Batis, Carr find back of net
The Ravens were on the short end of a 5-2 decision on Saturday
afternoon, but still come home with the first Northeast-10 team
trophy in program history for their first appearance in the
Northeast-10 Championship final. Pictured (left-to-right) are
senior forward Michael Carr, graduate student forward Anthony
Chighisola, co-captain and junior defenseman Andrew Dadds and
co-captain and senior forward Roscoe Sweeney.
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Video
of First Franklin Pierce Goal
Video of Second Franklin Pierce Goal
MANCHESTER, N.H. (March 2,
2013) – The old guard and the new guard, represented
by senior forward Michael
Carr (South Boston, Mass.) and freshman forward
Matt
Batis (Lakewood, N.Y.), each scored goals on Saturday
afternoon for the Franklin Pierce University men's ice hockey team
in the program's first trip to the final round of the Northeast-10
Conference Championship. However, it would not be enough, as a goal
and an assist by junior forward Joe Tebano and a 46-21 shots on
goal advantage led Saint Anselm to a 5-2 win at Sullivan Arena. It
is the fourth consecutive Northeast-10 title for Saint Anselm.
With the loss, Franklin Pierce
concludes its season at 9-12-3, and set a program record for wins
along the way. Saint Anselm wraps up its campaign at 16-8-3. The
Hawks have participated in 13 of the 14 Northeast-10 finals and
captured the eighth Conference banner in program history. At the
game's conclusion, both senior forward Roscoe
Sweeney (Falmouth, Mass.) and junior goaltender
Dave
O'Brien (Groton, Mass.) were named to the Northeast-10
All-Championship Team.
Saint Anselm opened the scoring in
the title bout 4:56 into the opening period, when senior defenseman
Evan Gogonis worked the puck to the right half boards and senior
forward Tim King, who sent a quick pass into the high slot. Senior
forward Mike Richard was waiting there for it and one-timed his
team-leading 20th goal of the season to the top corner.
The Hawks doubled the lead to 2-0
less than five minutes later, at 9:35, when Tebano forced a
turnover along the boards on the offensive left-wing side as
Franklin Pierce attempted to clear. He spun and flung a shot
towards the cage which snuck by O'Brien for his ninth of the
season, unassisted.
The Ravens got on the board at
12:17 when senior defenseman Matt Lopes (Auburn,
N.H.) and junior defenseman Kyle Craig (Quincy,
Mass.) teamed to get the puck to Batis in the right-wing
circle. Batis cut into the slot and slipped his fourth of the
campaign past Saint Anselm junior goaltender Nick Dries.
Saint Anselm scored the only two
goals of the second period to stretch the lead to 4-1. At 3:07,
senior forward John Hyslip got a pass to junior defenseman Greg
Merrill in the high slot. The latter wound and rifled a shot to the
top-right corner for his fourth goal of the year. At 7:44, O'Brien
made two saves, but the Franklin Pierce defense could not corral
and clear the puck. Senior forward Bryan Luther eventually put away
a rebound for his fifth of the season, off assists from Tebano and
sophomore forward Johnny Daniels.
Within the second period, Franklin
Pierce generated multiple scoring chances on a power play in the
middle of the frame. Later, on another power play, senior forward
Dino
Federico (Canton, Mass.) rang a shot off the pipe.
Nonetheless, the Ravens came up empty in the middle stanza and
headed to the third period facing a three-goal deficit.
By the end of the game, Saint
Anselm was whistled for 10 minor penalties, leading to nine
power-play chances for Franklin Pierce, and the Hawks continued the
parade to the penalty box in the final period, taking four
penalties in the first 11:24 of the third. The Ravens finally
cashed a power-play chance at 11:37, on a two-man advantage.
Skating towards the left-wing corner behind the net, Sweeney cycled
the puck back to graduate student forward Anthony Chighisola (Whitman, Mass.) below the
goal line in the right-wing corner. Chighisola flipped a pass to
the top of the crease to a cutting Carr, who scored his
team-leading 11th of the season as he slipped the puck between
Dries' pads.
The goal would provide the final
points of storied careers for both Sweeney and Chighisola, who
finish their time in crimson and grey one-two in program annals in
scoring. Sweeney (37-55-92) leaves as the program's all-time leader
in points and assists, while Chighisola (42-48-90) leaves as the
school's all-time leader in goals.
Franklin Pierce looked to convert
the goal into momentum and mount a late comeback, but Saint Anselm
put that idea to rest 3:07 later, when it capped the scoring to
create the 5-2 final. Junior forward Eric Czapka had the puck
behind the net and stepped towards the left-wing side to toss a
pass out in front of the crease, where freshman forward Bryan
Sullivan was waiting to salt away his fifth goal of the season.
O'Brien made 41 saves on the
afternoon, but was stuck with the loss (7-5-1) in net for Franklin
Pierce. Dries made 19 stops to pick up the win (10-2-0) between the
pipes for Saint Anselm.
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 men's ice hockey apparel can do so at the
Department of Athletics' brand new online store
(http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).