Category: Game Recaps

Acadia’s McCollum with 1st AUS win

The Acadia Axemen (6-11) squeeked out a 4-3 victory over the Moncton Aigles Bleus (5-10-1) on Saturday night in Moncton. Conor McCollum, the Axemen third string goaltender, got the call for the Axemen with Max Paddock sidelined due to injury, and Logan Flodell having played last night against UNB. McCollum responded with a standout performance for his first AUS win, making a number of stellar saves and turning aside 21 of 24 shots he faced.

The Axemen took a 1-0 lead midway through the opening period on a goal from Jack Flaman. Eric Henderson had the lone assist on the goal. Acadia took that lead to the dressing room after one period.

Early in the second period, just 1:32 in, Mason McCarty made it 2-0 on a beautiful solo effort as he broke in on a breakaway and made no mistake.

Moncton got on the board 2:24 later, as Remy Anglehart scored on the powerplay to cut the lead in half. But before the period ended, Acadia responded with a powerplay goal of their own as Jack Flaman notched his second of the night, at 19:36. Eric Henderson & Mason McCarty both picked up their 2nd points of the night on the goal. That gave the Axemen a 3-1 lead heading into the third period.

Vincent Deslauriers brought his team within one at 3:28, but Eric Henderson responded for the Axemen to restore the two goal lead for Acadia at 10:25 of the third period. His 3rd point of the night, with the assists on the goal going to Garrett McFadden and Peyton Hoyt.

It looked like that may put the Axemen in the driver’s seat, however Deslauriers had other ideas as he scored his second of the night to once again make it a one goal game at 13:57.

The final minutes were tense as Acadia had to kill off two penalties in the last 5 minutes including while Moncton pulled their goalie to give them a 6 on 4 advantage, but McCollum was up to the challenge turning the Aigles Bleus away. Final shots on goal were 34 for Acadia and 24 for Moncton.

With the win, Acadia moves ahead of Moncton in the AUS standings, and moves within 3 points of a three-way log jam for third place in the conference. The Axemen finish up their 1st half of play on Wednesday night as they travel to Halifax to face the Dalhousie Tigers.

Henderson with lone goal for Acadia

Wolfville, N.S. – It wasn’t much of a holiday send-off for the Acadia Axemen (5-11-0) on Friday night, as the UNB Reds (14-1-0) handed them up a lump of coal with a 5-1 loss in their last home game of 2021.

The score didn’t reflect a hard-fought game and Acadia put in a solid effort against the U SPORTS No. 1 ranked Reds. The Axemen could not capitalize on their opportunities.

“I thought we played really hard.  We came out strong. We have been practicing a lot and doing everything right and it was just one of those games where you couldn’t catch a good bounce and those games happen sometimes,” noted Second Star of the Game Peyton Hoyt.

UNB got a pair of goals from Subway First Star of the Game James Phelan to help them on the way to their victory.

Both teams had ample chances in the opening period, but it was only UNB who capitalized on their chances, taking a 2-0 lead.

For their first, James Phelan notched a goal off a rebound he picked up from the Axemen goalie Logan Flodell’s left pad. Phelan lifted the puck over the sprawling Flodell for the 1-0 lead.

UNB doubled their lead in the final minutes of the frame, as Samuel Dove-McFalls potted a short-handed goal on a cross-crease rebound in front of the Acadia net.

The closest Acadia came to a goal in the first period came from Nick Deakin-Poot who got free in front of the net and fired two point-blank shots into UNB’s goaltender Rylan Parenteau.

By the end of the first period, UNB held a 16-14 shot advantage.

An energetic second period saw a power-play goal on both sides and a two-goal lead for UNB heading into the final period.

It took only 31 seconds for the Reds to add to their lead in the third, as Nicholas Guay scored a power-play marker on a scramble in front of the net.

Likewise, Acadia netted their first of the game on a power-play with a scrambled play in front of the UNB net.

Eric Henderson got a stick on the puck in the crease, amid an array of bodies, to close the UNB lead to 3-1.

At the end of the second frame, UNB posted a 27-23 lead in shots.

