Author: crichards

Posted on Posted in Game Recaps

Acadia Hosts UPEI In Home Opener

photo_2015046_resize_articleThe Acadia Axemen hockey club thrilled their fans in the 2013-14 season with a dream run that ended just short of their ultimate goal–another CIS championship banner. It’s now the start of the 2014-15 season, and this year’s Axemen are just as hungry.

After undergoing some roster turnover after last season, Acadia looked impressive in their first game of the season, a 4-0 win over the Dalhousie Tigers. On October 17, they welcomed the UPEI Panthers to the newly renamed Andrew H. McCain Arena in Wolfville. In their first game in Wolfville of the new campaign, Acadia defeated UPEI 3-1 in a game that went down to the wire.

The Axemen jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, with Alex Beaton and Travis Gibbons finding the net. The story of the period, however, was goaltender Brandon Glover. Glover made 12 saves in the frame, some of the spectacular variety. He weathered a five on three power play opportunity, kicked aside a two on one one time chance, and gave the Panthers fits all period long.

The Panther regrouped a bit in the second, managing to solve Glover once on a goal by Matthew Brenton. They drew within one goal, but couldn’t solve Glover again, despite several close calls. Acadia outshot UPEI by an 11-10 margin.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

AxemenGameSquare

AUS Regular Season hockey has finally returned to Wolfville! Your Acadia Axemen return to the ice in Wolfville for their season home opener tonight, as they host the UPEI Panthers. Game time is 7pm. This weekend is also Homecoming weekend at Acadia University, so get your tickets to the hockey game, and come on out and cheer on the team!

One item that has changed since their last regular season AUS game in Wolfville is the name of the Arena, which was formerly known as the Acadia Arena, has been renamed the Andrew H. McCain Arena. You will also notice many upgrades and renovations to the Arena, including new lighting, sound system, and wall materials. Another major addition you will surely notice is the walking track around the arena.

Arrive early to the game on Friday night, as prior to puck drop, a special ceremony will take place as the Axemen raise their 2014 Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Championship banner to the rafters of the arena.

Now onto the game! The Axemen are coming off a 4-0 win over the Dalhousie Tigers last Saturday night in Halifax, which saw their top line of Liam Heelis, Brett Thompson, and Mike Cazzola combine for 3 of Acadia’s 4 goals. The Panthers suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to UNB in Charlottetown on Saturday night, despite an outstanding performance in goal from Mavric Parks, as he turned away 39 of 42 shots he faced from UNB.

Parks will more than likely get the start on Friday night, while Acadia’s Brandon Glover, who shutout the Tigers, will likely get the nod for the Axemen.

Acadia will look to put their team speed and relentless work ethic to the forefront on the larger ice surface of the McCain Arena this weekend; characteristics that were clearly a factor in the retooling of this year’s team and recruitment of new players.

For those out of town, or who can’t make Friday’s game, the game can be watched live online at AUStv.ca , as always, Len Hawley will have the call of the game on AVR Radio, 97.7FM or online on avrnetwork.com. The Axemen return to the ice at home on Saturday night as they welcome the St. Thomas Tommies to town.

Posted on Posted in Game Recaps

Acadia Axemen down Dalhousie Tigers 4-0 in AUS Season Opener

Sam Fioretti shoots as the Axemen and Dal players battle in front of the net.
An Axemen forward battles for position with a Dal defender, on a shot from Acadia’s Sam Fioretti, Acadia won the game 4-0. (Photo Credit Nick Pierce)

The Axemen’s production line started off the season doing what they do best, produce. The top scoring line from a year ago of Liam Heelis, Mike Cazzola, and Brett Thompson picked right up from last year, scoring 3 of Acadia’s 4 goals, and leading the Axemen to a 4-0 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers.

The Axemen outshot the Tigers by a wide margin, with Acadia blasting 45 shots on goal, to Dal’s 16. The Tigers started rookie goaltender Corbin Boes in goal and he played very well, holding the Axemen at bay on many great powerplay chances.

