Category: Game Recaps

McFadden with 3 points in Acadia win

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (1-0-0) opened their regular season on a high note, securing a 5-2 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers (0-0-1) on Friday night.

On a night that saw the home crowd pay tribute to Acadia captain Garrett McFadden before the game, the defenceman also took home Subway First Star of the Game honours with a goal and two assists.

Dalhousie got on the board early in the first period, thanks in part to a full 2-minute 5-on-3 power-play.

Darien Kleib, who also nabbed second star of the night honours, scored on a wrist shot from inside the right face-off circle, which he rifled into the top left corner of the net to make it 1-0 for the Tigers.

Acadia responded with a beautiful goal from forward Loch Morrison with 7:48 left to play in the first. Defenceman Garrett McFadden carried the puck into the zone for Acadia and dangled past a Tigers defender before sliding the puck to Loch Morrison in front of the net, where he tucked it five-hole to tie the game at 1-1.

By the end of the first period, the shots were 10-6 for Acadia.

McFadden spiced things up for Acadia early in the second with an incredible solo effort to put the Axemen ahead 2-1. After breaking into the offensive zone with a 2-on-1 opportunity, McFadden slipped around the Dalhousie defender and roofed a backhand shot to make it 2-1.

Brett Crossley answered for Dalhousie late in the second period with a sneaky shot thrown past a diving Axemen goalie to tie the game at 2-2.

However, the Dalhousie lead was short-held, as Acadia recaptured the lead less than two minutes later. Peyton Hoyt was parked in front of the net, where he picked up his own rebounded tip shot and tucked it under the sprawling Tigers goalie to put Acadia up 3-2.

Logan Flodell made a pair of unbelievable saves for the Axemen in the second period. In both cases, Flodell threw himself across the net and somehow keeping the puck out both times while laying on his back.

Heading into the third period, the Axemen held a 21-15 lead in shots.

Acadia sealed the game with two unanswered goals in the third from third star of the night Jack Flaman and Tyler Hinam.

The Axemen capitalized on an early power-play in the third period to double up on the Tigers. Thanks to a huge point shot rebound, forward Jack Flaman – parked by the right side of the net – was able to slam the puck over the goal line to take a 4-2 lead for Acadia.

Hinam sealed the game for Acadia with an empty-net goal with just under two minutes left in the game.

The game took an unfortunate turn with under a minute to play, as a full line brawl broke out between the two teams that led to a combined 19 penalty minutes.

Acadia went 1-for-4 on the power-play, while Dalhousie went 1-for-7 on the night.

Logan Flodell turned aside 27 of 29 shots for Acadia, while Dalhousie goalie Connor Hicks stopped 29 of 33 shots.

Acadia will be on the road Saturday, Oct. 9 against the StFX X-Men and Wednesday, Oct. 13 against the UNB Reds before returning home Friday, Oct. 15 to face off against the Moncton Aigles Bleus. Dalhousie next plays Saturday, Oct. 9 at home against the Saint Mary’s Huskies.

Provided by Josh Foote, Acadia Athletics Communications

Colella with two assists for Acadia

WOLFVILLE, N.S – For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Acadia Axemen played in front of fans in the Andrew H. McCain Arena. Despite a strong effort from Acadia, they dropped their first exhibition game of the season to the Saint Mary’s Huskies 4-3 in OT.

Saint Mary’s opened the scoring early, with a beautiful passing play that was finished by forward – and second star of the night – Dennis Busby when he cut in front of the net and tipped a pass under the crossbar.

Acadia responded late in the period with a goal from Subway First Star of the Night Mason McCarty to tie the game. McCarty scored after picking up a rebound in front of the net and shovelling it past the sprawling goaltender to make it 1-1.

By the end of the first period, the shots were 14-10 for the Axemen.

The Huskies were quick to break the tie in the second, as Nathan Dunkley broke in wide on the left and rifled a snapshot into the top right corner to make it 2-1.

Adam McMaster answered for the Axemen at the midpoint of the second period. Maurizio Colella got the puck in front of the net and pushed it out to McMaster, who threw it past the screened Huskies goalie into the wide-open right side of the net to knot the game at 2-2.

Despite opportunities on both sides, including a mad scramble in front of the Huskies net with multiple scoring chances that led to an Axemen power-play, the game remained tied heading into the final frame.

By the end of the second period Acadia pulled ahead in the shot department, leading 25-16.

While the game remained deadlocked for the first half of the final period, the tie was broken with 10:13 left to play in the final period on a goal from forward Loch Morrison.

Morrison took a pass from behind the net and fired it past the Saint Mary’s tender to give Acadia their first lead of the game.

Yet, the Huskies were determined to stay in the game, as they tied it late in the frame on a point shot from defenceman Zachary Hoffman wired past a diving Flodell.

