Category: Game Recaps

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Harper & Corneil Score for Acadia

HALIFAX, NS – In their first meeting of the season, the Saint Mary’s Huskies stopped a two game losing streak with a 4-2 win against the Acadia Axemen in AUS men’s hockey action at the Halifax Forum.  

The game started off at a good pace, and it was the Axemen who struck first at 7:56 into the first period. Defense, Marc McNulty had some room and made his way slowly through the neutral zone before crossing with Stephen Harper (Burlington, ON) at the top of the slot. Harper’s one-timer beat SMU goalie Eric Brassard (St. Hubert, QC) for Harper’s fifth goal of the season. 

After taking a couple of penalties, the Huskies went on the power play late in the period and found the equalizing goal. With traffic in front of the net, a shot from Nicholas Welsh (Halifax, NS) was deflected by an Acadia defence. Goalie Logan Flodell (Regina, SK) made a pad save but Logan Denoble (Peterborough, ON) was there to tap home the rebound for the Huskies. Hunter Garlent (Thorold, ON) also picked up an assist on the play. 

The teams headed into the break tied 1-1, with the Axemen having better scoring chances. Saint Mary’s struggled to control the play in the first period, with passes hitting skates and shots getting deflected away from the net. 

The second period looked very different, with SMU coming out much sharper. They dominated, leading Acadia 21-7 in shots during the second frame. 

Four minutes into the period, Bronson Beaton (Springhill, NS) was nearly at the Acadia goal line and buried a sharp angle wrist shot upstairs to take a 2-1 lead for the Huskies.  

The Axemen had some good chances on their third power play of the night after Welsh was sent to the box for a high stick. The closest they came was a nice shot from Jackson Houck (Delta, BC) and Brassard had to stretch to make the save with his toe. 

The Huskies nearly scored several minutes later, sending a puck across the crease. Flodell couldn’t get across in time, leaving the net wide open, and Axemen defense TJ Fergus (Oakville, ON) was forced to take a hooking penalty to save a sure goal. 

SMU couldn’t convert on the power play and the period ended with the Huskies ahead 2-1. They added two more goals in quick succession in the opening minutes of the third period. 

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Corneil nets two goals for Acadia

Story courtesy of StFX Athletics

Antigonish, NS – The StFX X-Men and Acadia Axemen needed a shootout to decide their Friday night game at the Charles V. Keating Centre and it was the home team X-Men who came out on top with the 4-3 win.

Third year X-Men forward Matt Needham (Penticton, BC) was credited with the game winning goal in the shootout for the X-Men as he went five-hole on Dawson Carty (Burlington, ON). The win lifted the X-Men (7-2-2) into a first place tie with UNB in the AUS standings. The Axemen (3-6-1) drop to sixth spot.

The opening period of the game saw the visitors get out to a 2-1 lead as both goals came off the stick of Johnny Cornell (Lindsay, ON). Holden Cook (Oshawa, ON) scored the X-Men goal on the power play after he went end-to-end and split the Axemen defense for a partial break.

Mark Tremaine (Dartmouth, NS) and Adam Holwell (St. John’s, NL) netted second period goals for StFX as they took a 3-2 lead into second intermission, Howell’s goal came on the power play.

The Axemen fought to get back in the game and forward Rodney Southam (Saskatoon, SK) tied the game up just over eight minutes into the third period as he tallied for Acadia.Read more »

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Farrell with the winner for Acadia

Wolfville, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (3-6-0) snapped their four-game losing skid on Tuesday night against the Dalhousie Tigers (1-9-0) with a 2-1 victory. It was an incredibly close game throughout and it was not until midway through the third period that the Axemen took their final lead of the game thanks to a goal from Subway First Star of the Night, Kyle Farrell.

Acadia opened the scoring incredibly early, with a marker from forward Stephen Harper.

Harper came out of his zone with speed and came down the middle carrying the puck. Harper cut into the offensive zone and fired a wrist shot into the top left corner of the net to make it 1-0.

Dalhousie tied the game almost two minutes before the half-way point of the first when forward Jonathan Cyr – who was wide-open in front of the Axemen net – took a pass from Jackson Playfair and buried the puck to tie the game at 1-1.

By the end of the first period, the shots were 12-4 for Dalhousie.

Neither team could break the tie in the second period, as the game remained tied 1-1 heading into the third period

Acadia was unable to take advantage of multiple power-plays in the period, going 0-for-4 in the second period.

By the end of the second period, the shots were 15-14 for Dalhousie.

Acadia forward Kyle Farrell broke the tie early in the third on a partial breakaway.Read more »

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Colella, Southam, Foss with Axemen Goals

Story By UPEI’s Thomas Becker 

The UPEI Panthers lit up the Acadia Axemen Saturday night and in the middle of all the action was sophomore forward Filip Rydstrom, who single-handedly outscored the Axemen with four goals in an 8-3 win.

Joining him on the score sheet were Nick Shumlanski, Riley Whittingham, Gabe Guertler and Kameron Kielly, who also recorded two assists on the night. Owen Headrick and Cody Payne chipped in with a pair of assists as well.

Rydstrom’s career night was a welcome sight, as the skilled forward makes an already deadly offence even more threatening. After the game, head coach Forbes MacPherson said he moved Rydstrom back to his natural centre position this season after a subpar rookie campaign, where he finished with four goals and an assist – the same numbers he accumulated on Saturday.Read more »

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Reds score four powerplay goals

FREDERICTON, NB – Tyler Boland (St. John’s, NL) had two goals and two assists as the U SPORTS No. 1 ranked UNB Reds defeated the Acadia Axemen 7-0 on Friday night.

The Reds improve to 7-0 with the win, while the Axemen drop to 2-5. 

Kris Bennett (Brampton, ON) also had a strong showing with two goals and an assist. 

