Saturday, December 3rd
Acadia Axemen @ Dalhousie Tigers
Axemen win 5-4 in OT over StFX
Rippon with the OT winner for Acadia
Antigonish, NS – The Acadia Axemen went into the Christmas break on a high note, dropping the STFX X-Men 5-4 in overtime, with defender Merrick Rippon (Ottawa, ON) ending the game and sealing the win Wednesday night at the Antigonish Arena.
Acadia had it over the X Men in the early going, hemming the home team into their own zone and not allowing much in the way of offence. The X-Men picked up the pace later in the period, and produced a couple of solid scoring chances on a power play but Acadia goalie Connor McCollum (Pickering, ON) was up to the task. There was a bit of the rough stuff too, with neither team backing down from the other.
Acadia lit the lamp first with about six minutes left to play, with Axemen defender Hudson Wilson (Toronto, ON) one-timing a face off win by centre Cole Nagy (Saskatoon, SK) into the back of the X net.
With five seconds left in the period, Nagy added a goal himself, knocking one home after the puck bounced in front of the X net from the boards. Brendan Tomilson (Cameron, ON) and Liam Kidney (Enfield, NS) assisted.
Shots at the end of the first period were 13-7 in favour of Acadia as they held a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard.
Acadia looked to increase their lead on an early powerplay in the second period, but the X penalty killers did their job. Shortly thereafter, a nifty passing play from Zack Trott (Mulmur, ON) and Matthew Struthers (Milton, ON) resulted in Jacob Hudson (Antigonish, NS) potting his ninth goal of the season for the blue and white with just over three minutes played.
The game opened up at that point and it was STFX’s Josh Nelson (Lockport, IL) tying the game three minutes later, roofing one short side off a pass from Ethan Crossman (Sackville, NB) and Connor Roberts (Owen Sound, ON).
The tie score was short lived though, with Kidney notching his seventh of the season off an assist from Brendan Sellan (Orangeville, ON), giving Acadia the lead.
The teams continued to exchange chances for the rest of the period but the score remained 3-2 for the visitors after 40 minutes. Shots at the end of the period were 22-20 in favour of the X-Men.
A late penalty in the second left STFX shorthanded to start the third, and X goalie Lucas Pfeil (Owen Sound, ON) had to come up with some big saves early.
Another big bounce off the backboards led to another Acadia goal with about five minute gone, with Sellan batting one home, and Tomilson and Rippon assisting. STFX answered 28 seconds later though, with Nelson hitting paydirt for his second goal of the game, off assists from Clark Webster (Kensington, PE) and Patrick Kyte (Pembroke, ON).
The X-Men had a two-man powerplay about halfway through the period, and it was Hudson who knotted the game at four, scoring his second of the game off a rebound from a Struthers shot, with Trott getting the other assist.
With just under seven minutes left to play, STFX appeared to score but the goal was called off due to a high stick. The teams continued to battle but regulation solved nothing and they went to overtime.
The X-Men had a 4-on-4 power play for the first 1:30 of overtime but could not solve McCollum. After stopping several other X scoring chances, the Axemen went on a 2-on-1 rush, setting the stage for Rippon’s game winner, coming off assists from Sellan and Peyton Hoyt (Lincoln, NB).
McCollum made 31 saves on the night for the win, while Pfeil had 28 stops in the X net.
With two goals on the night, Nelson was the first star and Subway player of the game, while teammate Hudson garnered the second star, also netting a pair of goals. Acadia’s Rippon was the third star of the game.
The X Men resume play on December 2nd when they head to Halifax to take on Saint Mary’s, while Acadia is back at it on December 3rd when they play Dalhousie, also in Halifax.
Recap courtesy Matt Draper, STFX Athletics
Axemen with a 5-2 win over Moncton
5 different Acadia goal scorers in win
WOLFVILLE, N.S. – It was the end of a seven-game losing streak for the Acadia Axemen (4-9-2-1) on Saturday night, as they defeated the Moncton Aigles Bleus (10-6) by a score of 5-2.
Subway First Star of the Night Merrick Rippon (Ottawa, Ont.) and third star of the night Bailey Peach (Falmouth, N.S.) contributed to their team’s offensive outburst with a goal apiece.
Acadia went on an offensive explosion in the first period with three goals.
Eric Henderson (Kingsville, Ont.) and Rippon both scored their first goal of the year in the opening frame.
Henderson took a pass from Jack Flaman (Vibank, Sask.) and chipped the puck over Moncton’s goalie Felix-Anthony Ethier (Deux-Montagnes, Que.) in close to make it 1-0.
Rippon doubled the lead for Acadia less than two minutes later on a shot from the right face-off circle.
Corson Hopwo (Duncan, B.C.) potted the third goal of the frame for Acadia with a quick snapshot from the left face-off circle that beat the Ethier glove side.
