Sheils nets game-winning goal

WINCHENDON, Mass. (November 14, 2015) – In the middle of a shooting gallery over stretches of the second and third periods on Saturday afternoon, junior goalkeeper Shannon O'Neil (Tewksbury, Mass.) was equal to the task for the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team. She was beaten just once on 45 shots at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena, as she backstopped the Ravens to a 2-1 win over Holy Cross in New England Hockey Conference play.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-2-0 (2-2-0 NEHC), while Holy Cross falls to 4-2-0 (2-2-0 NEHC).

For O'Neil (2-2-0), the 44 saves were far and away a career high, as she eclipsed her 35-save performance a year ago at Saint Anselm, on Nov. 7, 2014. It was the second 40-save performance in program history and set a new program record, topping a 42-save outing by Amelea Gray at Sacred Heart on Jan. 26, 2013. At the other end of the ice, sophomore Siobhan Burke (2-1-0) stopped 27 of 29 shots in the crease for Holy Cross.

Franklin Pierce had the only goal of the first period on an unusual play to open the scoring on Saturday. After the Ravens cleared their own end, senior forward Francesca Paciello (Clinton, N.Y.) had the puck on the left-wing side of the neutral zone. Paciello went to dump the puck in and floated her dump-in towards the goal, which allowed it skip past Burke and into the net for Paciello's second goal of the season. Junior forwards Lanie Matsumoto (Fort Collins, Colo.) and Nina Danforth (Stratford, Conn.) picked up the assists, as the whole line got in on the act at the 10:46 mark.

Holy Cross evened things up just after the first intermission, only 26 seconds into the second period. Freshman forward Sam Girard had the puck on the right-wing side on a rush into the offensive end. From the top of the right circle, Girard wound and put a hard shot on net, which O'Neil kicked aside. The rebound stayed outside the top of the crease however, and sophomore forward Kara Violette beat the Franklin Pierce defense to the puck and put home her fourth goal of the campaign, tying for the team lead.

The Ravens struck for the eventual game-winning goal less than four minutes later. Cycling the puck in the offensive end, senior forward Bryana Harron (Woburn, Mass.) worked the puck to senior defenseman Sarah Sheils (Pittsburgh, Pa.) along the halfboards on the right-wing side. Sheils walked the puck out into the right circle and then snapped a shot to the top shelf for her second goal of the year.

The entire third period went without scoring, but not without excitement. Holy Cross upped the pressure in the final 10 minutes, leading to a frantic final 96 seconds. With 1:36 to play, Sheils was whistled for hooking, which led to Holy Cross utilizing its timeout and pulling Burke for the extra attacker to try to tie up the game. Despite the pressure in what was now a 6-on-4 situation, the Franklin Pierce defense ceded just one shot on goal while locking down the final seconds of the 2-1 victory.

The Ravens return to the ice on Friday, Nov. 20, when they remain home to host Saint Michael's in a New England Hockey Conference contest. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at Jason Richie Ice Arena.

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' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).