WINCHENDON, Mass. (December 4, 2016) – For the second straight day, two third-period goals were not enough for the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team to dig its way out of a second-intermission deficit at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Southern New Hampshire netted three goals -- including a pair of power-play markers -- in the second period, on the way to a 4-2 win over the Ravens in Northeast-10 Conference play on Sunday afternoon.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 6-6-0 (2-2-0 NE10), while Southern New Hampshire improves to 8-3-0 (4-1-0 NE10). Combined with a 4-1 win in Hooksett, N.H. on Nov. 4, the victory allowed SNHU to claim the two NE10 standings points awarded to the winner of the three-game season series. The two teams will meet again at SNHU on Feb. 4.

The first period went without a goal, but was not without its fireworks, as the two teams combined for 11 penalties totaling 30 minutes in the opening stanza. It would set the tone for the afternoon, which turned into a parade to the penalty box for both sides. In all, the Penmen and Ravens would combine to earn 90 penalty minutes on 25 infractions, including a quintet of 10-minute misconducts along the way.

Southern New Hampshire opened the scoring early in the first period. Senior forward Andrew Smith snapped a shot from the right side as he carried the puck across the blue line. The Franklin Pierce defenseman on the scene challenged the shot and got his stick to it, but succeeded only in deflecting the puck over the shoulder of his own goaltender, as Smith wound up with his first goal of the season at the 3:34 mark. Sophomore defenseman Dylan Sobczyk and freshman forward Jared Goudreau provided the assists.

The Penmen would then cash in a pair of power-play goals just 40 seconds apart to push the lead to 3-0. First, Goudreau sent the puck to graduate student forward Joe Collins on the right side, which created a 2-on-1 down low in the offensive end. Collins slipped a pass across the slot to senior forward Jay Sylvia, who had the one-time finish into the all but empty net for his sixth goal of the campaign at the 7:51 mark.

Franklin Pierce would take another penalty just 22 seconds later, at 8:13, and then the Penmen needed just 18 seconds to cash in on the man-advantage, at the 8:31 mark. Collins put a shot through traffic and into the net from the left point, for his seventh goal of the year, off of assists from junior forward Chris Moquin and Goudreau.

Franklin Pierce would get on the board just 15 seconds into the third period. Sophomore forward Nick Fotiu (Falmouth, Mass.) beat the netminder to the short side from right on top of the crease outside the right post. Junior forward Jonathan Haun (Buffalo, N.Y.) provided the lone assist on Fotiu's second goal of the season.

The Ravens closed within a goal after the midpoint of the period, with a power-play marker at the 11:26 mark. Senior defenseman Taylor Fletcher (Leominster, Mass.) provided the feed from the left side, as he fired a pass across the slot. The setup found sophomore forward Nick Indelicato (Pembroke, Mass.) at the right post and he stuffed home the puck from there. Fotiu tacked on an assist as well, on Indelicato's fifth goal of the season.

Franklin Pierce got junior goaltender Tom McGuckin (Clayton, N.J.) to the bench for the extra attacker with 1:28 to play, but SNHU would tack on an empty-net goal at the 19:45 mark to put the game away. Sophomore forward Artem Efimov-Barakov chipped the puck ahead from the neutral zone, and Sylvia got behind the defense and went to chase it down. Sylvia got hauled down from behind on the play, but managed to brush the puck into the empty net before he went crashing into it, for his second goal of the contest.

McGuckin (6-6-0) finished with 29 saves against 32 shots on goal and suffered the loss in the crease for Franklin Pierce. Junior goaltender Ryan Slatky (7-2-0) notched 26 saves against 28 shots at the other end of the ice to pick up the win for SNHU.

The Ravens return to the ice on Tuesday, Dec. 6, when they remain home to host Saint Michael's in an NE10 contest. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at Jason Ritchie 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 men's ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).