MANCHESTER, N.H. (February 15, 2022) -- A 49-24 margin in shots on goal told the story of a game much more lopsided than the score line would indicate on Tuesday afternoon at Sullivan Arena. The Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team popped one in the closing seconds of the first, another late in the second, added a final tally in the middle of the third, and hit a pair of crossbars along the way for good measure, on the way to a 3-1 win over intrastate and New England Women's Hockey Alliance rival Saint Anselm.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 17-8-1 (13-3-0 NEWHA), runs its program-record winning streak to nine, and takes three out of four from Saint Anselm for the second straight season, after doing so in 2019-20 as well. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 10-12-3 (7-6-3 NEWHA).

With four games remaining in the regular season, Franklin Pierce is now two points in front of LIU at the top of the NEWHA standings -- though LIU has two games in-hand -- with the Sharks coming to town for a pivotal pair of games this weekend. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena in Winchendon.

The Ravens had the better chances, both in quality and quantity, throughout most of the afternoon, as they ran up shot margins of 15-7 in the first, 17-9 in the second and 17-8 in the third to close the door. The crimson and grey struggled to catch a break for most of the first period, as they had to kill off three penalties and then saw sophomore Brooke Remington (Scandia, Minn.) ring the crossbar from point-blank range when they finally went on the power play in the final three minutes of the frame.

The power play went by the boards, but Franklin Pierce was finally able to break the seal in the waning seconds of the stanza. The Ravens had multiple chances amid a mad goalmouth scramble, as both graduate student Marissa Massaro (Brockton, Mass.) and junior Becca Kniss (Eden Prairie, Minn.) were denied from close range by Saint Anselm junior goaltender Allie Kelley. The puck eventually squirted free for Ava Kison (Eau Claire, Wis.) outside the top of the crease though, and the junior buried her seventh of the season with just 2.1 seconds remaining in the period.

Graduate student Katerina Dajia (Aurora, Ontario) pinged the crossbar in the middle of the second period, but the game stayed stuck on 1-0 until the two sides would trade goals just 3:32 apart late in the frame. Saint Anselm leveled the score first, at 15:24, after a turnover in the right circle proved costly. Senior Erin Meyers took control and centered the puck for fellow senior Kelly Golini, who put a one-timer upstairs for her eighth of the campaign.

Franklin Pierce answered with just 1:04 to play in the second, on another second-chance opportunity out front. Massaro had her first shot on the play saved from the top of the crease, but was able to pop the rebound over the top of Kelley and home for her ninth of the year. Junior Katelyn Brightbill (Silver Spring, Md.) and Kniss picked up the assists, at 18:56.

The Ravens all but eliminated the Saint Anselm threat in the third period, and then put the game away on a 5-on-3 advantage after the Hawks got in some penalty trouble near the middle of the frame. Franklin Pierce went around the horn on the play, with sophomore Emilie Prive (Morrisville, Vt.) sending the puck from the left circle to the middle of the blue line for Dajia, who worked it over to freshman Mikayla Kelley (Eagan, Minn.) in the right circle. Kelley held for a moment and then rifled the puck into the top-right corner to remove the remainder of the afternoon's drama with her fifth of the season.

Sophomore Suzette Faucher (Middleton, Wis.) was beaten just the once on 24 shots to pick up the win (11-3-1) in the Franklin Pierce crease. Allie Kelley (9-12-2) was under siege at the other end and made 46 saves against 49 shots in the losing effort.