Author: acadiaaxemenhockey

Posted on Posted in Game Recaps

Steeves stars with 36 saves in victory

(Halifax, NS) The Acadia Axemen added an empty-net goal to beat the Saint Mary’s Huskies 4-2 on Saturday night at the Halifax Forum.  It was a back and forth game, with the Huskies coming back to tie it up twice. The third Axemen lead of the night proved to be too big a hill to climb. 

Axemen tender Robert Steeves (Moncton, N.B.) was the player of the game – making 36 saves on the night.  Mathew Pufahl (Saskatoon, Sask.), Remy Giftopolous (Ancaster, Ont.), Sam Fioretti (Calgary, Alta.) and Taylor Makin (Blairmore, Alta.) scored for Acadia. 

Jake Coughler (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Calder Brooks (Emerald Park, Sask.) responded with goals for SMU. Bronson Beaton (Springhill, N.S.) picked up two assists. Eric Brassard (St. Hubert, Que.) got the start for the Huskies making 15 saves in the losing cause.  

Pufahl put the Axemen on the board just 23 seconds into the game. Cristiano Digiacinto (Hamilton, Ont.) and Rodney Southam picked up helpers on the play.  Coughler tied things up at 1-1 with just over 3-minutes left in the first. Beaton and Dylan Diperna (Nobleton, Ont.) had the assists. 

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Harper with 4 assists in Axemen win

Wolfville, N.S – Neither the icy aftermath of a winter storm or the prospect of seeing the entirety of Canada versus Sweden game stopped the Axemen faithful from coming to Wolfville on Friday night. Those who came for the game were not disappointed as the Acadia Axemen (12-5-2) won a back-and-forth game, 7-4 against the Moncton Aigles Bleu (3-15-2).

The Axemen dominated play for most of the opening period, leading 17-6 in shots and taking a 2-1 lead into the second.

Axemen forward Owen MacDonald fed a tight saucer pass across the ice to the third star of the night, Remy Giftopoulos who lifted the puck into the top right corner of the net to make it 1-0.

Exactly 41 seconds later, the Axemen doubled their lead when Subway First Star of the Game, Kyle Farrell took a lead pass from Giftopoulos and ripped a slap shot between the legs of the Moncton goalie to make it 2-0.

The Axemen ran into penalty trouble late in the period, as Aigles Bleu defenseman Jean-Francois Plante scored on a wrist shot in front of the Axemen net to cut the Acadia lead to 2-1.

Moncton and Acadia trading goals in the second period, with the Axemen holding a 5-4 lead heading into the final frame.

Moncton scored two more goals on the man-advantage in the second, with one coming from Joey Richard in tight and the other coming off a point shot from Plante for his second of the game.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Axemen pair to face World Jr hopefuls

TORONTO (U SPORTS) – U SPORTS announced Monday the roster of the 2017 U SPORTS Men’s Hockey All-Star Team for the upcoming two-game series against Canada’s National Junior Team prospects.

The games are set for Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT and Thursday, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ont., home of the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs.  The games will mark the culmination of a four-day camp for the U SPORTS Men’s Hockey All-Stars beginning Dec. 11, while also serving as part of Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team selection camp for the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship slated for Dec. 26 -Jan. 5 in Buffalo, N.Y.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Hockey Canada for what should be two very entertaining hockey games, and a continued partnership between our organizations,” said Graham Brown, President and CEO of U SPORTS. “We all know how excited Canadians get every December about Canada’s National Junior Team. These games will provide great exposure for U SPORTS men’s hockey, and I know our players and coaches are looking forward to shining on a national stage.”

It will mark the third straight year Canada’s National Junior Team Prospects have faced off against the U SPORTS Men’s Hockey All-Stars, all but one of whom have CHL major junior experience, including six returning players from last year’s squad.

Acadia Axemen forward Boston Leier and Stephen Harper are included on the All-Star team roster.Read more »

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Leier & Farrell tally for Axemen in loss

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The U SPORTS No. 7 ranked Acadia Axemen (11-5-2) ended the first half of their season on a sour note, losing 3-2 in OT to the No. 2 UNB Varsity Reds (15-0-3).

Acadia held the lead twice in the game, but the league’s best V-Reds answered back each time.

The Axemen head into the holiday break with fourth place in the AUS standings.

