Category: Game Recaps

Acadia Falls Short to UNB, Downed 2-0

The UNB Varsity Reds came to Wolfville on February 15 with one thing in mind…securing first place in the AUS hockey standings.  As the season progressed, it became more and more clear that first place in the AUS conference would come down to one game, as the Acadia Axemen and UNB Varsity Reds battled each other all season for the top spot.  It had all the making of a classic.  Acadia…led by forward Liam Heelis in scoring, but having to face UNB without the AUS leading scorer in Heelis in the lineup.  UNB…having battled the Axemen hard all season.  The stage was set for a game for the ages.

The UNB Varsity Reds jumped at the Axemen, but Acadia held firm, starting goalie Evan Mosher made some in tight saves, and the Axemen weathered the early storm.  They then took the play to the Reds, outshooting them 9-5 in the period, but were unable to solve UNB starting netminder Charles Lavigne.  Lavigne made several key saves in the period, the most notable coming during the man advantage, as he bailed out his power play unit with several stops.  When the dust settled at the final buzzer of the first, the score read 0-0. Read more »

Axemen Victory Sets Up Winner Take All Final Game

The Acadia Axemen and the UNB Varsity Reds have been battling each other all season for first place in the AUS conference.  It seems only fitting that it comes down to the final game of the regular season.

The Axemen secured their place in this regular season classic by dumping the Moncton Blue Eagles 5-2 in Wolfville.  After a scoreless first period, the Axemen went to work.  Playing without leading scorer Liam Heelis, the Axemen still jumped out to a three goal lead on goals by Dylan Anderson, Brett Thompson, and KC Brown.  Acadia ruled the rink in both goals and shots, much to the delight of the Wolfville crowd.  At the end of two periods, the shots read 23-12 in favor of Acadia, and the Axemen seemingly had the game well in hand.  With UNB holding a sizeable lead in their own AUS action against the Dalhousie Tigers, the date with destiny seemed set.

Not so fast.

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Axemen Continue to Roll with 6-1 Win Over Dalhousie

The Acadia Axemen continue to roll towards a date with destiny.  That destiny is a meeting with the UNB Varsity Reds in their last regular season game, a game that has huge implications for first overall in the conference. It’s a game that promises to have a major impact on the AUS playoff picture.

But first, the Dalhousie Tigers stood in the way.

The Axemen proved why the Tigers were no more than a speed bump on the road to first place.  They dropped the Tigers with a resounding 6-1 victory on home ice February 8, outshooting them 48-18, including a 22-5 edge in the first period.  It was a barrage that resulted in a 3-0 Acadia lead after the opening frame.

The CIS fourth ranked Axemen made a statement to UNB that they will keep pace with them, as UNB also won their game, 4-0 over Moncton.  They currently sit two points back of UNB in the standings.Read more »

Axemen Begin Playoff Stretch With Win Over Huskies

It was a special night at the Halifax Forum on February 7, as the St. Mary’s Huskies honored one of their own.  The Huskies’ hockey team donned special jerseys to honor Tom Lee, their long time assistant coach, who has battled lymphoma, a form of cancer.  In a night designed to bring support for Tom and awareness to defeat this horrible disease, the Huskies raised thousands of dollars to research a cure.

Once the puck dropped, it was apparent that the Huskies were on a mission.  But that mission was put on hold for a lengthy delay, as the glass broke in the Axemen end.  Once that was fixed, the Huskies quickly went up 2-0.  In a game in which they were fighting for their playoff lives, everything was going the Huskies’ way.Read more »

Acadia Rebounds From UPEI Loss In A Big Way

It appears as though the Acadia Axemen needed a wakeup call.

The Axemen played back to back home games this weekend, facing the UPEI Panthers on Friday night, then taking on the St. Thomas University Tommies on Saturday evening.  After being unceremoniously dumped 5-2 on home ice by UPEI, and suffering their third loss in five games, something had to give.

Unfortunately for St. Thomas, they were in the wrong spot at the wrong time.  The Acadia offence roared to life, eager to make amends for their recent slide.  The Axemen built a 6-0 lead before St. Thomas managed any offence.  They made it 6-2, but Acadia snuffed out any hope of a comeback, scoring twice more and rolling over the Tommies 8-3 in the end.

