Couture with 25 saves for shutout

WOLFVILLE, N.S. — Acadia shut out UPEI 4-0 in AUS men’s hockey action Saturday at Acadia University.

Brendan Tomilson opened the scoring for the Axemen at 13:01 of the first period, with assists from Corson Hopwo and Cole Nagy. Liam Kidney added a power-play goal at 15:23, assisted by Adam McMaster and Ethan Ernst, to give Acadia a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

After a scoreless second period marked by penalties and missed opportunities, Tyler Deline extended the Axemen’s lead with a goal at 8:06 of the third, set up by Bailey Peach and McMaster. Nagy sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 17:52, assisted by Hopwo.

Goaltender Thomas Couture made 25 saves for the shutout.

UPEI’s Keiran Gallant and Elias Cohen had strong performances in the faceoff circle, with 11 and 10 wins, respectively. Kaleb Pearson led the Panthers with six shots on goal, but they couldn’t solve Couture.

The Axemen hit the road next weekend for games against the Université de Moncton and the University of New Brunswick.