Author: acadiaaxemenhockey

 Couture with 41 saves in the shootout loss for Acadia

HALIFAX, NS – Huskies forward Ben Allison scored the shootout winner and goaltender Matt Welsh stopped 23 shots for the shutout, as Saint Mary’s defeated the Acadia Axemen 1-0 in a shootout on Saturday night at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax. 

The first period saw the Huskies out chance the Axemen, but they were not able to get a go-ahead goal despite outshooting the Axemen 10-3.  

Huskies defenceman Cameron Pound (While Lake, ON) had a good chance as he had a partial breakaway, but was unable to muster a shot on goal. Moments later, Huskies defenceman Connor Olson (London, ON) pinched in from the blueline and had a clear shot but Axemen netminder Thomas Couture (Lévis, QC) turned him away. 

Saint Mary’s would get two powerplay opportunities over the final eight minutes of the opening period, after penalties from Axemen defencemen Orlando Mainolfi (Richmond Hill, ON) and Morgan Nauss (Hammonds Plains, NS), but the Huskies were unable to capitalize, and the two teams went into the first intermission tied 0-0. 

With just over six minutes remaining in the second period, Huskies forward Nathan Dunkley (Campbellford, ON) had the best scoring opportunity of the game, breaking out and firing a shot off the leg of Couture, and gathering his own rebound to fire towards an empty goal, but Axemen forward Bailey Peach (Falmouth, NS) was able to clear it out of the crease to keep the game scoreless. 

The Huskies outshot the Axemen 18-10 in the second period, to extend their advantage to 28-13, but the teams remained tied 0-0 after 40 minutes. 

Early in the third period the Huskies thought they had found their go-ahead goal as defenceman Ben Roger (Markham, ON), fired a shot that was directed by forward Ben Allison (Halifax, NS), and appeared to have beaten Couture but settled on the goal line and was waved off. 

Moments later Huskies forward Reid Valade (Caledon, ON) had a breakaway opportunity but was denied by Couture. The Axemen countered with their best scoring opportunity of the game as Peach played a great pass to Reilly Webb (Stoney Creek, ON) who had a point-blank shot on goal but was denied by a sliding Welsh, the best save of the night for the Huskies netminder. 

60 minutes of regulation play saw no score for either team and the game headed to overtime, where the outstanding goaltending would continue for both teams. 

The first great scoring opportunity was a Huskies three-on-one, where Ben Roger flicked a pass to Reid Valade, who lifted his shot high over goal. That was followed up by a clear breakaway by Axemen forward Brady Burns (Port Williams, NS) but Welsh shut the door. 

The goaltending duel continued into the shootout. Charlie Dafonseca went first for the Huskies, and made a nifty dangle but lifted his backhand shot high over the net. Bailey Peach kicked things off for the Axemen and fired a snapshot off the stick of Welsh. 

Huskies second shooter Reid Valade came in with speed but was unable to beat Couture who deflected the shot away with his glove. Brendan Sellan was up next for the Axemen but Welsh denied him with a blocker save.  

It was third shooter Cedric Ralph (Peterborough, ON) who finally scored for the Huskies, making a nice deke and lifting a forehand shot high. But Tyler Deline (Peterborough, ON) was able to respond for the Axemen, firing a shot past Welsh’s blocker. 

That brought up Ben Allison (Halifax, NS), who beat Couture five-hole. Talented Axemen forward Brady Burns had a chance to equalize, but he was denied by Welsh, and the Huskies bench mobbed their veteran goaltender who secured the thrilling 1-0 victory. 

“I think we’re all pretty pumped in the room,” said Welsh post-game. “This week really shows how great team we are. It was a big building block for our team with two really gritty wins and we’re just looking to use it heading to New Brunswick next week.” 

The Huskies outshot the Axemen 41-23 on the night, with Matt Welsh making 23 saves for the shutout and was named Player of the Game, while Thomas Couture turned away 41 shots in an outstanding performance for the Axemen.  

The Huskies win improves their record to 6-6-0-0 on the campaign. They’ll be on the road to New Brunswick next weekend, as they take on the Moncton Aigles Bleus (6-4-2) on Friday night, before visiting the U SPORTS #1 ranked UNB REDS (12-0-0) on Saturday night in Fredericton. 

The Axemen loss drops their record to 3-7-0-2 on the season. They too will face a New Brunswick road trip next weekend, taking on the REDS on Friday and Aigles Bleus on Saturday. 

