WINCHENDON, Mass. (November 22, 2019) -- After a scoreless first period, the remainder of the game was anything but at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena on Friday afternoon. The Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team and Saint Michael's combined for seven goals in the second stanza and 12 over the final 40 minutes, as the Ravens doubled up the visiting Purple Knights, 8-4, in Northeast-10 Conference action. Eight different players found the net for Franklin Pierce.

With the win, the Ravens improve to a 4-2-1 (2-1-0 NE10) record, while the Purple Knights fall to a 4-2-1 (2-2-0 NE10) record.

Friday night marked the first day of a weekend where the Ravens, in conjunction with Franklin Pierce's women's team, are raising money to benefit the Heart Brothers Foundation. The Foundation supports heart failure patients by providing funds for lodging, transportation, meals and other needs. The women's ice hockey team will continue to raise funds at its Saturday game against Buffalo State as well.

Prior to the start of the game, there was a ceremonial puck drop featuring a representative from the Foundation, alongside three members of the Ravens hockey family who have lost their fathers to heart ailments: men's junior goalkeeper Ian Wallace (West Islip, N.Y.), men's assistant coach Nikolas Passero and women's junior forward Emily Kramer (Rockville, Md.). All three Ravens were joined by members of their family as well. To date, Ravens hockey has raised over $6000 to benefit the Heart Brothers Foundation.

After the ceremony, the first frame went scoreless, but both teams started to make regular visits to the penalty boxes. With a total of 38 penalty minutes on 12 infractions, including a pair of major penalties, the special teams units would earn their keep over the course of the game. Saint Michael's scored on two of its seven power plays, while the Ravens went 2-for-6 with the man-advantage.

It did not take long into the second period for the scoring to open, as senior captain Alex Lester (Methuen, Mass.) jumped on a loose puck in the crease to give the Ravens a 1-0 lead just 74 seconds into the frame. Senior defenseman Jonathan Busolin (Goose Creek, S.C.) found senior forward James Morrissey (West Haven, Conn.) below the goal line. Morrissey attempted to tuck the puck in on a wrap-around but was met by the left pad of Purple Knights senior goaltender Tim Decker, who could not grab the puck before Lester pushed it into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season.

The Ravens scored the next two goals as well to build a 3-0 lead. The first came at 5:53, as junior defenseman Paul Antkowiak (Salem, N.H.) found fellow junior blue-liner Patrick Gagliardi (Bedford, N.H.), who used his hand to keep the puck in the zone and snuck down into the corner before sending a pass into the slot for a wide-open Kyle Gosselin (Haverhill, Mass.). The senior forward fired a shot under the blocker of Decker for his first of the year.

Less than a minute later, at the 6:28 mark, freshman forward Connor Foley (Nahant, Mass.) scored his first collegiate goal with a tip on a shot from the right point by sophomore defenseman Stephen Jacobs (Hingham, Mass.). Busolin picked up his second assist of the night with the secondary assist.

The Purple Knights scored the next two goals to cut the gap to 3-2. Both came while on a five-minute man-advantage. Junior forward Ethan Hendrickson (12:22) and junior defenseman Sel Narby (13:31) struck 69 seconds apart to bring Saint Michael's within one.

The Ravens would once again score the next two goals, pushing the lead out to 5-2 before the second intermission. Graduate student forward Sam Gagnon (Montreal, Quebec) scored his first as a Raven at the 14:57 mark, on a feed from Gagliardi. A short time later, at the 17:27 mark, Busolin added a goal to his already multi-point performance, while sophomore forward Chris Stevenson (Arvada, Colo.) notched the only assist.

The Ravens entered the third period holding a 5-2 lead and would add to it early in the period, at the 2:48 mark. Antkowiak added a goal, the second of three points for him (1-2-3), on a goal from the blue line following passes from Gagliardi and Lester.

Saint Michael's would go down fighting, as the Purple Knights got goals 2:31 apart from freshman forward Connor Redden (3:27) and junior forward Cameron Stewart (5:58) to cut the deficit to 6-4.

The icing on the cake would be applied in the form of two power-play goals for the Ravens while on a five-minute power play. The first goal was scored by Morrissey, who found his way to the front of the Saint Michael's net and tipped home a shot by senior defenseman Mark Indelicato (Pembroke, Mass.). The second was yet another shot from the point, this time from Jacobs, who was assisted by Stevenson and Lester on the play.

Wallace (1-2-0) recorded the win for the Ravens by making 26 saves on 30 shots. Decker made just 16 saves against 19 shots before departing in favor of sophomore Hugo Turcotte. The eventual game-winning goal in the second period was one of five tallies allowed by Turcotte (0-1-1), who suffered the loss after stopping 17 of 22 shots over the final 33:32.

The Ravens are back in action on Tuesday. Nov. 26, when they travel south to Framingham State University to take on the Rams. Opening faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Loring Arena in Framingham, 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).