Acadia had opportunities in the final frame, including an extended 5-on-3, but they could not solve Parenteau.

UNB added two goals late in the game, including an empty-netter from Phelan and a marker from Jason Willms with 0.2 seconds left in the game, to make it 5-1.

Axemen goalie Logan Flodell stopped 30 of 33 shots, while his UNB counterpart and third star of the night Rylan Parenteau turned aside 33 of 34 shots.

The second star of the night honours went to Axemen forward Peyton Hoyt.

Acadia heads to Moncton tomorrow and then concludes the first half of the regular season on Wednesday, Dec. 1 against the Dalhousie Tigers. The Axemen return in 2022 on Friday, Jan. 7 against the Tigers.

UNB faces off against the Saint Mary’s Huskies Saturday, Nov. 27. The puck drop for all games is 7 pm.

Josh Foote, Acadia Athletics Communications

5 different goal scorers for Acadia in win

By Thomas Becker

Mason McCarty scored the overtime winner, as the Acadia Axemen snapped a four-game losing streak after defeating the UPEI Panthers 5-4 Wednesday night.

Twenty-nine seconds into the extra frame, Garrett McFadden found the sophomore forward in the left circle, where he fired a one-timer under Jonah Capriotti’s pads.

“Those are the moments you want to be on the ice for,” McCarty said. “You always want to be looked at as one of the guys and I’m glad it went in tonight.”

Acadia (5-9-0) boasted a balanced attack with Eric Henson, Johnny Corneil, Loch Morrison and Peyton Hoyt each scoring goals in the team’s first road win of the season. While McFadden and Adam McMaster added two helpers.

“We’ve faced a lot of adversity and I don’t think our record is indicative of how we’ve played,” he said. “It’s been tough, but adversity only makes you stronger. You just have to persevere and keep playing hard.”

The last time the Axemen played the Panthers (5-5-3) on the road, they came out flat and lost the game in the first eight minutes after surrendering three goals. Wednesday night’s affair was a much-improved effort.

Still, it was the Panthers who struck first. At 11:29, Kyle Maksimovich sent a pass to Andrew Picco whose shot ricocheted off the end boards back to Maksimovich in front where he tucked it in.

In the final minute of the period, Hudson Wilson stole the puck from Jordan Maher and got to Henderson, who skated up the left side and beat Capriotti five-hole to tie the game at 1-1.

After a scoreless second, both offences erupted in the third. Penalties haunted UPEI in the period, as their penalty kill struggled to contain Acadia. The first power play goal came at 1:44 when Corneil tipped in McFadden’s shot from the point.

However, the Panthers responded with a goal of their own less than three minutes later when Pilon buried the rebound following Carson MacKinnon’s shot in front of the net.

The Axemen regained the lead at 7:07, as Henson pushed the puck to Morrison, who skated through the neutral zone, used Troy Lajeunesse as a shield and wired a shot past Capriotti glove side. Acadia capitalized on another power play just 1:08 later when McMaster crossed a pass in front to Hoyt, who redirected past the goaltender to make it 4-2.

With more than half a period left to play, the Panthers still had plenty to say. Jordan Maher got his team to within one at 9:35 after he buried the rebound in the open cage following MacKinnon’s shot attempt from a tough angle. Then at 12:19, Matt Brassard took the puck off the faceoff draw and wired a shot through traffic past Logan Flodell for the equalizer.

“Hockey is a game of rollercoasters with lots of emotions,” McCarty said. “We took a lead and then they pushed back late. It’s important, no matter if you’re up, down, or tied, you have to be even-keeled and just play with intensity and passion at all times.”

After surrendering the two-goal lead, their even-keeled approach worked, as they made the Panthers pay for another penalty that came with 59 seconds remaining in regulation resulting in McCarty’s eventual overtime heroics.

The Panthers look to get back in the win column Friday night when they host the Saint Mary’s Huskies.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan

Flaman with the Acadia goal in the loss

(FREDERICTON, NB) After three consecutive weekends on the road, the UNB REDS men’s returned home Friday and scored three times in the second period on route to a 6-1 win over the Acadia Axemen.

The REDS made a winner of third string goaltender Tanner Somers (Miramichi, NB), who made his UNB debut.

