a shot passed the Stonehill netminder, with Ruiz collecting her second helper in addition to Ava Kison (Eau Clair, Wis.).

Despite the later power-play success, Stonehill was able to secure a pair of goals of their own, ultimately brushing passed the Ravens by the 6-3 final.

Freshman goaltender Jill Hertl (Highland Park, Ill.) was tested by the Skyhawks, and turned aside 20-of-26 shots faced in the loss. Stonehill starter Eve Stone backstopped the Skyhawks with a solid effort in goal, making 35 saves on 38 total shots faced.

Women's Hockey will swap locations for a rematch with Stonehill tomorrow (1/14) evening, with the puck hitting the ice at 6:10 p.m.