A highlight of the third period came when Axemen goalie Logan Flodell dove across his crease to rob a sure Huskies goal with his blocker and glove.

With the game tied at the end of regulation, the Axemen and Huskies headed to a 5-minute 3-on-3 OT.

Although Acadia had multiple scoring opportunities in the extra frame, it was Huskies defenceman – and third star of the night – Cedric Ralph who ended the game on a 2-on-1. Ralph redirected a pass from Busby off his leg and into the net for the game-winner.

Axemen goaltender Logan Flodell turned aside 16 of 20 shots, while his Saint Mary’s counterpart Matt Welsh stopped 35 of 38 shots.

Acadia plays three more exhibition games before kicking off their regular season against the Dalhousie Tigers on Oct. 8 in Wolfville. The Axemen are in Fredericton, NB this Friday night to take on host UNB.

🎥 ICYMI MHOC | Exhibition Final:@axemenhockey 3.@SMUHuskies 4 OT.
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👉 #Axemen head to Fredericton vs UNB on Friday – 7pm.
Watch live on https://t.co/NNVvWGCJvG .
.#GoAcadiaGo #BackInAxeTion #Hockey #AUSHockey #Recap pic.twitter.com/3UWAvRVzD8

— Acadia Athletics (@AcadiaAthletics) September 22, 2021

Submitted by Josh Foote
Acadia Athletics Communications

A familiar face, Scott Trask, joins the hockey staff

This past year was a challenge for all university sport hockey teams and for the Axemen it was no different, however it was the program’s philosophy not to make excuses and move ahead to get better wherever possible.

The addition of alumnus Scott Trask, as the strength and conditioning coach, has proven to be a crucial step in this season’s preparation. “Scottie has been a huge addition for our program. We are fortunate that many recent alumni are deciding to make the Annapolis Valley their home and we are extremely fortunate he made this choice as well”, explained head coach Darren Burns.

“It’s pretty simple he has never underachieved as a person or a player and has always been on successful teams. He has always been a committed teammate and person. You can’t go wrong with adding a person with these qualities. I learned a lot from coaching him and as a staff we knew he would be a huge addition for our program.”

Trask, a native of Bonavista, Newfoundland, played 3 seasons with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL, winning the league title in 2009-10. He finished up his junior career by captaining the Summerside Western Capitals Junior A to a MJAHL championship in 2012-13. He then joined the Acadia Axemen from 2013-2017 notching 15 points in 84 regular season games. He won back-to-back SPHL championships with the Huntsville Havoc in 2017-18/2018-19. Scott also suited up for 2 games in the ECHL with his hometown Newfoundland Growlers in their expansion season of 2018-19.

We asked Scott about what it meant to be back with the Acadia hockey program and his focus in his new role, he said, “I’m very thankful for the opportunity to give back to a program that gave me so much during my time as an Axemen.  It means a lot to be in this role as it is something that I’m passionate about and take great pride in.  In my role, my focus for the team is to get the athletes game ready and help prepare them to compete for a National Championship.”

Coach Burns added, “Scott was raised to work hard and to be a leader and he brings this same type of mentor ship to our players. The reality is these players need the best resources to be the best players and people they can be if they want to be winners. As a staff you need to utilize different resources and that’s where Scott has been huge in our players off season training. We are lucky here in the Valley, as many players found employment here this summer and we are thankful to the many local businesses who have supported them, so that they could stay here this summer to get ready for the upcoming season.”

The Axemen would also like to recognize Josh Nowlan, their student strength & conditioning coach, who did an excellent job this past winter with the players.

5 different goal scorers in Acadia win

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – After a prolonged wait – and without the usual deafening fanfare – the Acadia Axemen returned to the Andrew H. McCain Arena for the first time in roughly a year to face off against the Dalhousie Tigers in a 5-3 win.

Despite falling down 2-0 in the first period and a late push from the Tigers, Acadia used their three unanswered goals in the second and beginning of the third to get their first win of 2021.

The Axemen first hit the ice in a 6-4 loss to the Saint Mary’s Huskies. This game is part of an exhibition series between the Axemen, the Tigers, and the Huskies.

The Tigers kicked off the scoring early, taking a 1-0 lead twenty seconds into the period on a goal from Chandler Yakimowicz.

Yakimowicz scored on a controversial play, as defenceman Christian Huntley threw a puck on net after appearing to step offside. Huntley’s shot came to Yakimowicz in front of the net and he tapped it in to make it 1-0.

Dalhousie doubled their lead at 10:22 in the first, when Matt Green notched a power-play marker. Green came into the offensive zone with a burst of speed, took a pass from Campbell Pickard and ripped a shot into the top right corner to make it 2-0.

The Tigers took their 2-0 lead into the second period, while leading in shots 9-7.

