Category: Game Recaps

Acadia earns ever important point in loss

The Acadia Axemen’s 9 game win streak came to an end on Saturday evening at the hands of the U de M Aigles Bleus, when Moncton’s Danny Chiasson scored in overtime to give his team a 4-3 victory. The loss was despite a heroic third period comeback from Acadia, who were down 3-1 with just 5 minutes remaining in the third frame; they scored two late goals to push the game to overtime and earn an ever important point in the standings.

Moncton (8-9-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 12:38 of the first period when Thierry Comtois beat Acadia netminder Brandon Glover, with assists from Alex Emond and Joel Blanchard. Before the goal could finish being announced, the Aigles Bleus added a second goal just 1:15 later as Jean Francois Plante scored from Alex and Allain Saulnier. That’s the way the period ended, with the home team leading 2-0.

The Axemen had the only goal of the 2^nd period, when Travis Randell scored his fifth of the season, as he banged home a loose puck, past Moncton goaltender Adrien Lemay, cutting the U de M lead to 2-1. Taylor Makin and Chance Braid picked up the assists on the goal.

The Axemen, with great hopes of getting the equalizer as they came out for the third period, had the tables turned as it was Moncton who scored just :30 seconds into the period, as Jean Francois Plante scored his second on the night, with help from Allain Saulnier.Read more »

Axemen stretch win streak to 9 games

The Acadia Axemen (15-2-1) stretched their win streak to nine games, by narrowly defeating the St. Thomas Tommies (1-16-1) 3-2 on Friday night in Fredericton. Just a week after the Axemen routed the Tommies 7-2 in Wolfville, the home team was certain to not roll over in this game, as they put forth a spirited effort that came down to the very last second of the game to decide the final outcome.

The Axemen started 2^nd year netminder Robert Steeves in goal, his fourth start on the season, and his first since the holiday break; Steeves getting the start turned out to be a good decision as he turned away 33 of 35 shots from STU. Meanwhile the home team went with Tyson Teichmann, who put in a strong effort, stopping 26 of 29 Axemen shots, but most importantly he made a few key saves on the night that kept his team within striking distance.

The Axemen opened the scoring 2:20 of the opening period, when 2^nd year forward Boston Leier ripped home his 10^th goal on the season, with assists from Sam Fioretti and Geoff Schemitsch. But St. Thomas would answer on the powerplay, when JC Campagna blasted a one timer by Steeves to tie the game at one. Andrew Fritsch and Brendan Childerley had the helpers on the equalizer.

The Axemen took the lead back early in the 2^nd period, when Chance Braid scored his second goal in just his third AUS game. The goal was a powerplay marker at 2:59, with assists from Mike Cazzola and Brett Thompson.Read more »

Farrell & Randell each pot a pair, Makin with three assists

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen wrapped up the opening weekend of 2016 with a 8-2 win over the Moncton Aigles Bleus and extend their winning streak to 8 games.

The Axemen pulled out to a 4-0 lead after one period.

First year defenseman Brett Cote (Oakbank, Man.) opened the scoring in the first period on a shot from the near boards that caught the top corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

Just over eight minutes later Kyle Farrell (Howie Centre, N.S.) scored his first of two goals on a rebound from a Boston Leier (Saskatoon, Sask) shot from the top of the faceoff circle that was deflected by Sam Fioretti (Calgary, Alta.).

The Axemen pushed the lead to 3-0, when Travis Randell (Twillingate, Nfld.) scored his first of a two goal performance after a centering pass from Stephen Woodworth (Middleton, N.S.) gave Randell a shot from the slot that caught the top shelf.Read more »

Cazzola with 4 points, Thompson with a pair of goals

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The CIS No. 1 Ranked Acadia Axemen extended their winning streak to seven with a convincing 7-2 win over the visiting St. Thomas Tommies.

After a scoreless first period, fourth year forward Mike Cazzola (Guelph, Ont.) began the Axemen’s four unanswered goal fun of the second period.

Cazolla netted his 12th goal of the year off of a rebound from Geoff Schemitsch’s shot from the near point.

First year forward Kyle Farrell (Howie Centre, N.S.) scored a shorthanded goal on a great feed by Sam Fioretti (Calgary, Alta.) to give the Axemen a quick 2-0 lead after eleven minutes of play.