Acadia went with second year goaltender Brandon Glover in goal, he recorded 16 saves for the shutout.

Coach Burns was pleased with the win, noting the battles were won in the trenches tonight saying, “It was a very tough opening game. Dal are vastly improved, they are well coached, can skate, and work hard. This game was a battle from start to finish.”

Acadia opened up the scoring just under 5 minutes into the game when Mike Cazzola fed a beautiful saucer pass through two Dal defenceman, to a streaking Brett Thompson who cradled the pass and put the puck past Boes. Travis Gibbons picked up the second assist on the play.

It looked like that would be the end of the scoring in the first period of play, until Scott Trask was able to find the back of the net with just 30 seconds remaining in the period. Dylan Anderson and rookie Remy Giftopolous picked up the assists on the goal that gave the Axemen a 2-0 lead.

At 6:36 over the 2nd period, Brett Thompson picked up his second marker of the night, taking a pass from Liam Heelis and sliding it home. Daniel Poliziani picked up the second assist on the play. That was the only goal of the second period.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Regular Season Opener: Dal Tigers Host the Acadia Axemen

1st regular season game of 2014-15 season
1st regular season game of 2014-15 season

It’s go time for the Acadia Axemen! Having been chomping at the bit to get back on the ice after their appearance at the CIS championships last March; the Axemen now begin the long journey to get back to the University Cup tournament, and gain a shot at redemption. Game 1 of the journey is the 2014-15 regular season opener for both the Acadia Axemen and Dalhousie Tigers, on Saturday at 7pm at the Halifax Forum.

Dal starts the season with 11 new faces, including former Moosehead Memorial Cup winner Brendan Duke.They will look to compete for a playoff position after finishing 8th in the AUS last season with a 3-24-1 record.

Tigers head coach Chris Donnelly believes that his team can make some noise this season, saying, “We are returning a strong core of character players and looking around the league, a lot of teams have lost some core players, so this could be a good year for us to move up in the standings.”

Team leader in points  from a year ago, (17 points) Fabian Walsh and Pierre-Alexandre Vandall will be heavily relied upon for scoring for Dalhousie. While third year netminder Wendell Vye will more than likely see action for Dal in goal.

The Axemen will look to match their AUS championship season of a year ago, which included a second place 21-4-3 record in the regular season.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Alumni News

Former Axemen Captain to play with Detroit’s Top Farm Club

Bruton1Former Acadia Axemen captain Chris Bruton will be suiting up this season for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. The Griffins are the top farm team of the Detroit Red Wings. Bruton attended the team’s training camp on a tryout and has made tonight’s opening day roster.

Bruton, who played last season with the New York Islanders AHL team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, is coming off an injury which limited him to just 41 games; during that time he did manage to rack up 91 penalty minutes and wore the Captaincy for Bridgeport. He skated alongside former Axemen teammate Andrew Clark with the Sound Tigers, while Andrew was called up from the East Coast League.

Chris was also named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Fairfield County community during the 2013-14 season, which includes participating in all types of community events, including hospital visits, on-ice hockey lessons and trips to local schools to discuss financial responsibility.

Prior to last season the hard nose, pesky forward spent a season and a half with the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL, notching 200 PIM’s in 107 games to go along with 15 points. At the time Peoria was the St. Louis Blues farm club. He had spent the first half of 2011-12 with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces before being recalled to the Rivermen.

Now age 27, the 5-foot-11 200 pound, Bruton, spent three season with Acadia from 2008-2010, playing a total of 69 regular season games and scoring 74 points for the Axemen, splitting the captaincy with Phillippe Bertrand.

Prior to joining the Axemen, the Calgary, Alberta native, was the captain of the 2008 Memorial Cup winning Spokane Chiefs.

To follow Chris’ season, check out griffinshockey.com, Best of luck this year for a great season Brutes!

