Ravens home against Holy Cross Saturday night

NORTHFIELD, Vt. (February 6, 2015) – A pair of power-play goals by Norwich junior defenseman Taylor Cross provided a large part of the margin on Friday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team suffered a 4-1 loss on the road at Norwich in ECAC East play at Kreitzberg Arena. Junior forward Alysha Raimo (Fitchburg, Mass.) found the net in the second period for Franklin Pierce in defeat.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 14-5-1 (8-4-0 ECAC East) and has lost three in a row for the first time in over two years, while Norwich improves to 14-4-2 (11-0-1 ECAC East) and has not lost a league game since a 3-2 defeat to Manhattanville on Feb. 15, 2013.

Norwich came out of the gate firing on all cylinders and struck twice in the first seven minutes on Friday afternoon. After a hooking penalty to sophomore forward Lanie Matsumoto (Fort Collins, Colo.) at the 2:45 mark, the Cadets needed just eight seconds to capitalize on their first power play of the night. Shortly after the offensive-zone faceoff, senior forward Kaycie Anderson worked the puck to freshman forward Erin Joyce, who was manning the left point on the man-advantage. Joyce sent a pass across the blue line to Cross at the right point. Cross wound and fired her shot, which made its way through traffic, past the screened goaltender and into the back of the net for Cross' fourth of the season at 2:53.

Less than four minutes later, Norwich pushed the lead to 2-0, as sophomore forward Adelle Murphy's third of the season would ultimately stand as the game-winner. After the Ravens turned the puck over in their own end, freshman forward Sarah Schwenzfeier had the puck in the left-wing circle and was driving towards the goal line. Schwenzfeier drew the defensive attention to the left side and then slipped a centering pass to Murphy, who one-timed the puck home at the 6:32 mark.

Franklin Pierce settled down after the two early goals and the Ravens would ultimately hold a 21-20 edge in shots on goal, though they struggled to solve Norwich senior goaltender Loren Carrier. The crimson and grey were able to beat Carrier just once, 28 seconds into the second period, to cut the lead to 2-1. This time, Norwich turned the puck over in its own end, which led to a scoring chance for junior forward Karsyn Baker (Detroit, Mich.) in the left-wing circle. Baker's shot was turned aside, but Carrier left a big rebound in the slot before her defense had recollected itself after the turnover. Raimo was the first one the scene and quickly sent the puck into the net for her second goal of the campaign.

The remainder of the second period went scoreless and Norwich took the one-goal lead into the final stanza. At 3:09 of the third, junior forward Bryana Harron (Woburn, Mass.) took a hooking penalty and again, Cross and the Cadets struck quickly. This time, Joyce and freshman forward Maki Shuchuk teamed to get the puck to Cross in the middle of the blue line. Again, Cross had strong traffic between her and the net and was able to beat the screened goaltender to push the lead to 3-1. For Cross, it marked her first career multiple-goal game.

The Cadets picked up another insurance marker at 14:27 of the third to create the 4-1 final. Shuchuk picked up her second assist of the day, as she gained control in the neutral zone and worked the puck to Anderson, who led a 2-on-1 into the attacking zone on the right-wing side. Anderson picked up her second helper of the game as well, as she drew the defense and slipped a centering pass to junior forward Rachel Bellio, who deked the goalie and tallied her sixth of the season to cap the scoring.

Sophomore goaltender Noelle White (Corona, Calif.) finished with 16 saves against 20 shots and took the loss (9-2-0) in goal for Franklin Pierce. Carrier made 20 stops against 21 shots to pick up the win (4-2-0) in the crease for Norwich.

The Ravens return to the ice on Saturday, Feb. 7, when they return home to host Holy Cross in an ECAC East contest. Opening faceoff is set for 8 p.m. at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena in Winchendon.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). 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 women's ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).