Unfinished Business
Axemen Return to the University Cup for 2nd Straight Year
The Acadia Axemen will take the ice on Friday afternoon at 1pm at Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre, when they face the UQTR Patriotes. This year’s University Cup tournament features a new format, with 8 teams, separated into two brackets, in a win and move on, lose and go home format.
The Axemen return to Nationals after an unfulfilling finish to last year, as they went out to Saskatoon as AUS champions, with high hopes of bringing home a CIS title to Wolfville, NS. But the opening game of the tournament all but dashed those hopes, dropping the opener 4-2 to the Windsor Lancers. In the past 6 team format, although it wasn’t a single game knockout, an opening loss would mean a lot would need to go right the rest of the way, with some help from another team to advance. It wasn’t meant to be as Acadia was knocked off by the tournament host University of Saskatchewan Huskies 3-2. Despite the two close games, the Axemen wanted more… another chance.
Well that chance has come a year later, and Acadia wants to make the most of it! The Axemen received the fifth place seeding and are set to face off against the fourth seeded UQTR Patriotes.
In their 4th and possibly final season with the Axemen, assistant captain Travis Gibbons, Alex Beaton, Joel Ridgeway, John Girman, along with reigning CIS Player of the Year, Axemen captain Liam Heelis, know this may be their last kick at the can to win the most prestigious trophy in Canadian University hockey. Acadia received an added boost earlier this season when CIS all Canadian Chris Owens returned for a 5th and final year of eligibility. Owens was injured in the AUS semi-finals against Saint Mary’s and missed the AUS finals due to the injury, but is believed to be ready to go for Friday’s game against UQTR.
Acadia Axemen Head Coach Darren Burns had this to say about the upcoming University Cup, “We are excited and looking forward to getting to Halifax to compete for the University Cup. To be in Halifax in March was one of our goals to start the season. There will be 8 very good teams with one common goal.”
Friday’s game promises to be a high flying, fast paced, energy packed game, with two teams who pride themselves on being hard on the puck, and playing equally well in both ends of the rink.
For ticket information visit http://www.ticketatlantic.com, and for more information about the tournament go to http://www.ucuphfx.ca.
If you’d like to send your Good Luck wishes on to the Axemen players and coaching staff, enter your message at http://www.acadiaathletics.ca/fancentral/best_of_luck
For all your Acadia Axemen information follow us on Twitter at @axemenhockey, we’ll keep you up-to-date at #UCupHFX!