Category: Team Stories

Acadia looks to veteran leadership to guide the way

The Acadia Axemen named their captains for the upcoming 2018-19 season, naming 4th year defenceman Liam Maaskant Captain. The 6’4″ hard-nosed defender from Clinton, Ontario is no stranger to wearing the ‘C’ as he also was captain of his OHL Junior team the Kitchener Rangers.

Assistant captains for this year’s campaign will be 3rd year defender Alex Lepkowski and 4th year forward Kyle Farrell. Lepkowski hails from Buffalo, NY and in addition to his 2 years playing in USports, Alex has spent time in the ECHL and AHL, and served as an assistant captain for the Barrie Colts in the OHL.

Farrell, a native of Howie Centre, NS, enters his 4th season in the league and will be counted on, up front, to provide scoring punch, along with AUS top scorer Stephen Harper, again this season. Farrell averaged over a point a game last season and is a leader both on and off the ice for the team. Farrell also served as an assistant captain with his QMJHL junior team, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Acadia Axemen head coach Darren Burns made the announcement following practice yesterday saying, “The coaching staff is extremely proud to announce Liam as our captain and Alex and Kyle as assistants for the upcoming season. To me it’s pretty simple when choosing your captains, you want to make sure they are people you would want your own kids, growing up, to emulate. These guys definitely fit this category. They are extremely well respected on campus, in the community, and in our dressing room. Being captains of the hockey team at Acadia brings with it responsibilities unique to other programs in the country. Our players are fortunate to be immersed in the community and our following is like no other. We are excited and confident that they will not only lead the team to great things throughout the season on the ice but off the ice as well.”

Catch the Axemen in their first pre-season game tonight at the Andrew H. McCain Arena in Wolfville at 7pm as they face the Dalhousie Tigers.

Axemen alumnus returns to hockey program

The Acadia Axemen are proud to welcome back to Evan Mosher to our hockey program as the team’s goaltending coach. Evan is an Acadia University alumnus who starred with the Axemen from 2011-2014, including leading the team to an AUS title and birth in the University Cup in 2014. Mosher was named to the AUS first all-star team, and the CIS/U Sports second all-Canadian team in that season.

Acadia Head Coach Darren Burns welcomed Evan back saying, “We are very excited that Evan will be joining our staff. He will be a great addition to our program. He was an extremely well respected teammate and he is an excellent teacher, so the transition into coaching will be seamless for him. As a former player here at Acadia and great leader in our program, the fact that we are able to bring in an Axemen alumnus, who knows the culture and expectations of Acadia Hockey on campus and in the community, is a great bonus.”

The Newfoundland native went on to play in the ECHL with the Quad City Mallards, teaming up with a fellow Acadia alumnus Kevin Baker, and then moved overseas playing in France with Gap and then with Denmark last season where he joined another Acadia alumnus in Brett Thompson. Mosher will also serve as the goaltending coach for the Valley Wildcats Junior A team this season.

Axemen Associate Coach Kris MacDonald added, “Anytime you can bring back a former Axemen like Evan it’s huge for the program and the Valley. He will be a huge asset for our goalies and will play a big role in our success. We are also very happy to announce that Evan, along with our Axemen goalies will be leading all the goalie development sessions for the Acadia Minor Hockey Association this season. Our program continues to take a lot of pride in its involvement in the development of youth hockey in the Valley. Evan’s expertise, dedication and commitment will be a huge asset for goalies in the Acadia minor hockey association and the surrounding communities.”

Welcome back to #AcadiaU and the Axemen hockey program Evan!

Game day is August 24th at 7pm

(Wolfville, NS) – Acadia University’s Department of Athletics announced Sunday that it will host a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season game featuring the Halifax Mooseheads and Acadie-Bathurst Titan.  The game will be played at the Andrew H. McCain Arena in Wolfville on Friday, August 24^th at 7pm.

The Halifax Mooseheads 25^th anniversary season will be highlighted by the 2019 Mastercard Memorial Cup in May.  The Mooseheads last hosted the national junior hockey championship in 2000 and captured the title in 2013.

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan captured the 2018 Mastercard Memorial Cup hosted in Regina, Saskatchewan.  It marked the first national championship in the team’s history.  The Titan have an Annapolis Valley flavour including Cole Rafuse from Kingston and Robbie Dowell drafted in 2018 from the Valley Major Midget Wildcats.

Tickets ($12 adults and $7 youth 16 & under) are available now through the Acadia Box Office weekdays from noon to 6pm and Saturday and Sunday 1pm-4pm or via phone at 1-800-542-8425 or online at boxoffice.acadiau.ca.  Proceeds from the game will support the varsity men’s hockey program at Acadia University.

Join us on Friday September 14th!

Celebrating Canada’s Game – June 13, 2018

Leier 13th on Axemen all-time career goal list with 54

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Senior Axemen forward Boston Leier will be continuing his hockey career after four years with the Acadia Axemen hockey team.

Leier, from Saskatoon, Sask., will join the Ottawa Senators farm team the Belleville Senators of the AHL this week.

“We are very excited for Boston and his opportunity with the Senators. He has worked extremely hard and has committed himself here for four seasons.  His work ethic has been impeccable every practice and every game. It has been a pleasure to watch him develop and lead the Axemen hockey program. We look forward to watching his game continue to grow at the pro level,” said Acadia head coach Darren Burns

Leier, who played five seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers and a year with the Regina Pats in the junior ranks, joined the Axemen in 2014. Over his four-year career at Acadia, Leier played 111 regular season games and accumulated 54 goals and 60 assists. His best season to date was this past season where he posted 39 points – 15 goals and 24 assists and was named as a second team AUS All-Star.

An assistant captain with the Axemen for the last three seasons, Leier led the Axemen with six goals and five assists during this year’s AUS playoffs. While with the Axemen, Leier made three visits to the U SPORTS University Cup including the Axemen’s bronze medal win in 2017,

“I’m really excited. It’s a great opportunity. I was hoping there was some interest and I got a call from Darren and Kevin Dickie and it just took off from there. I had to figure out some stuff with school to make sure it was feasible and I would be able to graduate on time. That’s one of the great things about Acadia is the support from the athletics and academic departments to help you pursue your goals,” noted Leier.Read more »

Post-game Press Conference following the Acadia Axemen’s 8-6 quarterfinal loss to the Alberta Golden Bears at the University Cup USports National Tournament.

Coach Darren Burns talks about his team and their season.

Acadia captain 5th year defenceman Geoff Schemitsch talks about the game and his last game as an Axeman. Congrats Geoff on an outstanding university hockey career.

Axemen third year forward Kyle Farrell, on his thoughts of the late third period rally vs Alberta.

The 2018 U SPORTS Cavendish Farms University kicks off on Thursday at the Aitken University Centre in Fredericton and concludes next Sunday with the gold-medal final at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. The semifinals and final will be broadcast live on Sportsnet 360 and SN Now. All remaining games will be livestreamed at USPORTS.LIVE.

A championship schedule and team-by-team previews are available below.

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The Acadia Axemen have punched their ticket to the University Cup U Sports National tournament which starts this upcoming Thursday, March 15th in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Acadia Axemen have been seeded in the 7th position in the 8 team tournament. They will be joined by fellow AUS teams StFX X-Men (5th) & the host UNB Varsity Reds (1st), along with the University of Alberta Golden Bears (2nd), McGill University (3rd), the Brock Badgers (4th), University of Saskatchewan Huskies (6th), & Concordia Stingers (8th).

For more on the University Cup, visit https://usports.ca/en/championships/hockey/m/info or follow @coupeUcup & @axemenhockey on Twitter.