Acadia Force a 5th & Deciding Game
Axemen defeat SMU 2-1
The Acadia Axemen came to Halifax on Tuesday night on a mission – to win game #4, and force a fifth and deciding game in this series, on Thursday night at home in Wolfville. Mission accomplished tonight.
The Axemen downed the Saint Mary’s Huskies by the slimmest of margins, in a tight, nail biting 2-1 victory.
The Axemen were playing without 1st year high scoring forward Zach Franko, who left Sundays game in the 2nd period with an undisclosed injury. The injury list grew when Acadia also lost the services of 5th year defenseman Chris Owens, early in the opening period, as he left the ice with a lower body injury and did not return. SMU was playing without one of their regular defenseman in Alex Cord, who was suspended for the game.
Saint Mary’s opened the scoring in the first period at 7:55 when 4th year forward Matt Tipoff banged home a goal from just outside the crease. SMU was on the powerplay at the time, with Steven Shipley & Stephen Johnston picked up assists on the goal.
The Axemen answered back at 14:24 with their own powerplay marker. With the Huskies two men short, Brett Thompson had the puck at the point and skated in a few strides before wiring the puck past Anthony Peters to square the game at 1. Assists on the goal went to Matthew Pufahl & Remy Giftopoulos. That was the way the period ended with SMU going 1 for 2 on the powerplay, and Acadia 1 for 4. The Axemen outshot SMU 12-8 in the period, but both Anthony Peters and Acadia’s Brandon Glover made some outstanding saves for their respective teams.
Before the ice could dry in the 2nd period, Remy Giftopoulos skated down the left side, and over the blueline and blasted a shot that caught the SMU defenceman’s stick and beat Peters high on the glove side to put Acadia up 2-1. The goal came just 9 seconds into the frame, with Travis Gibbons & Geoff Schemitsch picking up the assists. That was all the scoring in the period as both goalies stood tall making 9 saves a piece in the period. Acadia was 0 for 1 on the PP, while SMU was 0-2. Shortly after Giftopoulos’s goal, he too left the game and did not return, his status is unknown.
Acadia did not take their foot off the gas in the third period as they controlled much of the play in the first 12 minutes of the third period, working the clock masterfully with low board work and clogging up the neutral zone keeping SMU in their own end. SMU’s push came in the final 8 minutes, as they fired a number of quality chances at Glover but couldn’t beat the 2nd year tender. SMU had a great chance to tie the game, after a high sticking call to Acadia’s Travis Gibbons with 3:29 remaining gave SMU a powerplay, they pulled Anthony Peters late to make it a 6 on 4, but Acadia played desperate and determined and kept SMU off the board.
The buzzer sounded and Acadia was victorious, heading home to play game 5 in Wolfville on Thursday night after a gutsy effort in game 4 in Halifax. Final shots on goal were Acadia 31 SMU 25. Acadia was 1 for 5 on the powerplay on the night, while SMU was 1 for 6.