BOSTON (March 7, 2020) – In front of a near-capacity -- and largely pro-Ravens -- crowd of 800 at the neutral-site Warrior Ice Arena, both goaltenders stood in the spotlight in Friday night's Northeast-10 Conference title game, as the fourth-seeded Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team locked horns with third seed Stonehill. In the end, the NE10 Goaltender of the Year, Stonehill senior Matthew Schoen, was just a few saves better than Franklin Pierce junior Ian Wallace (West Islip, N.Y.), as Schoen piled up 46 saves, while Wallace collected 38 of his own. A pair of second-period tallies gave Stonehill a lead it would not relinquish, as the Skyhawks came away with a 3-1 victory and the Northeast-10 Championship.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce sees its season come to an end at 16-12-4. It was just the second season of double-digit wins in program history and eclipsed the previous program record of 10 wins, set a year ago. It also marked the first winning season in program annals. It was Franklin Pierce's second runner-up finish in the NE10 Championship (2013).

With the win, Stonehill finished its season at 13-11-5 and capped an improbable title run after the Skyhawks stood at 1-7-1 at the semester break. It is the third NE10 title in program history for Stonehill (2007, 2016).

At the conclusion of play, freshman forward Conor Foley (Nahant, Mass.) and sophomore forward Chris Stevenson (Arvada, Colo.) were named to the All-Championship Team. Senior forward Shepheard Stahel (Plano, Texas) and his 3.99 grade-point average were recognized with the Elite 24 Award, which is bestowed upon the student-athlete with the highest GPA to compete at each of the NE10's 24 championships.

The first period went scoreless on Saturday night, but was not without its opportunities. High-flying action saw chances at both ends of the ice, as the two teams combined for 31 shots, with a 17-14 Stonehill advantage. Both goaltenders were equal to the task though, as Wallace turned aside all 17 shots he faced and Schoen -- who would earn the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honors -- stopped 14 of 14 at the other end of the ice.

Stonehill broke the seal at the 8:45 mark of the second period. With a large amount of net-front traffic, sophomore forward Charles Page was able to find some space from a sharp angle on the left side to pop home his 11^th goal of the season. Junior forward Kayser Raei and senior forward Nicholas Godin provided the helpers.

The Skyhawks doubled the lead to 2-0 at 15:44. Leading a 2-on-1 rush, senior forward Cameron Wright ripped home his team-leading 17^th of the season from the middle of the right circle, off of assists from senior forward Ryan Meade and junior defenseman Seth Murray.

The Ravens finally caught a bounce at 10:22 of the third period and closed within a goal at 2-1. After the puck initially came toward the goal from the left-wing side, a wild scramble ensued in the Stonehill crease. Amid the madness, during which Schoen made multiple saves, Foley was the one who found the puck and eventually put it into the net for his 10^th of the campaign.

Franklin Pierce took a late penalty, which forced them to pull Wallace for an extra attacker just to get to a 5-on-5 situation down the stretch. Stonehill freshman forward Brendan Nehmer put home an empty-net goal on the power play at 19:19, his eighth score of the season, to cap the scoring, create the 3-1 final and give the Skyhawks the trophy.

Wallace (10-8-3) was the hard-luck loser in the Franklin Pierce crease, as he capped his junior season with a 38-save performance while facing 40 shots. Schoen (12-8-3) turned in a performance worthy of his Goaltender of the Year award, as he stopped 46 of 47 shots to backstop Stonehill to the title.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). 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' brand new online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).