McCarron nets pair in second period

FOXBORO, Mass. (January 23, 2012) – The Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team saw a 3-1 third-period lead evaporate on Monday night, as sophomore forward Bill Carey and junior forward Dana Borges scored 1:56 apart in the final five minutes of regulation on to lift Stonehill to a 3-3 tie in Northeast-10 conference play at Foxboro Sports Center. Junior defenseman Brendan McCarron (Andover, Mass.) scored twice in the draw for Franklin Pierce.

With the tie, Franklin Pierce is now 3-9-4 (2-2-2 Northeast-10), while Stonehill moves to 5-7-2 (2-1-1 Northeast-10). The Ravens are 0-1-1 against Stonehill through the first two games of the three-game season series and must defeat the Skyhawks in the series finale to split the series and earn a point in the Northeast-10 standings. Any other result on Feb. 4 in Winchendon will give Stonehill the season series and two points.

After the first period went scoreless, McCarron staked the Ravens to a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in the first eight minutes of the second stanza. He opened the scoring 82 seconds into the frame, when he put home his second of the season on assists from junior defensemen Tyler Cornele (Cape Coral, Fla.) and Wesley Russell (Marlboro, Mass.). Later, at the 7:41 mark, with Carey in the box for charging, McCarron converted on the power play for Franklin Pierce. This time, junior forward Michael Carr (South Boston, Mass.) and Cornele picked up the helpers.

Stonehill was able to cut the deficit to 2-1 before the intermission with a power-play score of its own with 4:03 to play in the second. With Cornele serving a tripping penalty, sophomore forward Bryan Rooney put home his sixth of the season off a feed from junior forward Christopher Gorovitz.

The power-play goals continued to fill the back of the net in the third period, as the Ravens reclaimed the two-goal lead, at 3-1, just shy of the midway point of the stanza. With Stonehill freshman forward Stephen Balsamo in the box for tripping, junior defenseman Andrew Dadds (Mount Ephraim, N.J.) cashed in his third of the season at 8:32. Junior forwards Dino Federico (Canton, Mass.) and Adam Dallaire (Waltham, Mass.) provided the assists.

Late in the third period, a trio of penalties was whistled in a span of 63 seconds. Russell led the conga line to the penalty bench with an elbowing infraction at 14:31, followed by Stonehill freshman defenseman Pat Greene for interference at 15:02 and Franklin Pierce sophomore forward Brandon Dennis (Williamsport, Md.) for high-sticking at 15:34. This left Stonehill, trailing by two, with a 4-on-3 advantage on the ice and prompted Head Coach Patrick Leahy to call his timeout and pull the goaltender to try to spark the offense. It took just six seconds for the gambit to pay off, as Carey put away his fourth of the season on the power play in the extra-attacker situation, while Gorovitz and Borges added assists.

It would be Borges who followed with the game-tying goal just 1:54 after the Carey goal with his third of the season off helpers from freshman forward Kevin Aufiero and sophomore forward Andrew Miller. The goal created the 3-3 final, as neither team could find the net in the remaining 2:24 of regulation nor during the five-minute overtime.

Sophomore goaltender Dave O'Brien (Groton, Mass.) turned aside 43 shots but found himself stuck with a tie (1-3-3) between the pipes for Franklin Pierce. Senior Tyler Jackson made 23 saves on his way to a tie (0-0-2) in front of the Stonehill net.

Stonehill posted a 46-26 advantage in shots on goal in the game and went 2-for-6 on the power play. Franklin Pierce finished 2-for-6 with the man-advantage as well.

The Ravens return to the ice on Saturday, Jan. 28, when they return home to host Assumption in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening faceoff is scheduled 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).