The Reds had all the momentum early, putting six shots on net before the Axemen could muster one. 

The Reds pace caused the Axemen to commit all sorts of turnovers, keeping most of the play in the Acadia end. 

With the Reds on the power–play, Mark Rassell (Calgary, AB) took a shot from the slot that bounced right to a wide-open Matthew Boucher (Los Angeles, CA) who put it in a gaping net to put UNB up 1-0. 

The Reds power–play would pay off again with Bennett feeding a textbook pass in front to Boland, who put away the Reds second goal to make it 2-0. 

The Reds would keep the pressure on in the second period, and just 5:41 in, Cam Brace (Etobicoke, ON) put the puck five-hole on Axemen goaltender Logan Flodell (Regina, SK) to extend UNB’s lead to 3-0. 

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Houck, Southam, & Harper Tally for Axemen

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – For the second night in a row, the Acadia Axemen (2-4) were unable to stage a late comeback, this time against the UPEI Panthers (3-3), who left Wolfville with a 5-3 win.

Despite leading in shots for the entire game and going 3-for-6 on the power-play, the Axemen did not hold a lead at any point in the game.

UPEI got off to an early start with a goal from forward Gabe Guertler.

Guertler came from behind the Axemen net and jammed the puck in on the right post to give the Panthers a quick 1-0 lead.

The Panthers added to their lead a few minutes later with a power-play marker from forward Sam Aulie.

Aulie took a pass in front of the Axemen net from defenceman Doug Blaisdell and lifted the puck over the right shoulder of the Acadia goalie to make it 2-0.

By the end of the first period, the shots were 10-7 for the Axemen.

The Axemen got on the scoreboard just before the midway point in the second with a power-play marker from forward Jackson Houck.Read more »

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Southam with lone Axemen goal

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (2-3-0) were unable to mount a comeback against the undefeated UNB Reds (5-0-0) on Friday night, as they lost 2-1. Although the teams were evenly matched for most the game, UNB dominated the third period to take the win.

Despite chances on both sides, the first period was a scoreless affair. UNB dominated the play early in the period, but Acadia eventually found their footing before the midway point of the first.

By the end of the first period, the shots were 12-9 for the Axemen.

UNB broke the scoreless tie with a shorthanded marker in the second period from Reds forward Samuel Dove-McFalls.

Dove-McFalls buried the puck into the empty net after the Axemen goalie fell over and let go of the loose puck, making it 1-0 for UNB.

The Axemen responded just under six minutes later when they tied the game off a goal from Acadia forward, Rodney Southam.

Southam scored off a weird bounce like McFalls’ goal, as the puck ricocheted off the glass behind the net and bounced in front where Southam potted it to make it 1-1.

By the end of the second period, the shots were 22-19 for the Axemen.

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Flodell with 26 saves in victory

WOLFVILLE, N.S – The Acadia Axemen (2-2) gave the home crowd something to cheer for on Homecoming Weekend in Wolfville, as they defeated the Dalhousie Tigers (1-3) 6-3 on Friday night. The game was a back and forth for most of the 60 minutes – including 4 lead changes – but Acadia pulled away in the third period with four goals coming in the final frame.

Acadia opened the scoring just before the midway point of the first, with a power-play from rookie TJ Fergus.

Fergus took a pass in front from forward Ryan Foss and buried the puck into the wide-open net for the first goal of his USports career to make it 1-0 for the Axemen.

Dalhousie responded with two of their own, with both goals coming from Aiden Jamieson.

Jamieson came streaking into the offensive zone, got the Axemen goalie moving to the right and then slid a low shot into the left corner of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

Just over two minutes later, the Tigers added another goal on a beautiful toe drag wrist shot from Jamieson at the left face-off circle in the offensive zone, which beat the Axemen goaltender high glove side.

Despite Acadia leading 11-9 in shots by the end of the first, the Tigers took a 2-1 lead into the second.

Although both sides had their chances during the second, it was a mostly uneventful period until Axemen forward Stephen Harper tied the game up late in the period.

Harper burst in with less than eight minutes to play in the second, muscling his way past the Tigers defense where he waited out the Tigers goalie and flipped the puck over his left pad to tie the game at 2-2.

By the end of the second period, the shots were 29-20 for the Axemen.Read more »

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Colella notches 2 points in loss

Photo by Rachel Drummond

ANTIGONISH, N.S. – The StFX X-Men outplayed the Acadia Axemen Wednesday evening at the Charles V. Keating Centre, besting the visitors 5-2 after an intense, physical game that saw a combined 74 minutes of penalties incurred. 

Freshman goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon, a native of local Antigonish, N.S. guided the X-Men to their first win of the season and the first of his AUS career, posting 25 saves and earning the game’s second star honour. 

StFX opened the scoring early, just 1:33 into play, when Subway player of the game and first star Bryson Cianfrone (Stoney Creek, ON)  found the back of the net after taking advantage of his position in the slot. StFX managed to hold the line and keep play in the Axemen zone, despite several failed clearing attempts. Assisting on Cianfrone’s snapshot goal was Matt Needham (Penticton, BC). 

The X-Men kept the momentum going, scoring six and a half minutes later. William Bower (Saint John, NB) passed the puck behind the net to Adam Laishram (Ashburn, ON) who took the initial shot on goal. Lane Cormier (Hopewell, NS) capitalized on the rebound bringing the score to 2-0. 

Acadia answered StFX’s goal at 11:52 with a shot that rang off the post behind Mann-Dixon. Michael Zipp (Edmonton, AB) took a shot from the slot that bounced off the post, Jackson Houck (Delta, BC) captured the rebound and scored off a backhanded shot. Third star of the evening Maurizio Colella (Tottenham, ON) was also credited with an assist on the goal.  

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