SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (November 10, 2018) – Coming off of one of the biggest wins in program history on Tuesday night, the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team was brought back down to Earth on Friday night at Cairns Arena. The Ravens faced a 43-30 disadvantage in shots on goal, thanks in part to the team being whistled for 10 minor penalties on the night. Saint Michael's capitalized on three of eight power-play chances and rolled to an 8-2 victory in the Northeast-10 Conference contest.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 3-2-0 (1-1-0 NE10), while Saint Michael's improves to 1-3-1 (1-1-1 NE10).

Franklin Pierce struck first on Friday night, at the 3:13 mark of the first period. The Ravens generated an odd-man rush into the offensive end, with junior forward Matthew Toombs (Pleasanton, Calif.) providing the setup from the left side. He slipped a centering pass out front for junior forward James Morrissey (West Haven, Conn.), who put home his second goal of the season. 

It was all downhill from there though, for the Ravens. Saint Michael's would rattle off the next eight goals of the game. First, the Purple Knights struck twice over the remainder of the first period to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission. Just 67 seconds after the Morrissey goal, sophomore defenseman Andrew Olevitz corralled a loose puck in the neutral zone, carried into the offensive end and snapped home his first of the season at 4:20. At the 16:29 mark, it was the second of the campaign for sophomore forward Thomas Flack, who finished off a rush up the ice by the Purple Knights by taking a drop pass and putting home his second of the season from the right circle. Sophomore forward Niall Foster and freshman defenseman Colin O'Connor provided the assists.

Saint Michael's struck three times in the second period, including twice on the power play, to push the lead out to 5-1. The eventual game-winning goal came on the power play at the 2:10 mark, as senior defenseman Jack Ouellete fired a shot from the blue line for his second goal of the season, off of an assist from senior forward Nic Hermary. Another power-play tally came at 5:11, when Flack got a fortunate bounce for his second goal of the night, as an attempted centering pass from the right circle deflected off the defense and wound up in the net. Olevitz and Foster were credited with assists.

At even strength at 10:24, sophomore defenseman Noah Muller capped the middle stanza's scoring with his first goal of the year. He banged home a rebound, after a shot by sophomore forward Paul McAuliffe was turned aside, while sophomore forward Brandon Mitchell picked up an assist as well.

Saint Michael's tallied three more times in the third, to push the lead as high as 8-1. At 9:27, senior forward Sam D'Antuono took a drop pass and roofed a shot for his second of the season, off an assist from Mitchell. On the power play at 12:56, sophomore forward Cameron Stewart went top shelf on a one-timer from the left circle for his second of the year, while sophomore forward Tyler Dorval and O'Connor provided the helpers. At 15:10, D'Antuono added a shorthanded tally for good measure, even though the Ravens were on a 5-on-3 power play. D'Antuono created a turnover in the neutral zone and sprung himself on a breakaway, which he finished with a backhand on the left side.

Franklin Pierce capped the scoring with a power-play tally at 16:11 to create the 8-2 final. Sophomore defenseman Paul Antkowiak (Salem, N.H.) carried the puck into the right circle and found freshman forward Anthony Nikolopoulos (Burlington, Mass.) out front with a centering pass. It was the latter's third goal of the season.

Sophomore goaltender Ian Wallace (West Islip, N.Y.) (3-2-0) started and made 18 saves against 23 shots before being relieved after the fifth Saint Michael's tally. Freshman Kyle Martin (Westford, Mass.) took over for the next 22:32 and stopped 13 of 15 shots before getting the hook as well, after the seventh goal for the Purple Knights. Freshman Adam Carman (Vestal, N.Y.) logged the final 7:04 in his collegiate debut and made four saves against five shots.

At the other end of the ice, junior netminder Tim Decker (1-1-0) made 28 saves against 30 shots to pick up the win.

The Ravens return to the ice on Saturday, Nov. 17, when they travel to Stonehill for an NE10 contest. Opening faceoff is set for 5:10 p.m. at Foxboro Sports Complex in Foxborough, Mass.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). 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 hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).