The first period was dominated by the Axemen, as they outshot UNB 12-7 and took a 1-0 lead into the second frame.

Axemen forward Boston Leier scored at 6:07 in the opening period when he picked up the puck off the back boards and fired it past UNB’s goalie Alex Dubeau to ignite the home crowd.

Near the end of the first, a fight broke out in front of the UNB net and saw Dubeau receive a rare roughing penalty.

UNB responded with a strong second period, where they dominated most of the play and outscored the Axemen 2-1 in the period to tie the game 2-2 heading into the final frame.

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Three first period goals power Acadia to victory

WOLFVILLE, N.S – Following two weeks on the road that saw Acadia go 2-2, the U SPORTS No. 7 ranked Axemen (11-5-1) defeated the UPEI Panthers (4-12-1) 6-3 in the first of two home games this weekend before the Christmas break. Axemen forward and Subway First Star of the Game Boston Leier scored two goals on the night to help the Axemen secure the win.

Acadia was strong offensively in the first and held a 3-0 lead heading into the second period.

Axemen forward and Third Star of the Game, Chance Braid, opened the scoring, lifting the puck past the left shoulder of the Panthers’ goalie Matt Mahalak, knocking the water bottle off the top of the net in the process.

Adding to their lead, Axemen forward Boston Leier scored a power-play marker late in the period.

Leier took a pass from Stephen Harper while coming over the blue-line and ripped a wrist shot over the glove of the Mahalak to make it 2-0.

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McNulty with a goal & an assist in win

HALIFAX, N.S. – In AUS men’s hockey action at the Halifax Forum, the Acadia Axemen defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 3-1 in a game where quality chances were hard to come back. 

The first period saw a high pace of play that would persist throughout the game, but good chances were not as easy to attain. Dalhousie got on the board first when Mike Evelyn (Ottawa, ON) put a great wrist shot from the high slot into the net at 15:11 to make it 1-0. The speed was still there, but no goals came of it as the first period ended with a 1-0 Tigers lead. 

In the second period, Acadia struck back when Sam Fioretti (Calgary, AB) knocked it in off a slight scramble in front of the Dalhousie net at 2:58 on the powerplay to tie it up at 1-1. The Axemen took the lead when Kyle Farrell (Howie Corner, NS) shot it in from right in close at 9:08 to make the score 2-1. It looked like Acadia would get another one, but Dalhousie put together a fantastic kill of a two minute 5 on 3, which even included a Tigers breakaway, to keep it to within one. That wouldn’t last long as Subway Player of the Game Marc McNulty (Medicine Hat, AB) scored off a shorthanded 2 on 1 at 17:08 to give the Axemen a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.   

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Braid tallies for Axemen in loss

Antigonish, NS – The U SPORTS No, 4 ranked StFX X-Men topped the No. 7 ranked visiting Acadia Axemen 2-1 in their last home game of the fall term. The victory marked the fifth consecutive win for the X-Men in a rough-and-tumble game Friday evening at the Charles V. Keating Centre in front of a crowd of 900. 

Matt Needham (Pentincton, BC) potted the game winner in the third period for X while Subway player of the game Chase Marchand (Halifax, NS) posted 27 saves in goal as he earned his league-leading 10th win of the season between the pipes. 

The first goal of the game came 5:32 seconds into the opening period. Axemen forward Boston Leier (Saskatoon, SK) took possession of the puck from X-Men defenseman Cole MacDonald (Wetaskiwin, AB) while on the penalty kill. He then found Chance Braid (Wainwright, BC) who fired a snapshot as the Axemen’s first shot on goal beat Marchand for the short-handed marker.  

The X-Men responded with a tally of their own midway through the period and 17 seconds into a power play opportunity. Following several quality scoring opportunities in the Axemen zone, the X-Men solved goaltender Robert Steeves (St. Joseph-de-Kent, NB) as forward Michael Clarke (London, ON) scored his 10th goal of the season. From the blue line Santino Centorame (Mississauga, ON) passed off to Kristoff Kontos (Penetanguishene, ON) who found Clarke in the slot. Clarke snapped the puck over the glove of Steeves to tie the game at one.  

Shots in the first period favoured StFX at 16-9. 

