Men’s Ice Hockey Falls at Franklin Pierce

WINCHENDON, Mass. – The Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team used a shorthanded goal and two power-play markers in the third period on Saturday afternoon to erase a 3-2 deficit and pick up a 5-3 win over Framingham State in non-conference play at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Junior forward Brendan Glynn (Quincy, Mass.) scored twice in the win for Franklin Pierce, while senior forward Ryan McDonald (Anchorage, AK) had a goal and an assist for Framingham State.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 3-9-0 (2-3-0 Northeast-10), while Framingham State falls to 2-7-1 (1-4-1 MASCAC). The game was the final contest of the semester for both teams, wrapping up the season's first half.

The two teams traded goals in the second half of the first period, with Framingham State opening the scoring on the power play at the 12:32 mark. Senior defenseman Dylan Cosford (Windsor, ON) had the puck at the right point and sent it across to the left point for sophomore defenseman Vaughn Guetens (Cheshire, CT), who wound and fired from there. Franklin Pierce junior goaltender Kyle Moran (Marshfield, Mass.) made the initial save on the play, but the rebound came out to the bottom of the left-wing circle. The puck would come to the stick of McDonald, who quickly snapped his team-leading ninth goal of the season to the top of the net.

Franklin Pierce responded 77 seconds before the intermission, at the 18:43 mark. Glynn would score his third goal of the year, as he finished while falling away from the net at the bottom of the left-wing circle. Sophomore defenseman Dan Gibbons (Quincy, Mass.) and sophomore forward Brett Oldaker (Canonsburg, Pa.) picked up the assists on the play, with the former tallying his first collegiate point.

Framingham State reclaimed the one-goal lead at 2-1 at the 5:11 mark of the middle period. Freshman forward Jordan Fontaine (Oakland, CA) set up fellow freshman forward Keith Barnaby (Leominster, Mass.) on the right-wing side of the attacking zone, with a pass that led the latter through the right circle. With room to maneuver, Barnaby deked and stuffed the puck inside the near post for his third goal of the year, while McDonald added the other assist.

The Rams stretched the lead to 3-1 at 14:22, as freshman forward Peter Mingus (Gillette, WY) picked the top-left corner for his second goal of the season. Senior forward Jay Nicholls (Middleton, Mass) had the lone assist on the play, as he made a slick pass to find the open man in the slot.

Framingham State got in penalty trouble late in the second stanza, as Cosford was whistled for interference at 15:38 and sophomore forward Cam Coburn was sent to the box for holding the stick at 16:45. With 53 seconds of two-man advantage at its disposal, the Franklin Pierce power play struck at 17:23 to cut the lead to 3-2. Sophomore defenseman Shane Dowd (Holden, Mass.) ultimately finished off his first career goal, while sophomore forward Connor Mauro (Shrewsbury, Mass.) chipped in the lone assist.

Franklin Pierce's special teams took control in the third period, as the Ravens scored all three of the frame's goals to rally for the 5-3 victory. Before the midpoint of the period, Framingham State junior forward Ricky O'Connor (Norh Andover, Mass.) was penalized for obstruction-interference at 8:01 and then Dowd was sent off for tripping at 8:12, negating the power play. After the O'Connor penalty expired, Franklin Pierce was left with just 11 seconds of penalty time to kill off, but was able to strike for a shorthanded goal in that time. Freshman forward Jonathan Lee (Staten Island, N.Y.) did the work himself, as he stripped the puck in the offensive end and immediately picked the top corner from the slot for his third goal of the year at the 10:10 mark. For Franklin Pierce, it was the second shorthanded goal of the season.

Mingus later took a holding penalty at the 12:23 mark and the Ravens capitalized 34 seconds into the man-advantage for the eventual game-winning goal. It was another individual effort, as junior forward Matt Batis (Lakewood, N.Y.) would find his third goal of the campaign after a rush through the left-wing side of the offensive zone. He ultimately beat Framingham State sophomore goaltender Alessio Muggli (Rueti, Switzerland) with a low shot from the bottom of the left circle.

With Framingham State trying to find the equalizer, O'Connor took an ill-advised contact-to-the-head penalty at 17:41, which meant the Rams had to pull Muggli for the extra attacker just to even the manpower at five skaters per side in the closing minutes. Ultimately, Oldaker brought the puck into the offensive end and got a pass to Glynn, who finished into the empty net at 19:37 for his second goal of the afternoon to provide an insurance marker on the power play and create the 5-3 final.

Moran finished with 26 saves against 29 shots to pick up the win (1-5-0) between the pipes for Franklin Pierce. Meanwhile, Muggli stopped 18 of the 23 shots on his goal and took the loss (2-6-1) in the crease for Framingham State.

The Rams return to the ice on Tuesday, Jan. 6, when they host Western New England in a non-conference contest. Opening faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at  Loring Arena.

*Majority of release courtesy of Franklin Pierce*