Newcomer Chance Braid (Wainwright, Alta.) scored his first goal of his CIS hockey career beating Tommie goaltender Tyson Teichmann (Belleville, Ont.) on a rebound from Brett Thompson’s (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) effort at the side of the net.

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Axemen score four third period goals for the win

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Tied at one after two periods, the CIS No. 4 Acadia Axemen netted four unanswered goals within six minutes in the third frame, handing the visiting Dalhousie Tigers a 5-1 loss on the eve of Rogers Hometown Hockey weekend in Wolfville. The loss is the third in a row for the Tigers, while the Axemen extend their winning streak to six.

Phil Gadoury (Montreal, Que.) scored the first and only goal for the Tigers at 14:24 in the first period.

Acadia didn’t get on the scoreboard until early in the second period on the man advantage when Geoff Schemitsch (Thornhill, Ont.) scored his first of two goals. Schemitsch’s wrist shot from under the blue line made it past a crowd in front of Tiger goaltender Corbin Boes (Saskatoon, Sask.) for Acadia’s first goal.

Out-shooting the Tigers 27-15 after two periods, the flood gates opened in the third. Fourteen seconds into the final frame, Brett Thompson (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) scored his seventh goal of the season assisted by Mike Cazzola (Guelph, Ont.). Thompson’s tough angle shot from the centre of the faceoff circle beat Boes on the short side.

Less than a minute later, fourth year forward Mike Cazzola scored his third goal in two games giving Acadia a 3-1 lead early in the third period. Cazzola’s goal was taken nearly at the same spot as Thompson’s preceding goal and was assisted by Thompson.

Remy Giftopoulos (Ancaster, Ont.) scored with 4:41 off the clock in the third frame to give the Axemen a commanding 4-1 lead. Giftopoulus pulled the puck out from behind the net and circled to the slot where he beat Boes high on the blocker side.Read more »

Cazzola nets two powerplay goals

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Riding a four game winning streak, the CIS No. 4 ranked Acadia Axemen extended it to five with a 3-1 win over the visiting Saint Mary’s Huskies.

Acadia’s Mike Cazzola (Guelph, Ont.) scored his first of two powerplay goals with under three minutes remaining in the opening period. Cazzola’s goal, his ninth of the season, was on a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle to give the Axemen a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.Read more »

Acadia moves into first place in the AUS

The Axemen flexed their offensive might on Saturday night, as they routed the STU Tommies (1-11-1) by a score of 12-2. The win was Acadia’s 4th straight victory, and coupled with a StFX loss, moved the Axemen (10-2-1) into first place in the AUS division; a single point ahead of both the X-Men and UNB.

The goals came fast and furious with Brett Thompson scoring just 50 seconds into the opening frame, and just 55 seconds later, Zach Franko made it 2-0. Mike Cazzola wristed a shot to the top corner behind Tommies starter Tyson Teichmann to make it 3-0. With Axemen defenceman, Liam Maaskant off for roughing, Travis Randell scored shorthanded, his second goal of the year, ending the scoring in the opening period.

St. Thomas came out in the 2nd peroid and got on the board when Rankyn Campbell banked a shot off of Axemen netminder Robert Steeves to cut the lead to 4-1. But Acadia extinguished any hope for the Tommies, scoring 5 straight goals, including Remy Giftopoulos, Michael Clarke, Daniel Pettersson, Mike Cazzola, & Brett Thompson added goals. It was Cazzola’s 2nd of the night and 8th of the year and Thompson’s second of the night and 6th on the season. Thompson’s goal was a powerplay marker. St. Thomas ended the period scoring, as Eric Diodati made it 9-2.

The third period saw the Axemen add three more to the scoreboard as Dylan Anderson scored his 4th on the year at 1:55, Boston Leier added his team leading 8th goal of the season, at 3 minutes, and rounding out the goals was Zach Franko scoring on a breakaway, his second marker of the game, and 5th of the season.

Robert Steeves picked up the win for Acadia, stopping 20 of 22 shots, while Tyson Teichmann took the loss for STU, stopping 18 of the 24 shots he faced, while backup Luke Lee-Knight stopped 8 of 14. Acadia outshot STU 38-22. The Axemen were 1 for 3 on the powerplay, while STU was 0 for 5.

All but one Axemen were credited with at least a point in the win, just Sam Fioretti was kept off the score sheet. Four Axemen notched 4 points, including Zachery Franko, Remy Giftopoulos, Mike Cazzola, and Brett Thompson. See the complete game boxscore here.