The REDS opened the scoring just 8:04 in, when Jason Willms (Kitchener, ON) converted a Noah Carroll (Strathroy, ON) pass, beating Acadia netminder Logan Flodell (Regina, SK). UNB made it 2-0 just 67 seconds later when Nicolas Guay (Chateauguay, QC) fired a rebound past Flodell at the 9:11 mark.

The REDS blew the game open in the second period with goals from Benjamin Gagne (St- Augustin, QC), Brady Gilmour (Grafton, ON) and Macauley Carson (Midhurst, ON). Tyler Boland (St. John’s, NL) completed the UNB scoring with a power-play goal at 7:42 of the third period, chasing Flodell from the Acadia net. Conor McCollum (Pickering, ON) took over.

The Axemen, working on the power-play, got a late goal from Jack Flaman (Vibank, SK) to make the final score 6-1.

“We knew it was going to be a tough battle tonight, we’ve been preparing for it all week, so it’s not a surprise,” said Axemen head coach Darren Burns. “We got smoked, but I don’t think our guys quit, they competed. At the end of the day, I’m the coach and we lost 6-1 and that falls on me.”

The Axemen came into the game short-handed, dressing just 14 skaters, eight forwards and six defencemen.

“It was a complete team effort,” said REDS head coach Gardiner MacDougall. “It was a pretty good 60 minutes overall, all four lines contributing and the D moved the puck well. We had good opportunities, any time you get a chance to score six is a highlight.”

“That’s a great team there. They’re down in numbers as well, which is unfortunate,” he added. Gilmour, one of five REDS to record two points in the game, was satisfied with the win and pleased for Somers.

With the win, the REDS are now 10-1, while the Axemen fall to 4-8.

Up next for Acadia, a Saturday evening visit to Moncton, while the REDS get set to host the Saint Mary’s Huskies. Both games are scheduled for 7:00pm starts.

RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: Fran Harris/for UNB Athletics

Corneil nets two in Acadia loss

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – It was the end of a two-game winning streak for the Axemen on Wednesday night, as the Dalhousie Tigers (4-4-1) snapped a three-game losing skid in a 6-3 win over the host Acadia Axemen (4-6-0).

Despite falling 3-1 early in the game, Dalhousie scored five unanswered goals, including two from Subway First Star of the Game Derek Gentile, who netted the eventual game-winner with 0.9 seconds to play in the second and added an insurance marker at the start of the third.

Dalhousie opened the scoring exactly 1:30 into the first period on a rebound goal from Darien Kielb.

After a scramble in front of the Acadia net, Kielb picked up the puck in the slot and threw it past Axemen goaltender Logan Flodell to make it 1-0.

The second star of the night Johnny Corneil was the difference-maker in the first frame, notching a pair of goals, with the first tying the game and the second giving Acadia their first lead of the game.

Corneil’s first goal came on a frantic play in front of the net, as he scooped up the puck by the goal-line and spun around to fire it past the scrambling Dalhousie goalie.

As for his second goal, Corneil picked up his own rebound in the slot and fired a wrist shot over the reaching glove of the Tigers netminder.

To cap off the scoring for the period, Mason McCarty finished off a passing play for his fourth in the last three games.

Shots were even at 15-15 in the first period.

It was a big comeback period for the Tigers, as they put up three unanswered goals in the second frame.

The first goal was started by a point shot off the back boards, which came to the other side of the net for the third star of the night Barret Kirwin to chip In.

Josh Wainman evened the score with 2:30 left in the second period on a shot through a screen from the left face-off circle that fooled Flodell.

Derek Gentile recaptured the lead for the Tigers with 0.9 seconds left in the second period with a power-play marker.

Gentile nabbed the puck away from the Acadia defender holding it in the corner and came out in front of the net where he squeaked a backhander under the arm of Flodell to take a 4-3 lead into the third.

Dalhousie held a 34-27 lead in shots by the end of the second period.

Acadia had chances in the third – including Peyton Hoyt sneaking into the Dalhousie zone completely alone – but the Axemen could not capitalize on any opportunities.