Moncton responded with a goal late in the period from the second star of the night, Thomas Pelletier.
Thomas Pelletier (Quebec, Que.) got his team on the scoreboard with a power-play marker. Pelletier took a snapshot in close and beat Acadia’s Conor McCollum (Pickering, Ont.) low blocker side to make it 3-1.
At the end of the first period, Acadia held a 12-10 lead in shots.
The teams were evenly matched for most of the second period, as they traded scoring opportunities throughout the frame.
Moncton was stronger at the start of the period, but Acadia began to nab more chances as the period wore on.
It was Acadia who found the back of the net near the end of the second period, during a 4-on-3 power-play.
Bailey Peach wired a one-timer into the top left corner of the net, after passing back and forth with Adam McMaster (Beamsville, N.S.), to make it 4-1.
By the end of the period, Acadia had a 24-20 lead in shots.
Each team added a goal to their total in the final frame.
Acadia got a goal from Nick Deakin-Poot (Georgetown, Ont.) after jamming a puck in on a mad scramble in front of Moncton’s net.
Moncton added a goal with 15 seconds remaining in the game. McCollum was sprawled out and made a handful of saves before Remy Anglehart (Gascon, Que.) chipped the puck in to make it 5-2.
McCollum stopped 29 of 31 shots, while Moncton’s Felix-Anthony Ethier turned aside 29 of 34 shots.
Tonight, marked Acadia’s last home game until January. They’ll wrap up before Christmas with games on Wednesday, Nov. 30 and Friday, Dec. 3 against the STFX X-Men and Dalhousie Tigers, respectively.
Moncton travels to UPEI on Wednesday night.
Acadia’s next home game is Friday, Jan. 13 against the Saint Mary’s Huskies.
Submitted by Joshua Foote, Acadia Athletics Communications Office
Axemen lose in overtime against U SPORTS No. 1 ranked REDS
Stevenson with the Acadia goal
WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Two streaks continued on Friday night in Wolfville following a 2-1 OT victory for the U SPORTS No. 1 ranked UNB REDS over the Acadia Axemen. For the UNB Varsity Reds, the win marked their twelfth in a row. Meanwhile, the Acadia Axemen now hold a seven-game losing streak.
Despite the loss, tonight marked possibly the strongest performance from the Axemen yet this season.
Both teams benefitted from the excellent play of their goaltenders.
Axemen goalie Zachary Paputsakis (Rockland, Ont.) stopped 23 of 24 shots in the first two periods, before being replaced, due to injury, by Conor McCollum. UNB goalie Samuel Richard (Ste. Catherine, Que.) turned aside 25 of 26 shots and was named the third star of the night.
Acadia jumped out to an early lead thanks to a goal from the second star of the night, Keegan Stevenson (Aweres Township, Ont.).
Stevenson redirected a quick wrist shot from Hudson Wilson at the point to give Acadia the first lead of the game.
At the end of the first period, shots were 11-6 in favour of UNB.
UNB had a litany of offensive chances in the second but solved Paputsakis only once in the period to tie the game.
The REDS had two separate breakaways, while shorthanded near the midpoint of the second period. Both shots were turned aside on wonderful saves, including one that required Paputsakis to sprawl at the goal line to keep the puck from going in.
However, UNB finally scored with 3:31 left in the second frame.
The REDS broke out of their own zone quickly and rushed into the Acadia zone where Cole MacKay (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) took a feed in the slot and wired a wrist shot home to tie the game at 1-1.
By the end of the second period, UNB held a commanding 24-13 lead in shots.
Acadia made a goaltending change at the start of the third with Conor McCollum taking over between the pipes. Paputsakis seemed to be labouring with some sort of injury throughout the second period.
There was no scoring in the third period despite several strong attempts from both sides.
With the game tied at one, the teams were forced into overtime to find a winner.
The extra period saw a number of solid scoring chances from both teams, but it was Brady Gilmour (Grafton, Ont.) who sent the crowd home.
McCollum stopped the initial shot from a UNB rush but could not cover the puck with a number of bodies in front of him.
Gilmour scooped up the puck in front and flipped it over the Axemen goalie for the game-winner.
UNB defenceman Adam McCormick (Waterville, N.B.) was named Subway First Star of the Night.
Acadia returns to play tomorrow night at home, as they take on the Moncton Aigles Bleus, while the REDS head to Saint Mary’s. Puck drops at 7:00 pm for both games.
Submitted by Joshua Foote, Acadia Athletics Communications Office
Friday, November 25th @ 7pm
UNB Reds @ Acadia Axemen
Huskies outlast Axemen to take a 3-2 Shootout win
Flaman & Hoyt score for Acadia
The Saint Mary’s Huskies downed the Acadia Axemen 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night at the Dauphinee Centre.
