Barbieri nets eventual game-winner

WINCHENDON, Mass. (January 25, 2014) – Freshman forward Marisa Ketterman (Palmer, Alaska) scored a goal early in the third period and assisted on the eventual game-winner 1:38 later on Saturday afternoon to help propel the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team to a 4-2 win over Sacred Heart at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Sophomore goaltender Nicole Magee piled up 38 saves in the losing effort for Sacred Heart.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 17-2-1 and is unbeaten in its last nine, while Sacred Heart falls to 3-12-5. The win gives Franklin Pierce a two-game weekend sweep of Sacred Heart, and also caps a perfect, 12-0-0 record at home for the Ravens in 2013-14. The two teams will meet twice more in three weeks to close out the season, with games at Wonderland on Ice in Bridgeport, Conn. on Feb. 14 and 15.

On Friday night, the two teams played a game which opened with a slew of goals and was then relatively quiet the rest of the way. Saturday's game would feature an opposite structure, as the first period went scoreless and only one goal was scored through the game's first 40 minutes. Said goal belonged to the Ravens and came at the 2:42 mark of the second stanza. A setup by sophomore defenseman Hayley Arnold (Barre, Vt.) and senior forward Jamie Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) sent sophomore forward Bryana Harron (Woburn, Mass.) into the offensive end with a head of steam on the left-wing side and fellow sophomore forward Francesca Paciello (Clinton, N.Y.) with her, cutting up the slot. Harron looked to Paciello, but had no passing lane. Instead, she paid a visit to Snipe City and picked the top-left corner from the middle of the left circle for her second goal of the season.

The remainder of the second period went without further scoring before Franklin Pierce struck twice in the first six minutes of the third frame to push the lead as high as 3-0. First, at the 3:43 mark, Ketterman picked up a second-chance goal, after the Ravens' initial foray towards the net on the play was stymied. Ketterman's 10th of the campaign came off assists from sophomore forward Colleen Doucette (Wakefield, Mass.) and sophomore defenseman Sarah Sheils (Pittsburgh, Pa.).

Just 49 seconds after the Ketterman goal, Sacred Heart freshman defenseman Megan Finlay was whistled for tripping, giving Franklin Pierce the game's first power-play opportunity. The Ravens converted 46 seconds into the man-advantage, and 98 seconds after the Ketterman goal, on the fifth of the season for sophomore forward Haylea Barbieri (Plainville, Mass.). After an initial shot was sent away, Ketterman corralled the puck and wrapped around behind the net. When she got clear of the cage, she slipped the puck into the slot for Barbieri who finished off the power-play marker. Paciello also picked up an assist on the play.

The following 10 minutes would go without a goal before Sacred Heart made a late run at a comeback. First, junior forward Casey Stathopoulos and senior defenseman Jennie Robinson worked the puck to freshman defenseman Amie Varano at the left point. Varano wound and fired from there, and scored her third goal of the season at 15:41, after the puck was deflected en route by the Franklin Pierce defense.

The Pioneers would need only 53 seconds to find the net again, as junior forward Alex Davis scored her first of the year at 16:34. Sacred Heart broke into the attack zone with numbers on a three-on-two rush. Junior forward Melissa Robbins had the puck on the left-wing side and pushed a pass over into the high slot for Davis, who put it away from there.

The Davis goal prompted the Franklin Pierce bench to use its timeout in order to settle the team down. Sacred Heart would take its timeout 50 seconds later on an offensive-zone faceoff and pulled Magee in favor of the extra attacker with 2:36 still remaining. The Pioneers were unable to find the equalizer and Franklin Pierce was able to cash in an empty-net goal at 18:15 to create the 4-2 final. Doucette picked up her second assist of the night, as her line forced a neutral-zone turnover and she sent the puck to sophomore forward Karsyn Baker (Detroit, Mich.), who headed into the offensive end in a one-on-one situation. Baker's initial shot was blocked by her defender, but the puck dropped right back to her stick and she found the empty net on the second chance for her team-leading 15th goal of the season. Baker now has a three-game point streak (3-2-5) and has seven points in Franklin Pierce's last five games (4-3-7).

Freshman goaltender Shannon O'Neil (Tewksbury, Mass.) made 27 saves between the pipes for Franklin Pierce to pick up her ninth win in as many starts (9-0-0). At the other end, Magee kept Sacred Heart in the game by chalking up 38 saves, but was stuck with the loss anyway (1-3-0).

The Ravens have next week off and return to the ice on Friday, Feb. 7, when they travel to University of New England. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at Harold Alfond Forum in Biddeford, Maine.

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 women's ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).