Men’s Hockey Fall to Franklin Pierce, 5-3

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Ice Hockey team returned to the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink for their first home game following their winter break, welcoming the Franklin Pierce Ravens for a non-conference matchup. MCLA got goals from Sean Schifferl, Sam Perdion, and Cade Herrera, but were foiled when the road team scored a power play goal late in the third period before adding an empty netter in the closing minutes.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2026
• Score: Franklin Pierce 5, MCLA 3
• Records: Franklin Pierce University Ravens 7-6-0 (NE10 5-3-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 3-8-2 (MASCAC 2-2-1)

HOW IT WENT DOWN

• The Ravens were the first ones on the scoreboard just over six minutes into the game. Sam Mitchell (6:14 of 1^st period, assisted by Howard & Frett) was credited with the goal while Keenan Howard and Matthew Frett provided the assists.
• Junior forward Sean Schifferl (Fort Myers, FL / N.H. Monarchs) (16:39, Murphy) pulled MCLA back to level with just under three and a half minutes left in the first frame. The play started with junior forward Quinn Murphy (Champaign, IL / Philadelphia H.C.) intercepting the Franklin Pierce attempt to get out of their defensive end and carrying the puck back into the offensive zone and then finding Schifferl crashing through the slot to knock the puck home. The goal was fifth of the season for Schifferl while the helper was the fifth for Murphy.
• The Ravens scored the first goal of the second period, doing so again early in the frame with John Sterling (3:08 of 2^nd period, Branish & McGuire) being credited with the goal off assists from Todd Branish and Doug McGuire.
• MCLA didn't have to wait long to again draw even with the visitors when Franklin Pierce dumped the puck in to start a line change, sending junior defenseman Shane Green (Bear, DE / Philadelphia Little Flyers) back to retrieve the puck and bring it around the back of his goal. He then passed it ahead to junior forward Cade Herrera (Brentwood, CA / Seahawks H.C) along the left side boards, who then chipped the puck forward to freshman forward Sam Perdion (Strongsville, OH / Charlotte Rush) (4:26, Herrera & Green) who deked the goalie before depositing the puck in the back of the net. The goal was Perdion's fourth of the year while the assists were the fourth for Herrera.
• The Ravens would add one more tally in the second period when Isaiah Frankel (16:35, White) put home a pass from Drew White.
• The Trailblazers again pulled even with the team from New Hampshire with Herrera (PP, 2:46 of 3^rd period, Moore & Green) converting on a power play opportunity after the Franklin Pierce was called for a delay of game during a faceoff. Green again retrieved a dump in attempt from behind the net and touched the puck off to junior forward Easton Moore (Red Deer, AB / Florida Eels) went coast to coast before dropping the puck back to Herrera coming through the slot and wristed a shot under the crossbar. The goal was the fifth of the season for Herrera, while the assists were number six for Moore and five for Green.
• The Ravens would again pull in front, this time converting on a power play opportunity of their own by Mario Paganini (PP, 10:57, Ursillo & Fish) and then an empty netter by Mitchell (EN, 18:39, unassisted) to cap the night.
• Franklin Pierce's Jeremy Connor stopped 24 of 27 shots to even his record at 3-3-0, while sophomore goalie Josh Girard (Clifton, ME / Walpole Express) fell to 0-3-1 after recording 36 saves on 40 shots faced.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shots: Franklin Pierce 41, MCLA 27
• Saves: Franklin Pierce 24, MCLA 36
• Faceoffs Won: Franklin Pierce 30, MCLA 41
• Penalty/Minutes: Franklin Pierce 2/4:00, MCLA 4/19:00
• Power Plays: Franklin Pierce 1 for 3, MCLA 1 for 2

UP NEXT:

On Friday, MCLA will be back in action when it hosts Assumption University at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink for a non-conference matchup with the Greyhounds. The puck will drop at 8 p.m.

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