It didn’t take long for the action to start as the Huskies had their first good chance just 1:30 into the game. Andrew Coxhead (Bedford, NS) had quick shot from just outside the crease that was stopped by Axemen goaltender Zachary Paputsakis (Rockland, ON).
Just minutes later Saint Mary’s was pressuring again when the puck rolled around the boards to defenceman Connor Olson (London, ON). He fired a shot through traffic to open the scoring just 5:06 into the period with his first career AUS goal.
Acadia was awarded a powerplay late in the frame as David Berube (Price, QC) got called for interference. The Axemen worked the puck around the zone nicely looking to tie the game but couldn’t get shots on net. Cameron Pound (White Lake, ON) and Keith Getson (Bridgewater, NS) each blocked a shot to make things easy on their goalie Jeremy Helvig (Kingston, ON).
Shots were 11-6 in favour of the Huskies, as they led 1-0 into the intermission.
The visiting Axemen got out to a quick start in the second frame as Liam Kidney (Enfield, NS) drove puck to the net but was stopped by Helvig. The second chance opportunity from in close by Brendan Sellan (Hanover, ON) was also stopped.
Just seconds later it was Luke Zazula (Langley, BC) that launched a shot from the blue line that saw the puck ring off the crossbar. Later in the same shift it was Nick Deakin-Poot (Georgetown, ON) that was denied from the slot.
Despite not being able to capitalize through half the game, Acadia pressed on, and their patience would be rewarded. Corson Hopwo (Duncan, BC) made a nice move to enter the offensive zone and get a shot off. Helvig made the initial save but the rebound was slid home by Jack Flaman (Vibank, SK).
On the next shift the Axemen took a penalty and SMU made no mistake on the powerplay to retake the lead just 44 seconds after Acadia tied the game. It was another rebound goal from in close scored by Coxhead after the initial shot by Justin MacPherson (East Gwillimbury, ON) was stopped.
Acadia led in shots 27-25 after 40 minutes of play but it was SMU with the 2-1 lead.
A SMU penalty at the end of the second period gave Acadia an early powerplay. It only took 61 seconds into the final period before the Axemen tied the game on a shot by Peyton Hoyt (Lincoln, NB) from the left circle.
The middle of the frame saw the Axemen with back-to-back powerplays. Acadia was able to score on the second advantage, but the goal was immediately waved off due to the net being off its pegs.
Shots were 31-27 after regulation and with no one scoring during five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime the teams headed to a shootout.
Jeremy Helvig shut the door on both Acadia shooters, while Bradey Johnson (Lindsay, ON) and Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhil, ON) scored on their attempts to give Saint Mary’s the 3-2 shootout victory.
The win improves the Huskies record to 8-6-0 on the season. They’ll be back in action next Friday, Nov. 25, as they welcome the Moncton Aigles Bleus to the Dauphinee Centre.
The Axemen loss drops their record to 3-8-1-1 on the season. Their next game also comes Friday, when they host the #1 ranked UNB REDS in Wolfville.
Recap by Troy Langstaff / SMU Huskies Athletics
Photos by Mona Ghiz / SMU Huskies Athletics
Panthers shutout Acadia 2-0
Paputsakis makes 27 saves in Axemen loss
By Thomas Becker/ UPEI Athletics
The Panthers (9-4-0) are playing some of their best hockey in recent memory and are amidst a torrid stretch, having won eight of their last nine games, including Wednesday night’s 2-0 victory over the Acadia Axemen.
Drake Pilon got the team going early in the game, scoring his fifth goal of the season, while captain Troy Lajeunesse added the dagger late—his team-leading ninth of the campaign.
They showed off chemistry on a power play at 4:45 of the first period when Pilon took a pass from Kurtis Henry in the right circle, where the third-year forward sniped a shot in the top right corner for the game’s opening goal.
Another reason for the team’s success is their defensive schemes and simply staying out of the penalty box. At full strength, the Panthers are tough to score against (allowed just 24 goals at full strength), and they showed it again against Acadia.
“Right now, we’re one of the most disciplined teams in the league,” said Panthers head coach Forbes MacPherson. “If you give up three or four more power play opportunities, eventually it will come back to haunt you.”
UPEI limited the Axemen to just 19 shots and held them scoreless on three power play chances. Lucas Fitzpatrick got the nod between the pipes again after recording his first AUS win last Saturday, and the sophomore netminder didn’t disappoint as he registered his second straight shutout.
After a scoreless second period, the Panthers kept the pressure on the Axemen in the offensive zone and eventually added the dagger, courtesy of Lajeunesse. On the play, TJ Shea gathered the puck along the end boards and passed it in front to Lajeunesse, who beat goaltender Zachary Paputsakis with the one-time to seal the 2-0 win.
UPEI looks to capture their fifth straight win this Friday when they host the Saint Mary’s Huskies at Eastlink Centre, while the Axemen aim to end their five-game skid against the Huskies Saturday night.