Category: Team Stories

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Axemen look to excel after break to move up standings

The Acadia Axemen finished up play back on December 4th for a month long holiday break with a 8-9-0-1 record, good for 5th place in the ultra-competitive AUS conference. Their 17 points leaves the team just 5 points out of 2nd place, providing the motivation for a strong start to the short 12 game second half of the season.

We caught up with Acadia Axemen Head Coach Darren Burns and asked him his thoughts on the teams’ first half, he said, “I think we have shown we are an improved team from last year and we got off to a better start at the beginning of the season and these were definite priorities for us. However, I think we all believe that we are capable of being higher in the standings for sure.”

 

As we look back at the first 18 games of the season, we start with the stellar play from netminder Thomas Couture once again this season. He has given the team a chance to win each game, his 473 saves are 174 more saves than the next netminder in the AUS has stopped, giving him a .903 save percentage and a 3.42 goals against average.

 

Acadia’s offense has been a big + over last season, averaging about 1.2 goals more per game at 3.44 this season.

Coach Burns shared this about his team’s offensive performance, “I think in general offence is up in our league and in the first half there were some high scoring games. I think we have more depth this year so even though we have missed a lot of man games due to injury we have been able to play with more energy as a team which has led to more offence. We have been able to maintain more offensive zone time as well. Our powerplay has been solid which adds offence. At the end of the day, we need to be a score by committee team, and we have been getting a more balanced attack this year.”

 

1st year Axemen forward Cam MacDonald has been a big factor, as he and Brady Burns are tied for the team lead in points with 17, putting them in 16th overall in the conference for point leaders. The former Saint John SeaDogs teammates have found success together with the Axemen as MacDonald also leads the team in goals with 9, while Burns is next with 8. Secondary offense from the likes of Liam Kidney, Peyton Hoyt, Brendan Sellan, and 1st year Axemen Marc Boudreau has given the team a balanced attack.

 

Arguably the biggest change has been the offense from the defense, where Charlie Desroches has put up 12 points in 18 games and Tyler Deline has 9 points despite playing in just 11 games due to an injury. Orie Mainolfi has chipped in with 3 goals and 7 points, and Cam Whynot and Luke Zazula have 6 points each. Last season only 4 defenceman had more than 6 points over the entire season, with Deline and Desroches leading the team with 9 points on the year for blueliners.

 

On the special teams, Acadia has improved their powerplay conversion percentage by 4% this season, moving from 18% last season to 22% this year, but have dropped 2% on the penalty kill at 78%, while taking the 2nd most penalties in the conference, to only UPEI.

 

Although the Axemen were bit by the injury bug over the first 18 games, it was not as drastic as last year’s injury woes. Axemen sniper Bailey Peach did miss the first 10 games of the season this year, Kian Bell who got off to a solid AUS start with 4 points in 6 games, missed the final 12 games, and as mentioned Tyler Deline was out for 7 games. However, the team was able to dress a full lineup for each game, and having depth to insert players in the lineup to make an impact has made the Acadia Axemen a tough team to play against on a nightly basis.

We asked Coach Burns the keys to his team’s success in the short 12 game sprint to the playoffs coming up, he said, “I think we need to focus on strengthening our defensive play. I feel we have been a team who plays hard and with structure all over the ice. This has been a strong staple of our team the past couple of years, it allowed us to keep in tight games with highly offensive teams. Down the stretch we gave up too many high-quality scoring chances and this is not how we will be successful.

Team identity is crucial for our success in the second half and if we can improve in this area out of the gate, I think we can be a tough team to play against. We feel we have the players who will work and listen, the onus is on us as coaches to continue to help our team with this important facet of the game.”

The Axemen return to action on Monday, January 6th as they face Dalhousie in Halifax before returning to Wolfville to play 4 of their next 5 games at the Andrew H. McCain Arena as they look to move up the standings. Get your tickets today at acadiau.universitytickets.com and cheer on your Acadia Axemen in exciting AUS action in January. We look forward to seeing you again! #GoAcadiaGo