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

MEDIA-DAY-14(HALIFAX, N.S.) – Atlantic University Sport stakeholders, fans and members of the media gathered today and yesterday at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax and the Crowne Plaza Moncton, respectively, to take part in the first annual AUS men’s hockey media days to kick off the 2014-15 season.

Head coaches Pat Powers (St. Thomas), Serge Bourgeois (Université de Moncton), Gardiner MacDougall (UNB) and Forbes MacPherson (UPEI) briefed media and fans in attendance in Moncton on this year’s teams and their expectations for the season.

In front of a Halifax audience, head coaches Trevor Stienburg (Saint Mary’s), Brad Peddle (StFX), Darren Burns (Acadia) and Chris Donnelly (Dalhousie) did the same.

Each of the eight coaches were joined by a pivotal player from the roster. Coaches and players took part in question and answer periods with media and other stakeholders.

2014 season preview interview with Darren Burns – Click Here
Season Preview – Important Facts – Click Here

Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

MH-ACA_Preview-2014(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) – The Acadia Axemen opened the 2013-14 season unranked in the CIS Top 10, but by the second week of regular the season they cracked the list at number eight after a perfect 4-0 start which extended into a 10 game streak without a loss in regulation time.

Ranked third in the country by the Holiday Break, the Axemen took the top spot in the AUS standings and established themselves as the team to beat in the Atlantic conference.

As the season closed out, the Axemen ended up in second place, trailing first place UNB by four points with a 21-4-3 record but securing quarter-final bye heading into the post-season.

A four-game victory in the best-of-five semifinal series against Moncton matched up the Axemen with the rival Saint Mary’s Huskies, who had knocked off the first place Varsity Reds.

Acadia went on to defeat the Huskies in the best-of-five final series to capture their first AUS championship since 2006 and the ninth Atlantic conference title in team history.

The championship team was rewarded with the prestigious selection of team captain Liam Heelis as the AUS and CIS Most Valuable University Hockey Player Award.

Heelis was also chosen as the AUS male representative for the coveted CIS BLG Award that honours one male and one female athlete as the top Canadian University Athlete of the Year.

The Axemen will open the 2014-15 regular season Saturday night in Halifax where they will take on the Dalhousie Tigers. Game time is at 7:00pm.Read more »

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Acadia knocks off No. 16 Huskies in exhibition play, 3-2

Axemen coach Darren Burns believed the weekend was a building block for his team saying, “It was a great weekend for our program. The team worked very hard, we played two very good teams in Northeastern and Quinnipiac. We need to make sure we use this to help us prepare to play next weekend.”

Athletics - ABOSTON – Zach Aston-Reese and Kevin Roy both scored for the No. 16 Northeastern men’s ice hockey team, but an Acadia goal midway through the third period sealed the victory for the Axemen in exhibition play on Sunday afternoon at Matthews Arena, 3-2.

The Huskies fought back in the final period to tie the game with 11:41 left in regulation, but Acadia fired right back with the eventual game-winning goal from Alex Beaton less than two minutes later.

Clay Witt (nine saves) and Derick Roy (15 saves) split time in goal for NU, which outshot Acadia 34-27 in the game. NU converted on one of its five power play opportunities in the game while holding the Axemen to an 0-of-4 showing on the man advantage.

NU came out and took control of the game early, outshooting the Axemen 11-7 and scoring the period’s lone goal midway through the frame. Aston-Reese created Northeastern’s first scoring chance of the afternoon when he broke through the Acadia defense and went in alone on Glover. Stephen Woodworth raced to catch up, and hauled down Aston-Reese in the act of shooting, resulting in a penalty shot being awarded to the Huskies.  Aston-Reese took the penalty shot, beating Glover five-hole for the score.

Acadia had a chance to tie the game on their lone power play of the frame when the power play unit collapsed in on Witt, but the NU defense stood tall in the final seconds of the minor penalty to Jake Schechter.

Garret Cockerill nearly put the Huskies up two late in the period with NU on the power play when he fired a shot through traffic that rang off the crossbar.Read more »