SHELTON, Conn. (February 8, 2020) -- A day after skating to a 2-2 tie against a last-place team at Sports Center of Connecticut, the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team was lifted by an overtime goal from senior forward James Morrissey (West Haven, Conn.) to take a much-needed two points in the Northeast-10 Conference standings with a 5-4 win over Post. A third-period goal by senior forward Alex Lester (Methuen, Mass.) was the 43^rd of his career, establishing a new program record.

With the win, the Ravens improve to 13-9-4 (6-5-3 NE10) and move into third place, pending the result of NE10 action later Saturday. With the loss, last-place Post falls to 4-17-2 (1-14-1 NE10).

Post uncorked 14 shots in the first period, but was able to solve Ravens junior netminder Ian Wallace (West Islip, N.Y.) just once. Senior forward Tyler Hackett was able to score for the second time on the weekend. Post was the beneficiary of a Ravens turnover below the goal line, and Hackett ultimately knocked home a rebound at 7:15 for his 12^th goal of the season.

Freshman forward Conor Foley (Nahant, Mass.) got the Ravens on the bored 6:30 into the second period. With a strong forecheck, Foley forced a turnover behind the Eagles' net and tucked the puck right by the pad of Post junior goalie Brandon Brown.

Post would score the next three goals, all in the second period, to take a 4-1 lead before the second intermission. The first came 26 seconds after Foley's tally, on the first of the year for senior forward Matt Moreschi, with senior defenseman Lucas Smith and senior forward Noah Wild providing the assists.

The power play would connect on the next goal.  With a 5-on-3 advantage, junior forward Jake Raleigh scored his ninth goal of the season, off a rebound at the back door. The original shot came from fellow junior forward Evan Lugo.

Finally, Kieren Gardner scored the Eagles' final goal of the afternoon with 1:24 left in the period. It was his second tally of the year, unassisted.

After the intermission, the Ravens got on the comeback trail. Franklin Pierce just 2:37 into the frame to cut the deficit to two. Lester found the puck on the side of the net, spun and fired home his 16^th of the season. Already the program's all-time leading point-scorer (43-55-98), the captain of the Ravens is now first in team annals in goal scoring as goal. Lester is also just one shy of tying the program record for goals in a single season.

The next two goals came late in the period as the Ravens rallied to force overtime. Sophomore forward Anthony Nikolopoulos (Burlington, Mass.) scored his second of the weekend and 10^th of the season at 18:41, off an assist from Lester, who would finish the day with four points (1-3-4).

Just 21 seconds later, at 19:02, sophomore forward Chris Stevenson (Arvada, Colo.) tied the game by sliding the puck past the outstretched leg of Brown. Morrissey moved the puck to Stevenson while falling to pick up the primary assist, while Lester added a helper as well.

The goal sent the Ravens to overtime for the ninth time this season, and they would go on to notch their fourth extra-session win of the campaign (4-1-4). While on the power play -- Franklin Pierce's second man-advantage of the overtime -- Morrissey got a backdoor pass from Lester. Morrissey made no mistake and put home his 11^th of the season at 3:07 to win the game for the Ravens. Post left the ice visibly agitated with the officiating, and sophomore defenseman Harrison Sheldon was assessed a game misconduct after the conclusion of play.

The goalie matchup was as Friday night in Shelton. Wallace (7-5-3) earned the win for the Ravens by making 36 saves on 40 shots. Brown (4-14-2) made 46 saves on 51 shots, but suffered the loss regardless for Post.

The Ravens return home next weekend for a pair of NE10 games against Saint Anselm on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 14-15. Opening faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena in Winchendon, 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 ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).