SHELTON, Conn. (January 13, 2018) – Just a night removed from a six-goal drubbing at the hands of a then-winless team, the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team made sure to bounce back on Saturday night at Sports Center of Connecticut. The Ravens struck first and later put home two goals each in the second and third periods to salt away a 5-2 road win over Post in non-conference play. Sophomore forward Cameron Shepardson (Albany, N.Y.) netted three goals to tally his first collegiate hat trick in the victory.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-10-1, while Post falls to 1-13-0. The two teams will meet again on Jan. 30 at Franklin Pierce to round out the three-game season series.

The Ravens were able to erase the tone of Friday night's defeat right off the start on Saturday night. Just 2:58 into the proceedings, junior forward Nate Indelicato (Pembroke, Mass.), who was playing in just his third game of the season, struck to open the scoring. Shepardson -- who finished with four points (3-1-4) on the night -- and freshman defenseman Patrick Gagliardi (Bedford, N.H.) combined to set up Indelicato all alone outside the top of the crease after the defense lost track of him. Indelicato made a quick deke to his forehand and slipped his first goal of the season inside the right post.

Post had the answer at the 4:42 mark. The original shot on the play came from the left side, but was ultimately finished off at the right post by freshman forward Anthony Giacomin. Sophomore forward Noah Wild and freshman forward Brenden Sand tallied the assists on Giacomin's third goal of the campaign. The remainder of the first period went scoreless, as the two teams went to the first intermission tied at 1-1.

Franklin Pierce struck twice in the opening six minutes of the second period to take the lead for good. The first of the two came 101 seconds into the middle frame. Sophomore forward Alex Lester (Methuen, Mass.) dug the puck out on the left-wing half wall and centered it. The feed found Shepardson charging hard to the net, and the latter buried the chance for his third goal of the year. Indelicato added an assist as well at the 1:41 mark.

At the 5:52 mark, junior forward Nicholas Fotiu (Falmouth, Mass.) made a strong move to stuff the puck in at the right post. Fotiu's stick, carrying the puck, and the glove of Post freshman goaltender Brandon Brown arrived at the inside of the post at the same time. Brown hauled the puck back out from the post and towards his body, and then confusion began to reign. Fotiu and the Ravens began to celebrate, believing he had put the puck in, but no signal came immediately from the referee closest to the play. After discussion among all four officials, it was decided the puck fully crossed the goal line, and Fotiu was credited with his fourth goal of the campaign. Freshman defenseman Paul Antkowiak (Salem, N.H.) picked up the lone assist on the play.

Post cut the gap to 3-2 before the second intermission with a power-play goal in a 5-on-3 situation. Sophomore defenseman Lucas Smith finished off a rebound from the bottom of the right circle to tally his third goal of the season at the 16:35 mark. Wild took the original shot and thus picked up an assist.

Franklin Pierce got an important insurance marker 4:03 into the third period. The goal came amid a scramble in the goalmouth, and Shepardson was able to force home his second goal of the night on a third-chance effort. Sophomore forward James Morrissey (West Haven, Conn.) got a stick to the puck in the scramble as well, as he and Lester tallied the helpers on the play.

Shepardson later capped his first career hat trick at 18:50, with an empty-net goal to create the 5-2 final. He hit the vacant net from center ice, firing the puck ahead as he crossed the red line on the left-wing side. Gagliardi -- whose first-period assist had been his first collegiate point -- added the only assist to make it a multiple-point game.

Freshman goaltender Ian Wallace (West Islip, N.Y.) made his first career start in goal and picked up the win (1-1-0) for Franklin Pierce after making 29 saves against 31 shots. At the other end of the ice, Brown (1-10-0) stopped 33 of 37 shots in defeat for Post.

The Ravens return to the ice on Tuesday, Jan. 16, when they return home to host Assumption in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at 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 ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).