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary’s Huskies Athletics
Photos by Eduardo Ibarra / Saint Mary’s Huskies Athletics 

Acadia falls 4-0 to UPEI

WOLFVILLE – The UPEI Panthers (4-8-0-0) passed the Acadia Axemen (3-7-0-1) to move into fifth place with a 4-0 win on Friday night in Wolfville in front of 1,154 fans.  

Acadia outshot the Panthers 28-25 in the game, but it was UPEI that was successful offensively.  

Kaleb Pearson (St. Marys, ON) opened the scoring 13:20 into the first period, with the next goal not coming until 6:49 of the second from Yanic Crete (L’Original, ON).  

Pearson scored his second of the night 13:11 into the second on the power play, which the Panthers were 1-for-3 on the night.  

The final goal came from Noah Sedore (Sharon, ON), an empty-net goal with 2:10 to go in the game.  

Jonah Capriotti (Charlottetown, PE) picked up a 28-save victory between the pipes for UPEI, his first shutout of the season.  

Thomas Couture (Levis, QC) took the loss for Acadia, making 21 saves.  

The Axemen now travel to Halifax on Saturday to face the Saint Mary’s Huskies, while UPEI is off until next Saturday when they travel to Antigonish to face the X-Men.  

Burns with 4 points in Acadia win

WOLFVILLE – The Acadia Axemen (3-6-1) ended their losing streak on Saturday night, picking up a convincing 6-3 win over the Dalhousie Tigers (3-7-0), despite trailing multiple times throughout the night.

Alec Belanger (Quebec, QC) opened the scoring for the Tigers early, but was answered at the end of the first by Acadia’s Liam Kidney (Enfield, NS) scoring on the power play to end the first period tied 1-1.

In the second period Dal again took the lead, but Brady Burns (Port Williams, NS) answered with an unassisted goal off a turnover at the Tigers blue-line.

Zak Smith (Austin, MB) scored the first of five goals in the final nine minutes of the third period to give Dalhousie a 3-2 lead before Acadia scored four unanswered goals to end the third. Smith’s goal was on the power play, which the Tigers finished the night 1-for-4.

Bailey Peach (Falmouth, NS) evened the game up with Acadia’s second power play goal of the night. The Axemen finished 2-for-5.

Burns scored his second of the night and eventual game-winning goal at 15:54 of the period, with Kidney adding his second at 18:08.

A final empty-net goal was added by Hudson Wilson (Toronto, ON) with 10 seconds remaining on the clock.

Nicholas Chenard (Tecumseh, ON) made 25 saves in the loss for the Tigers, while Thomas Couture was credited with the win for Acadia having made 11 saves in 27 minutes of action. Brayden Peters started the game but had to leave after making 11 stops with an injury.

Acadia is back in action at home on Friday night when the welcome UPEI (3-7-0), while the Tigers host the first place UNB Reds (10-0-0) in Halifax.

Burns with loan Acadia goal

WOLFVILLE – The STFX X-Men continued their winning ways as they topped the Acadia Axemen 4-1 on Friday night in Wolfville.  

It was the fourth win in a row for the STFX, while Acadia lost their fifth straight.  

In the first period, STFX wasted no time in asserting their authority, with Declan Smith (Antigonish, NS) netting a power-play goal at 03:01, assisted by Josh Nelson (Lockport, IL). They extended their lead when Liam Hawel (Arnprior, ON) struck with a shorthanded goal at 11:32, also thanks to Smith’s assist.  

The second period saw STFX’s Hawel notch another power-play goal at 13:33, this time assisted by Matthew Struthers (Milton, ON).  

Acadia managed to get on the scoreboard when Brady Burns (Port Williams, NS) found the back of the net at 17:38, with Zack Jones (North Falmouth, MA) providing the assist.  

In the third period, the X-Men continued their dominance with Nelson scoring a power-play goal at 12:25, assisted by Logan Chisholm (Antigonish, NS) and Smith. STFX exhibited efficiency on the power play, going 3-for-9, while Acadia struggled to convert on their power plays, going 0-for-8. 

Thomas Couture (Levis, QC) made 16 saves in the loss, while Joseph Raaymakers (Chatham, ON) made 32 saves in the victory.  

Saturday night Acadia welcomes the Dalhousie Tigers, an important game early in the season in the AUS standings, while STFX is home against the Saint Mary’s Huskies – who picked up a 5-0 win over the Dalhousie Tigers on Friday. Puck drop is 7 p.m. for both games.