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Harper & Leier both with a goal & 2 assists

The Acadia Axemen (9-4-1) fended off a first period push from UdeM Aigles Blues (1-10-2) on Friday night in Moncton, before putting up 9 goals, to defeat the Aigles Bleus 9-1. In a rematch from a week ago in Wolfville, that saw Acadia win 6-1, the Aigles Bleus came out in the first period looking for redemption in front of their home town crowd. UdeM had numerous grade A scoring chances, including 12 shots in the opening period, but Acadia netminder Robert Steeves was up to the challenge, keeping the game scoreless.

That was until Axemen Remy Giftopoulos picked up a miscued clearing pass from a UdeM defender and went in all alone on Moncton starting goalie Alexi Thibaudeau, going forehand to backhand before sliding the puck past the UdeM goalie, for his 4th goal on the season, to give Acadia a 1-0 lead at 14:33. That lead held up for the remainder of the frame.

The Axemen opened up a four goal lead after the second period as the Axemen put three more behind Thibaudeau. At 3:16 of the period, Kris Hodge deflected a point shot from Liam Maaskant to make it 2-0, the goal was Hodge’s 2nd of the year. Then at 9:35, Boston Leier broke in over the blueline on a 2 on 1 with Kyle Farrell, Leier blasted a shot that ended up going off the end boards and onto the stick of his teammate. Farrell made no mistake making it 3-0 with his 9th goal of the season.

The Axemen capped off their second period scoring at 13:19 when first year forward Ryan Foss found a rebound behind the UdeM netminder on a shot from the blueline from Michael Zipp and tapped the puck home for a 4-0 lead after 2. That ended Moncton netminder Alexi Thibeaudeau’s night, as he was replaced to start the third period with Brandon Thibeau.

The Axemen turned up the heat on UdeM in the third period, scoring early and often. At 3:58 of the period, while on the powerplay, the Axemen passed the puck around masterfully as Stephen Harper parked at the top of the circle found Kyle Farrell on the opposite side of the ice, who then slide the puck back to the other side of the ice to Boston Leier who was parked at the side of the Moncton net. Leier one timed the pass home to make it 5-0, his 8th goal of the season.Read more »

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Harper & Fioretti net singles in loss

(Halifax, NS)  The Saint Mary’s Huskies picked up a 3-2 win over the Acadia Axemen Wednesday night at the Halifax Forum.

It was the fifth win a row for the Huskies (9-3-1) who take over sole possession of third in the AUS. The Axemen (8-4-1) fall to fourth.

Jake Coughler (St. Catharines, Ont.), Alexander Peters (Blyth, Ont.), with his first career AUS goal, and Calder Brooks (Emerald Park, Sask.) found the net for the Huskies.

Eric Brassard (St. Hubert, Que.) finished with 17 saves and boosted his record to 5-3.  Stephen Harper (Burlington, Ont.) and Sam Fioretti (Calgary, Alta.) scored for the Axemen.

Robert Steeves (St. Joseph-de-Kent, N.B.) made 23 saves and fell to 4-4.

Coughler got the scoring going with a power-play goal 14:49 into the first. Working with a four-on-three advantage, Peters sent the puck from below the right-circle up to Anthony Repaci (Toronto, Ont.) at the top of the circle. He fed it across to Coughler who ripped a one-timer from the left-dot high short-side.

Peters got on the board at the 18:43 mark of the frame. Steven Shipley (Ilderton, Ont.) chipped it back towards the point, Taylor Burke (Halifax, N.S.) settled down the rolling puck and handed it off to Peters who snapped it in low-blocker from the high right-slot.

The Huskies won the shot battle in the first 11-4.

The second period was where the Axemen did their damage.Read more »

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Braid & Harper each with a pair of goals

Wolfville, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (8-3-1) defeated the Moncton Aigles Bleus (1-8-2) 6-1 on Friday night in Wolfville, thanks to a strong performance from third star of the night, goalie Dawson Carty and an offensive outburst that saw the Axemen scored four goals in the second period.

Acadia jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to Subway First Star of the Game, Stephen Harper, who got the only marker of the period.

Harper scored on a one-timer, taking a pass from forward Kyle Farrell, who almost did the splits to stay onside to make the goal happen in the first place.

The Axemen had a chance to add to their lead, when Sam Fioretti was taken down while coming in on a partial breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot. Fioretti failed to score on the penalty shot.Read more »