The Axemen now head home for the final two games prior to the study and holiday break. They will face the Saint Mary’s Huskies on Wednesday night, and the Dalhousie Tigers on Friday night. Friday night’s game will be a part of the Rogers Sportsnet Hometown Hockey Tour which will take place all weekend in Wolfville. Check out all of the event details here!

Acadia scores 3 in the third to defeat U de M

It’s not the way Acadia Axemen head coach Darren Burns would prefer to get the wins, but the Acadia Axemen are making comebacks looks easy and normal as of late. Acadia came into the third period in Moncton, trailing the host Aigles Bleus 3-1 and killing a penalty. When the final buzzer rang, the Axemen were victorious 4-3.

Moncton scored the only goal of the first period when Danny Chiasson put the puck past Axemen goaltender Brandon Glover and into the net at 15:42. Acadia controlled much of the play in the first period but were stymied by U de M netminder Brandon Thibeau, who turned aside all 16 shots the Axemen fired his way. Many were grade A scoring chances.

Moncton padded their lead in the second period at 12:34 when Alex Emund converted a nice three way passing play with the Saulnier brothers to make it 2-0. Acadia answered back at 14:41, when Zachary Franko went for a wrap around and banked the puck off of Thibeau and into the net, to cut the lead to 2-1. But the Aigles Bleus wasted no time getting their two goal lead back as Alex Saulnier converted another three way passing play just 55 seconds later to go back up 3-1. Moncton took that lead into the intermission.

Acadia got the spark they needed at the 3:00 mark of the third period when Brett Thompson scored on the powerplay, taking a pass from Franko and beating Thibeau to cut the lead to one. Matt Pufahl picked up the secondary assist on the goal.

The Axemen found a way to tie the game at 14:25 when Boston Leier found a loose puck infront of the net and made no mistake to square the game at three. Michael Clarke had the only assist on the goal.Read more »

Farrell the OT hero for the 2^nd time in as many nights

It was quite a weekend for the Acadia Axemen. To start, it was Acadia Axemen Family Appreciation weekend, with 17 of the players’ families in town to spend the weekend together, attend team events, and watch their son’s play.

It was also Acadia Hockey Honour Roll induction weekend, which had Axemen alumni standouts Paul Doherty, Brian Casey, Malcolm Cameron and long-time Axemen support staff David Beach joining the Honour Roll of the most influential Axemen of all-time.

Couple those two events, with the fact that on Friday night, the team was down 3-1 in the second period to the CIS #1 ranked UNB Varsity Reds, but instead of putting up the white flag, they battled back and defeated the Reds in overtime; the emotion of the weekend was already draining.

Well the Axemen decided to add another layer of excitement to the weekend on Saturday night! Facing the UPEI Panthers, the opposition took a 5-4 lead with just 52 second remaining in the third, and it looked like the Axemen luck had run out, but Mike Cazzola found a way to even the score with just 18 seconds remaining to send the game to an extra frame. And that’s where Kyle Farrell did what he has done an unprecedented three times already this year, and added a fourth, by scoring the overtime winner to send the Acadia Axemen fans and families home happy with a 6-5 Axemen win!

UPEI got on the board first, with Brock Beukeboom scoring on the powerplay at 4:11 of the opening period. The Axemen responded quickly, however, as Remy Giftopoulos scored his first of the season, just 1:27 later to square the game at 1. That held up until late in the period when Mike Cazzola found a loose puck in front of the net and slid it under a fallen Mavric Parks, the Panthers netminder, to give Acadia the 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

The Axemen seemed to pour it on and take control of the game in the second period, until an unfortunate miscommunication on the powerplay led to a UPEI shorthanded goal, by Mason Wilgosh. Axemen netminder Brandon Glover and first year defenceman Brett Cote got their signals crossed, leaving a puck in front of the net for Wilgosh to slap into the Axemen goal. With the Axemen trying to sort that out, they took a penalty sending the Panthers to the powerplay, where the visitors again took advantage of an Axemen mistake. Acadia had the puck as rearguard Matt Pufahl attempted a cross ice saucer pass that Chad Labelle knocked down, went in on a breakaway, and made no mistake, giving UPEI a 3-2 lead. Leaving the Axemen fans stunned at the turn of events.Read more »