Dalhousie meanwhile added two goals, a clean finish from Gentile on a cross-crease pass in front of the Acadia net and an empty-netter from Chandler Yakimowicz, to cement their victory.

It was a busy night for both goalies, as Flodell turned aside 36 of 41 shots, while his Dalhousie counterpart Connor Hicks stopped 44 of 47 on the night.

The Axemen return to the ice on Friday, Nov. 5 where they will start a five-game road trip in Antigonish to take on the StFX X-Men.

Acadia will return to home ice on Friday, Nov. 26 to play the UNB Varsity Reds.

Dalhousie takes on the Saint Mary’s Huskies this Friday as well. The puck drop for all games is 7:00 pm.

Contributed by Josh Foote, Acadia Athletics Communications

Acadia makes it two wins in a row

Wolfville, N.S. – Make it two straight wins for the Acadia Axemen (4-5-0), who snagged a 5-2 win over the UPEI Panthers (3-4-1) on Saturday night. The Axemen never trailed in the game thanks to solid offensive performance and a strong performance from Logan Flodell in the net.

It only took 19 seconds for Acadia to get on the board, thanks to a goal from Subway First Star of the Night Cole Rafuse.

Rafuse broke in on a 2-on-1 with Nick Deakin-Poot and redirected a pass in front of the net past the left pad of the UPEI goalie, allowing Acadia to jump out to a quick 1-0 lead.

Much like the first goal, the Axemen doubled their lead on a redirected pass in front of the Panthers net.

TJ Fergus cut in behind a UPEI defender in front of the net and tipped a pass from a streaking Mason McCarty into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 2-0.

At the end of the first period, Acadia held a 10-9 lead in shots.

UPEI answered back in the second with two goals but came out of the period down 3-2.

Both Panthers’ goals mirrored the Axemen goals from the first frame.

TJ Shea notched a goal 4:48 into the period and less than five minutes later, the Panthers tied the game on a marker from the second star of the night Kyle Makismovich.

Both goals came on cross-crease passes that got the Axemen goalie moving from one side of his net to the other.

A four-minute kneeing penalty was the difference-maker in the period, as Acadia reclaimed their lead in the final minute of the second on a power-play goal from the third star of the night, Luke Zazula.

Zazula carried the puck from the Axemen zone, stepped over the UPEI blueline – in the middle of four Panthers defenders – and rifled a hard snapshot into the top left corner of the net for the tiebreaker.

Despite trailing in scoring, UPEI held a 19-17 shot lead going into the final frame.

It was a tight final frame with chances from both sides, but Acadia doubled up the Panthers with five minutes left in the game on a goal from Mason McCarty.

McCarty sped into the Panthers zone on a partial break, took a pass off the boards from Adam McMaster, and lifted the puck into the top right corner for the 4-2 lead.

The game was stopped for some roughhousing late in the third, as the teams combined for 10 minutes in individual roughing penalties.

Acadia sealed the victory with a last-minute empty-net goal from Peyton Hoyt.

Logan Flodell stopped 32 of 34 shots for the Axemen, while his UPEI counterpart Lucas Fitzpatrick turned aside 21 of 25 shots on the night.

Acadia returns to play on Wednesday, Nov. 3 against the Dalhousie Tigers, while the Panthers go up against the Moncton Aigles Bleus on Wednesday as well. The puck drop for both games is 7:00 pm.

Provided by Josh Foote, Acadia Athletics Communications Office

Flodell stops 48 of 50 shots for Win

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (3-5-0) snapped a three-game losing streak on Wednesday night, securing a 3-2 OT win over the Saint Mary’s Huskies (3-3-1). Forwards Adam McMaster and Subway First Star of the Game Mason McCarty scored all three of Acadia’s goals, with McCarty scoring the first and last goals of the game.

Despite taking an early lead, the Axemen fell behind in a 2-1 deficit to Saint Mary’s after the first period.

Acadia got themselves on the board early in the game, notching a goal in the opening two minutes of the game.

Mason McCarty finished a pass from Adam McMaster in front of the net, lifting the puck over the right pad of the Huskies goalie to make it 1-0.

