HANOVER, N.H. (December 13, 2019) – Taking on an ECAC Hockey program for the first time ever, the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team struggled to generate offense on the road at Thompson Arena on Friday night, but held its own defensively. The Ravens got a third-period goal from freshman forward Becca Kniss (Eden Prairie, Minn.), but were also held to just 16 shots on the night, as host Dartmouth came away with a 2-1 non-conference win. Freshman forward CC Bowlby and junior defenseman Katerina Dajia potted second-period goals for the Big Green.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 11-5-0, while Dartmouth improves to 4-7-2. It marked the first time Franklin Pierce lost back-to-back games in over a calendar year, as it last happened on Dec. 1 and 4, 2018.

Franklin Pierce was outshot 31-16 on the night, but most of the margin came courtesy of a particularly lopsided first period, when Dartmouth ran up a 9-1 advantage. The Ravens were much more competitive for the remainder of the contest, allowing Dartmouth only a 22-15 margin over the final 40 minutes.

Dartmouth's two goals would come just 4:02 apart in the middle stanza. First, Bowlby was able to find some space to maneuver into the slot and snapped a shot into the left side of the net from between the hash marks. Sophomore forward Gabby Billing had the lone assist on Bowlby's team-leading fifth goal of the season at the 6:15 mark.

Franklin Pierce's best chance of the second frame came at 9:25, just after the Ravens came up empty on their second power play of the game. Junior forward Nicole Amato (Billerica, Mass.) found junior line-mate Haley Parker (Londonderry, N.H.) on a backdoor cut, streaking towards the left post. Parker put her one-time shot on net, but Dartmouth junior goaltender Kayla Wormsbecher was able to get across her crease in time to keep the puck out of the goal.

Shortly thereafter, at the 10:17 mark, Dartmouth would double the lead to 2-0. From the left point, Dajia put a shot through traffic, which made its way, untouched, into the top-left corner of the net, over the blocker shoulder of Franklin Pierce sophomore goaltender Emme Ostrander (Westborough, Mass.). Senior defenseman Sydney Hill had the helper on Dajia's first goal of the campaign.

Franklin Pierce was able to halve the deficit with a third-period tally, but would get no closer. Sophomore defenseman Kiki Doucette (Bridgewater, Mass.) had a wraparound attempt foiled at the left post, but the puck squirted through Wormsbecher and out the other side. This proved fortuitous for Kniss, who was left unmarked at the bottom of the left circle and quickly one-timed the puck into the yawning net before Wormsbecher could figure out where it had gone. It was the seventh of the season for Kniss, who has the highest goal-scoring total among Franklin Pierce's freshmen corps.

Ostrander (8-5-0) finished with 29 saves against 31 shots and suffered the loss in the crease for Franklin Pierce. Wormsbecher (1-0-0) stopped 15 of 16 at the other end of the ice to pick up the win for Dartmouth.

The Ravens return to the ice on Saturday, when they travel to Falmouth, Maine, for a neutral-site, non-conference meeting with the University of Maine. Opening faceoff is set for 6 p.m. at Family Ice Center.

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).