Acadia defeats Saint Mary’s to even AUS semi-finals at 1

Giftopoulos nets winner, 4-3 Final

The Acadia Axemen lost Game One of their AUS semi-final series to the Saint Mary’s Huskies 3-2 in double overtime. Another loss would almost prove fatal. Forced to win three games against a Saint Mary’s squad that boasted a stingy Anthony Peters in goal would prove next to impossible.

The Axemen hung on for a 4-3 win in Wolfville Thursday evening, evening their series at one game apiece. It was another classic between these two squads, with Anthony Peters and Brandon Glover of Acadia putting on a collective goaltending clinic. Both made spectacular saves throughout the game. Neither team was able to seize control of the game, and it took an Axemen goal with 2:40 remaining in the game to squeak past the Huskies.

The first two periods of the game solved nothing, as both teams traded goals in both frames. Bradley Greene opened the scoring at the 15:39 mark, only to watch as Brett Thompson tied the affair with a penalty shot goal at 17:47. Glover stopped four of five shots in the frame, as Peters knocked aside 17 of 18 shots.

It didn’t take as long to get the party started in the second period, as Matt Tipoff scored at 3:31 to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead. But before the period ended, Acadia’s Boston Leier tied the game on a breakaway at 16:06.

Glover and Peters continued their stellar duel over the second period, with Glover turning aside 16 of 17 shots, and Peters stopping 10 of 11 shots.

The stage was set for a dramatic finish in the third. The two teams battled back and forth the entire period, until 14:04, when Liam Heelis knocked a loose puck past Peters to give the Axemen a 3-2 lead. The lead was short lived, however, as Stephen Gillard fired a rocket past Glover at 16:31 to tie the score 3-3. Another overtime loomed on the horizon, until 17:20…when Remy Giftopoulous showed some extraordinary patience, waiting Peters out and putting the puck into the empty net to give Acadia a 4-3 that would hold up to the end.

Peters stopped 12 of 14 shots that period, while Glover only had four shots to contend with. No one was stopping the Gillard slapshot that tied the game at 3-3.

The Axemen and Huskies renew the festivities on Sunday evening. Game time is 7:00pm. You can follow all the action on www.austv.ca or follow the legendary Len Hawley as he brings you the game live on AVR 97.7FM.

Game Story submitted by Justin Halbersma, Staff Writer at Vavel USA (www.vavel.com)