Posted: Dec 12, 2015
CHARLESTOWN, Mass. - The Suffolk hockey team was stalled by Franklin Pierce, 5-4, Saturday evening at Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Memorial Rink thanks to a pair of goals and one assist from Ravens' sophomore Jonathan Haun.
The squads battled to a 2-2 draw after the opening 20 minutes of action before sophomore David Wilcox gave the visiting Ravens (2-9) a 3-2 advantage with his first career tally that came with 8:33 remaining in the middle stanza. Freshman Connor Parent evened matters once again for the host Rams (7-3-2) exactly a minute later, but Haun gave Franklin Pierce the lead for good with a power play goal on a feed from junior Taylor Fletcher with 4:45 to play in the period.
Junior Connor Mauro provided a key insurance goal for the visitors 5:04 into the final frame on the power play, as Suffolk closed back to within one on sophomore Jack Jenkins's second score of the evening came with 4:43 remaining, but was unable to net the equalizer in the closing minutes.
Sophomore Brad Riccardi opened the scoring for the Ravens just 23 seconds into the contest, but the Rams took a 2-1 lead on markers off the sticks of Jenkins and junior Danyil Medvedev that came just 50 seconds apart. Haun's first tally of the night forged the 2-2 tie after one period of play, as Franklin Pierce collected four of the game's next five goals en route to their triumph that snapped a four-game winless streak.
Mauro added a pair of assists to go with his goal in joining Haun with three points in the victory for the Ravens, who also received single helpers off the sticks of senior Brendan Glynn and freshmen Jack Williams and Sean Gargin.
Medvedev and Parent each notched a goal and an assist in the setback for Suffolk, which also received assists from senior Tyler Heineman, juniors Stanton Turner, Justin Selep and Simon Leahy, as well as freshman Sean Henry.
Sophomore Tom McGuckin picked up the win in goal for Franklin Pierce with a 29 save effort, while junior Kevin Venturoso suffered the setback in net for Suffolk despite stopping 11 of the 12 shots he faced over the final 24-plus minutes of play in relief of senior Brandon Smolarek, who made 14 saves. The Rams outshot the Ravens by a 33-30 margin overall for the contest.
Suffolk will be idle until Saturday, Jan. 9 when the Rams travel to Rindge, New Hampshire for a re-match with Franklin Pierce that faces off at 8 p.m.