The second period saw the Axemen tie the game on goals from two rookies.Read more »

Southam nets 2 for Acadia in loss

HALIFAX, NS — The Saint Mary’s Huskies got goals from six different players and new goaltender Matthew Welsh (Halifax, NS) made 22 saves in his AUS debut to knock off the high-powered Acadia Axemen 6-4 in exhibition play at the Dauphinee Centre on Friday night.

It was the first game that either team had played in nearly a full calendar year – as the AUS season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent alleviation of some restrictions by the Nova Scotia government afforded Saint Mary’s the opportunity to host this exhibition – which felt like anything but.

The first period saw a mostly choppy affair as both teams attempted work off the 11 months of “rink rust” and get adjusted to playing at higher pace. After an extended stretch of scoreless play – which saw SMU kill off a penalty – Keith Getson (Bridgewater, NS) took a cross-seam pass from new captain Alexander Peters (Blyth, ONT) and one-timed a shot over the trapper of Acadia netminder Logan Flodell (Regina, SK) to break the deadlock. Huskies newcomer Cedric Ralph (Peterborough, ONT) also drew a secondary assist on the goal.

Late in the frame, the Huskies would take another penalty, and on the ensuing penalty kill, SMU goaltender Matthew Welsh had to stand tall and make two or three sensational saves in tight to maintain the Huskies lead.

The second stanza was an offensive tug-of-war as both teams traded scoring opportunities and goals. Acadia drew even early in the period after a fabulous passing play which saw Mason McCarty (Blackie, Alta) feed Johnny Corneil (Lindsay, ONT) who converted to make it 1-1. Shortly thereafter, Saint Mary’s took a delay of game penalty which enabled the Axemen to take the lead off a deft tip-in by Rodney Southam (Saskatoon, SK) to make it 2-1 visitors.

The Huskies then had a golden opportunity to knot it up with two Axemen in the box – but failed to convert. However, not long after the penalties expired, SMU would strike on a nice cross-crease feed from Bradey Johnson (Lindsay, ONT) to Logan DeNoble (Peterborough, ONT) to square things at two.

Last season’s Rookie of the Year – and SMU’s leading scorer – Mitchell Balmas (Sydney, NS) got a fortunate bounce as his cross-crease feed for Cedric Ralph (Peterborough, ONT) hit a skate and slid by Flodell’s pad to make it 3-2 Huskies.

However, just nine seconds later – off of the ensuing faceoff – Acadia would draw even when Rodney Southam would score his second of the frame into an empty cage after Matthew Welsh was caught out of position after a great bit of patience by Eric Henderson (Kingsville, ONT) who then dished out front to an open Southam.

Tied at three going into the third period, the Huskies attempted to apply the pressure to the Axemen – which resulted in several Acadia icings in the early going of the closing 20. Eventually, the pressure paid dividends as defenceman Walter Flower (Lunenburg, NS) hammered a shot from the point and forward Jake Durham (Port Perry, ONT) poked home the loose change to put the Huskies up 4-3.

About six minutes later, the Huskies would take their first two goal lead of the game when Joel Bishop (St. John’s, NFLD) picked off an errant Acadia pass and went in all alone on Flodell – and deked out the netminder for a highlight-reel goal.

Just 26 seconds later, the Axemen would close the deficit to one when Cristiano Digiacinto (Hamilton, ONT) caught Welsh out of position and tucked home a wrap-around to make it 5-4.

But that’s as close as the Axemen would get on this night – as Cedric Ralph directed in a cross-seam pass from Getson to make it 6-4 with less than five minutes left in regulation.

Courtesy of Drew McConnell, SMU Communications

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Third and deciding game goes Friday night in Fredericton

WOLFVILLE N.S. – The University of New Brunswick Reds forced a game three to decide the AUS Championship with a 6-0 win over the Acadia Axemen, backstopped by a solid performance from Samuel Harvey in goal.

Cristiano Digiacinto noted that the bounces didn’t go their way in tonight’s game.

“I felt we came out and did what we had to do, had a couple of unlucky bounces that didn’t go our way and we really kept it going. The second period was completely ours. I felt we were in their end the whole time. It’s just unfortunate the bounces didn’t go our way.”

The Reds were first to get the lead in a must-win game for them. Samuel Dove-McFalls capitalized on his chance after a strong net drive from Stephen Anderson resulted in the open net opportunity for Dove-McFalls. The goal was also assisted by Patrick Watling and came just shy of four minutes into the opening period.

UNB struck again with 7:32 remaining in the first. Forward Mark Rassell doubled the Reds’ lead after the Axemen goaltender had trouble controlling the rebound of Matt Boucher’s shot, and Rassell slid the loose puck underneath Flodell from the edge of the crease. The goal came just a second after concluding a powerplay and was also assisted by Matt Murphy.

The Reds led 2-0 after the first period of play.Read more »

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