Mike Cazzola led the scoring with a four point night – a goal and three assists.  Brett Thompson added a goal and two assists, with Liam Heelis, Michael Clarke, Chris Owens, KC Brown, Taylor Makin, and Geoffrey Schemitsch rounding out the scoring.  Evan Mosher only faced 22 shots, but was solid when needed, squelching any hope of a ST. Thomas comeback after they scored two quick goals in the second.Read more »

Panthers hand CIS No. 4 Axemen 3rd loss in last 5 games

story courtesy of hockey.acadiau.ca

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The CIS No. 4 ranked Acadia Axemen continued to struggle with the UPEI Panthers, losing to the Panthers for the second time in four regular season matchups.  With a 5-2 loss to the Panthers, Acadia drops to sole possession of second place in the AUS standings.

Acadia had several chances, hitting the net a total of 49 times, but the Subway First Star of the Game, Mavric Park, stood tall making numerous acrobatic saves and stealing the win for the Panthers.

Evan Mosher registered only his fourth loss of the season, allowing four goals on 27 shots.

UPEI opened the scoring late in the first when fourth year forward Reginaldo Traccitto pounced on a give-away and capitalized on the opportunity, going upstairs over the glove of Evan Mosher, ringing it off the cross bar and in. Traccitto also added an empty net goal with 92 second remaining in the game, whose effort was good enough for the Third Star of the Game award.Read more »

Despite spectacular goaltending from X-Men Owsley, Axemen prevail

A hot goalie can often mean the difference between victory and defeat.  On Saturday night, this was painfully evident to the Acadia Axemen.

The Axemen took on the St. FX X-Men in Wolfville last Saturday.  In their previous meeting, the Axemen had put away the X-Men in Antigonish by a 2-1 score.  Coming off a 7-2 win against Dalhousie the night before, it appeared as though the Axemen had regained their scoring touch.

The Axemen jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period, riding an 18-5 edge in shots.  The second period brought more of the same, as Acadia began a 24 shot barrage on the St. FX goal.  But X-Men goaltender Drew Owsley proved to be more than equal to the task, making several key saves in rapid succession to keep his St. FX squad in the game.  Acadia struck on the power play to open a 3-1 lead, but Owsley’s outstanding play kept the Axemen from opening up a wider lead and putting the game away early.  At the end of the second period, the score read Acadia 3, St. FX 2.Read more »

Thompson leads the way with four points in the win

It was a cold night in the Halifax Forum on Friday night, where it felt more like a game being played outdoors than in; the Axemen took some time to warm up and find their game, but once they did it became a one sided affair as Acadia went on to win 7-2 over Dalhousie.

Brett Thompson led the way for the Axemen with a goal and three assists, while Michael Clarke chipped in with two goals.

Bobby Nadeau took the loss for Dal (2-18-1) surrendering all 7 goals on 42 shots, while Evan Mosher continued his strong play for the Axemen (16-2-3), stopping 30 of 32 shots.

The Axemen got on the board with just over 5 minutes left in the first period, when Dal’s Fabian Walsh went off for hooking. Acadia’s powerplay went to work with Mike Cazzola opening the scoring, with Brett Thompson and Liam Heelis picking up the helpers.

Dal came close to tying it up with three minutes remaining as Chris Ivanko came down the wing and rang a shot off the post, but the period ended with a 1-0 score.Read more »

All good things must come to an end.

story from Justin Halbersma of openingfaceoff.net

The Acadia Axemen traveled through New Brunswick this past weekend, taking on the UNB Varsity Reds on Friday and the Moncton Blue Eagles on Saturday. A possible four points were up for grabs. The Axemen managed one.

Their five game winning streak came to a premature end against the Varsity Reds, as Acadia fell 5-3 to UNB. In a back-and-forth affair, it was ultimately decided late in the third as the Reds capitalized on some sloppy play in the Acadia end to seal the game with a shorthanded marker.
Thomas Nesbitt scored twice for the Reds in what could be a playoff preview. Phillipe Maillet, Chris Culligan, and Cam Critchlow all added singles. Mike Cazzola, Liam Heelis, and Tyler Ferry replied for Acadia.

Acadia’s Evan Mosher stopped 25 of 30 shots in the loss. Charles Lavigne stopped 26 of 29 Acadia shots for UNB.

Stinging from this defeat, the Axemen took to the ice in Moncton on Saturday evening. At first, it appeared as though the Blue Eagles would run Acadia right out of the rink. At the end of a disastrous first period for Acadia, the score read 4-1 Moncton. The barrage left Axemen starting goalie Brandon Glover pulled in favor of Evan Mosher, and left the Axemen looking dazed and confused. The Eagles took full advantage of the lack of Axemen discipline, scoring three times on the power play in the first.Read more »

CIS No. 3 Axemen lose first game against No. 4 UNB