Dill's Overtime Winner Propels Salem State Past Franklin Pierce, 6-5

THE BASICS 
Salem State, 6 vs. Franklin Pierce, 5

Records: 
Franklin Pierce University Ravens (3-2-0)
Salem State University Vikings (2-1-1)

Location: Salem, Mass. - Rockett Arena

Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2025

THE LEAD—  In a game that saw 11 combined goals, it was the Salem State men's ice hockey team that came away with a thrilling 6-5 victory in overtime versus Division II opponent, Franklin Pierce, Tuesday evening at Rockett Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salem's offense came out firing as the squad jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Zach Dill (Lake Tahoe, Calif.) took advantage of a power-play opportunity after a nice look by Aren Francis (Nottingham, United Kingdom). Nearly seven minutes later (14:46), Salem got another power-play goal thanks to Jon Waselko (Powell, Ohio).
• However, two minutes later (16:17), Franklin Pierce trimmed the deficit to one after a Josh Tisdell score. Despite the Ravens' score, Salem quickly went back up by two (3-1) when Matt Babineau (Malden, Mass.) put home a shot after Ryan Meagher (Boston, Mass.) and Carson James (Falmouth, Maine) set up the freshman forward.
• The Vikings continued their momentum quickly into the second (00:25) when Ryan Barrett (Wilmington, Mass.) potted Salem's fourth goal and made it 4-1 early in the frame. Despite the large deficit, Franklin Pierce hung around and ultimately evened the contest at four after scoring three unanswered goals led by Mario Paganini, Nick Fish, and Todd Branish. 
• With the high-scoring contest knotted at four going into the third, the Blue and Orange retook the lead at 05:48 when Francis fired off a shot past Ravens goalie, Jeremy Connor. Even with the lead, the Ravens would not go quietly as the visitors tied the contest back up at five thanks to a power-play score by Todd Branish with 6:11 left to play.
• After the Franklin Pierce goal, Salme had multiple chances for the game-winner as the squad fired off 10 shots on Connor but were turned away, and the sides headed to overtime. Less than 20 seconds into the extra period, Dill fired home a shot past Connor's glove side on the left face-off circle for the 6-5 overtime win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Dill's two goals are his first two scores of the season. His game-winner is his fourth in his career.
• Waselko's score is his second of the year. 
• Babineau, Barrett, and Francis' goals are all their first for the 2025 season. For Babineau, his goal is the first of his collegiate career.
• Will Nepveu (Montreal, Quebec) got the start in net for Salem and finished with a season-high 45 saves.
• Riley Mastowski and Jeremy Connor split time in the net for Franklin Pierce. Mastowski got the start, and in 16:59 of action, he made 12 stops. Connor played the remainder of the contest for the Ravens and finished with 17 saves.
• Franklin Pierce held the advantage in shots by a 50-35 margin.
• Tuesday's matchup was just the second meeting between the two programs, and Salem is currently 2-0 versus the Ravens. 

UP NEXT

• Salem kicks off a three-game road trip on Saturday, November 15, when the squad travels to Anna Maria College for a 6:40 p.m. contest.

Photo Credit: Lilly Nunez'25