WINCHENDON, Mass. (Jan. 21, 2004) - The Franklin Pierce ice hockey team fell 8-2 to Wentworth in ECAC Northeast hockey action tonight at the Robinson-Broadhurst Community Arena.

FreshmanRyan Singer (Kamloops, B.C./Alberni Valley) netted a hat trick to lead the Wentworth offense, while juniorBen Gorton (Fairfield, Vt./BFA St. Albans) chipped in with three points on a goal and two assists.Michael Nicoletta (Staten Island, N.Y./New York Apple Core),Eric Kobisky (Nashua, N.H./Nashua),Shawn Metheral (Delta, B.C./Chilliwack) andNicholas Legare (Saint Raymond, P.Q./Gouv. DeSante Foy) contributed a goal each for the Leopards in the victory.

Freshman newcomerRyan Boudreau (Arlington, Mass./Bridgton Academy) scored his first collegiate goal in his second game with the Ravens. ClassmateDuke Kelley (Bedford, N.H./Tupelo T-Rex) notched the second Franklin Pierce goal, his third of the season.

Wentworth jumped out to a swift 4-0 lead after one period with Legare, Kobisky and Singer all scoring it the first. Singer converted on the power play for his first of the game at 16:30.

Boudreau took a goal back for the Ravens 2:14 into the second as he converted a pass from juniorMatt DePuydt (Houghton, Mich./SUNY Canton) and classmateMike Anderson (Keene, N.H./Laconia Leafs). However Gorton took the goal back for Wentworth at 9:56 and Metheral added one to the advantage at 13:12 into the period.

Singer netted his third of the game on a power play opportunity at 8:59 to open up the third period scoring for Wentworth. Kelley notched his goal with the man advantage for the Ravens from sophomoreRobert Pendola (Everett, Mass./Mass Mariners) and junior alternate captainMark Gibbons (Quincy, Mass./Archbishop Williams) 12:55 into the stanza. Nicoletta notched the final goal of the game at 17:24 for the Leopards.

Freshman goaltenderRobert Arduini (Fulton, N.Y./G. Ray Bodley), recently returned from injury, made his first start of the season in net for the Ravens and made a career-high 44 stops.  JuniorBryce McFadden (Saanichton, B.C./Lloydminster) started in net for Wentworth, played the first two periods and 18 minutes of the third, made 13 saves and recorded the victory. FreshmanJon Pierce (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) closed out the final two minutes and made one save.       

Franklin Pierce (2-11, 1-9 ECAC Northeast, 0-4 NE-10) travels to Nichols on Saturday for an ECAC Northeast matchup at 7:30 p.m. and Wentworth (8-6-2, 7-0 ECAC Northeast) takes on Curry on Saturday at 7:45 p.m.

Wentworth 8, Franklin Pierce 2 

SCORING:
First Period: WEN, Nicholas Legare (Bill Clifford, Mike Prsa) 5:41; WEN, Eric Kobisky (Ben Gorton, Michael Nicoletta) 11:16; WEN, Ryan Singer (Brad Carpenter, Vince Guiducci) 16:30 PP; WEN, Singer (Jayden Der, Blayne Goodman) 17:47.
Second Period: FPC, Ryan Boudreau (Matt DePuydt, Mike Anderson) 2:14; WEN, Gorton (Bill Clifford) 9:56; WEN, Shawn Metheral (Kobisky, Prsa) 13:12.
Third Period: Singer (Guiducci, Alex Marinkovich) 8:59 PP; FPC, Duke Kelley (Robert Pandola, Mark Gibbons) 12:55 PP; WEN, Nicoletta (Gorton, Tony Pacelli) 17:24.

GOALIES: FPC: Robert Arduini (60:00, 52 shots, 44 saves); WEN: Bryce (58:00, 15 shots, 13 saves); Jon Pierce (2:00, 1 shot, 1 save).