Axemen First Half Questions Answered – Secondary Scoring
The fourth question, on AUS enthusiasts minds regarding the 2014-15 Axemen, was who they would rely on for secondary scoring? As every team knows, when the season goes down to the wire, and throughout the playoffs, teams can’t only rely on their big guns to produce on the scoreboard, there needs to be secondary scoring for a team to succeed.
For the Axemen, gone from last year’s squad are a couple of power forwards in Joe Gaynor and Dustin Ekelman; couple that with forward Dylan Anderson suffering a high ankle sprain early on, a nagging injury to Michael Clarke that would sideline him for most of the first half of the season, and as we mentioned in our first post in this series, Tyler Ferry and Travis Randell had been moved from forwards back to the blue line. So given these departures, injuries, and positional moves, where would the secondary scoring come from after Heelis, Cazzola, and Thompson?
Cue the recruits… The Axemen loaded up with a number of high end offensively gifted forwards through recruiting in the off-season, landing Zach Franko & Boston Leier from the WHL, and Sam Fioretti & Remy Giftopoulos from the OHL. This looked good on paper for the Axemen, but could the first year players step in and make an immediate impact in the tough grind of the AUS?
Well the stats speak for themselves.
Zach Franko – Currently sits in 6th in the AUS in scoring with 18 pts in 16 games, including 8 goals on the season. He has gotten better every game and ended the first half with 8 pts in his last 5 games.
Boston Leier – Added 12 pts in 15 games, and is a +8 on the season, he has added a mix of speed and physical play, along with a strong two way game that has allowed the Axemen to play him on any of the top 3 lines.
Remy Giftopoulos – Also has given the Axemen a physical presence, and has put up 11 pts in 12 games, including 5 goals. He was slowed down by a questionable 3 game suspension for contact with a St Thomas goaltender, but in his last five games he has put up 7 points.
Sam Fioretti – Has played in 14 games, with 7 points, and a +5 on the season. His strong two way play has allowed the coaches to play him in any situation.
In 1965, legendary rock band ‘The Who’ released the song ‘The Kids Are Alright’, well, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend, these kids are better than alright, they are darn good!
The emergence of the four first year forwards, along with the scoring punch of fourth year forward Alex Beaton and second year forward Taylor Makin, a healthy Dylan Anderson and Michael Clarke in the second half, give the Axemen four lines who can play both ends of the ice and produce on the scoreboard.
As the playoffs approach and teams tighten up, especially keying in on the Axemen top scorers, having a balanced attack of secondary scoring will be crucial for the Axemen to come out of the AUS.
Question Answered.
Submitted by Chris Richards