However, the Acadia lead was short-lived, as Jacob Durham finished a cross-zone pass from Mitchell Balmas, beating the Logan Flodell high glove to tie the game at 1-1.

With 9 seconds left in the period, Joel Bishop gave Saint Mary’s their first lead of the game. Bishop scooped up a pass in front of the net and tucked it five-hole to end the period 2-1.

At the end of the opening period, Saint Mary’s held a 10-8 shot lead.

Adding to his assist in the first, Adam McMaster put up the lone goal of the second period, tying the game at 2-2 heading into the third.

McMaster snuck in behind the Saint Mary’s defenders in the offensive zone and got a lucky bounce after the puck hit a Huskies leg and rolled out to McMaster.

To tie the game, McMaster cut in tight on the Huskies goalie and squeaked the puck under the goalie’s blocker.

“Obviously it’s huge. The last three games were pretty tough. We haven’t come out of the gate very well and that’s what we were preaching today. Even though we are short-bodied, we really battled today,” McMaster noted when asked how important the win was tonight.

“Same as we do every day. A little bit more video this week and worked on things we needed to touch up, especially things from last week we got back to doing earlier in the preseason and the first part of the regular season,” said McMaster when asked what the team did differently this week in practice.

Saint Mary’s continued to hold a lead in shots going into the third, up 28-20 in that department.

While there were chances on both sides in the final frame, neither team was able to crack the tie, leading to a 3-on-3 OT to decide the winner.

With 1:23 left to play in OT, McCarty notched a power-play marker from inside the blue-line. McCarty took a pass at the point and ripped a shot into the top left corner of the net to seal the victory for the Axemen.

Logan Flodell had a busy night in the net, turning aside 48 of 50 shots for the third star of the night honours. His Huskies counterpart Matt Welsh stopped 30 of 33 shots on the night.

Saint Mary’s forward Sam King was named the second star.

The Axemen take to the ice again on Saturday, Oct. 30 at home against the UPEI Panthers, while Saint Mary’s next faces off against UPEI on Friday, Oct. 29. The puck drop for both games is 7:00 p.m.

By Thomas Becker

Three goals in the game’s opening nine minutes were more than enough for the UPEI Panthers, as they shutout the Acadia Axemen 3-0 Saturday night.

Jesse Sutton and Jordan Maher scored their first goals of the season, while rookie forward Danil Antropov capped off the scoring midway through the period. Kyle Maksimovich led the way with two assists.

Rookie goaltender Jonah Capriotti, who recorded 21 saves for his first AUS shutout, said the offensive outpour helped him relax and made the game easy.

“I have to give it up to the boys for helping me out. The defence was unbelievable tonight and the forwards did their job and got some points on the board.”

The Panthers (3-2-1) jumped all over an Axemen (2-5-0) team that looked fatigued and was outworked shift after shift. It only took three minutes for UPEI to get on the board as Sutton got goaltender Max Paddock to bite on a move before sneaking a backhand by the far post.

Maher then dove for a loose puck in front of the net at 5:48 after Filip Rydstrom’s shot from the side of the net got through Paddock leaving an open net for the sophomore, who extended the lead to 2-0.

The Panthers capitalized on a power play three minutes later when Matt Brassard’s shot from the point was poked in by Antropov as the home team made it a three-goal game where it’d stay the rest of the way.

After the game, UPEI head coach Forbes MacPherson praised his team’s ability to impose their will early and often, especially against a tired opponent playing their second game of a back-to-back.

“It was Acadia’s third game this week and we were sitting here waiting for them,” MacPherson said. “We wanted to establish a presence right off the bat and I thought our guys did a good job of that.”

A significant development for the Panthers this season has been their much-improved defence. Through six games, they’ve allowed the second-fewest goals and proven they can hold a lead more consistently. After seizing control early in the first period, they continued to play with intensity and poise in the defensive zone as they limited Acadia to just 21 shots, all of which were easily handled by Capriotti.

“There were spurts where Acadia had us on our heels, but we managed to rebound from that and kept pushing forward,” MacPherson said.

The Panthers return to the ice Oct. 29 when they take on the Saint Mary’s Huskies in Halifax.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan