Ravens to face Holy Cross in title game

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (February 28, 2015) – In the program's first-ever postseason contest, junior defenseman Sarah Sheils (Pittsburgh, Pa.) tallied three points on two goals and an assist to lead the top seeded Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team to a 6-1 win over fifth seed and host Saint Michael's in the second semifinal of the ECAC Open Tournament at Cairns Arena. Freshman forward Jillian Witwicki scored the lone goal in defeat for Saint Michael's.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 20-5-1 and captures the program's first 20-win season. With the loss, Saint Michael's falls to 5-19-1. Franklin Pierce advances to play in Sunday's championship contest against third seeded Holy Cross -- which knocked off second seeded Saint Anselm, 3-1, earlier in the day -- at 3:30 p.m. Saint Michael's and Saint Anselm will meet at 12:30 p.m. in the consolation game.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring Saturday with a pair of goals in quick succession near the end of the first period. The first came at the 16:17 mark, after sophomore forward Nina Danforth (Stratford, Conn.) threw the puck on net from the slot, but was turned aside by Saint Michael's sophomore goaltender Tina Frasca. Sophomore forward Lanie Matsumoto (Fort Collins, Colo.) was crashing the net on the play, was the first to get to the rebound and was able to jam it between Frasca's pads from the top of the crease. Junior forward Francesca Paciello (Clinton, N.Y.) also picked up an assist on Matsumoto's sixth of the season.

Just 63 seconds later, junior forward Karsyn Baker (Detroit, Mich.) doubled the lead to 2-0, as she deked and scored in the slot at 17:20. Sheils had the lone assist on Baker's team-leading 16th of the season.

Witwicki cut the gap to 2-1 at the 12:31 mark of the second period, as she took a pass from sophomore defenseman Lauren Cuculino and led a rush into the offensive end. Witwicki stepped across the blue line, wound, fired and wired her shot to the top-left corner for her team-leading ninth goal of the campaign.

The Ravens answered with a pair of goals before the period expired to balloon the lead to 4-1. Just 45 seconds after the Witwicki goal, Sheils struck for her first of the day on the power play. The puck came to junior defenseman Hayley Arnold (Barre, Vt.) at the point, and she threw it towards the net. Amid traffic in the slot, Sheils was able to corral the puck, turn and score her 10th of the season, before Frasca could react to the change of direction. Freshman forward Alex Brolsma (Bloomington, Minn.) also had a helper at 13:16.

Later, at the 18:43 mark, sophomore forward Alysha Raimo (Fitchburg, Mass.) picked the top-right corner with a wrist shot from the slot to give the Ravens a three-goal lead heading into the second intermission. Baker and junior forward Colleen Doucette (Wakefield, Mass.) had the assists on Raimo's sixth of the year, as the whole line got in on the act.

Sheils' second of the day came at 5:24 of the third period to push the lead to 5-1. After taking control in the left-wing circle, Sheils found herself with a tough angle near the goal line on the left side. From there, she was able to slip a backhand shot between Frasca and the near post for her 11th of the year, unassisted.

Junior forward Bryana Harron (Woburn, Mass.) capped the scoring at 14:25 to create the 6-1 final. The Ravens wound up with a 2-on-1 down low, with freshman forward Sara Diltz (Palmer, Alaska) controlling the puck on the right-wing side. She sent a pass to the top of the crease for Harron, who had an easy one-time finish for her seventh of the season.

Sophomore goaltender Noelle White (Corona, Calif.) made 23 saves against 24 shots over 56:21 in net to pick up the win (12-2-0) in goal for Franklin Pierce. Freshman Madison Murray (Berkley, Mich.) logged the final 3:37 and made one save to finish things off.

Frasca finished with 37 saves against 43 shots over 54:25 and suffered the loss (2-14-1) in the crease for Saint Michael's. Sophomore Abby Burke stopped all four shots she faced over the final 5:35.

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).