Category: Team Stories

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.

AXEMEN AFTER SCHOOL IP SPRING CAMP 

EVERY MONDAY STARTING MARCH 26^TH FOR 6 WEEKS

• MARCH 26^TH
• APRIL 2^ND
• APRIL 9^TH
• APRIL 16^TH
• APRIL 23^RD
• APRIL 30^TH

SESSIONS WILL FOCUS ON SKATING, SKILL DEVELOPMENT & STATION WORK

TIME: 4:15PM-5:15PM

COST: $75.00

MAX: 25 PLAYERS

TO REGISTER PLEASE EMAIL: kris.macdonald@acadiau.ca

 

AXEMEN AFTER SCHOOL SPRING CAMPS 

THE AFTER-SCHOOL CAMP INCLUDES:

6 SESSIONS PLUS AN ADDITIONAL DEAN PEACH POWER SKATING SESSION.

GOALIES WILL RECEIVE GOALIE INSTRUCTION FROM AXEMEN GOALIE COACH CHARLES GRANT FOR 1 SESSION.  

TUESDAY’S – NOVICE

MARCH 27^TH, APRIL 3^RD 10^TH 17^TH 24^TH, MAY 1^ST & 15^TH

WEDNESDAY’S- ATOM

MARCH 28^TH, APRIL 4^TH 11^TH 18^TH 25^TH, MAY 2^ND & 16^TH

THURSDAY’S- PEEWEE

MARCH 29^TH, APRIL 5^TH 12^TH 19^TH 26^TH, MAY 3^RD & 17^TH

FRIDAY’S- BANTAM/MIDGET

MARCH 30^TH, APRIL 6^TH 13^TH 20^TH 27^TH, MAY 4^TH & 18^TH

 

SESSIONS WILL FOCUS ON SKATING, SKILL DEVELOPMENT

& STATION WORK

TIME: 4:15PM-5:15PM

COST: $125.00

MAX: 25 PLAYERS per AGE GROUP

TO REGISTER PLEASE EMAIL: kris.macdonald@acadiau.ca

Best of 5 series opens up Thursday in Antigonish

The Acadia Axemen (18-10-2) will face the StFX X-Men (22-4-4) in the AUS men’s hockey semi-final series starting Thursday at 7pm in Antigonish. Game 2 will go Friday again in Antigonish, before the series switches to Wolfville for Game 3 on Sunday night. Game 4, if necessary is slated for Monday night again in Wolfville. Tickets are now on sale at the Acadia Box office for the game(s). Game 5, if necessary, would be back in Antigonish.

The Axemen come into the series on a hot streak, after finishing the regular season with 3 straight wins, including victories over UNB, Saint Mary’s, and Moncton, before sweeping the Dalhousie Tigers in 2 games in the AUS quarterfinals best of 3 series.

Axemen head coach Darren Burns said the following looking forward to the series with the X-Men, ” We are just trying to focus on improving our game every night. Our series versus Dal was a very hard fought battle. We were fortunate to be able to get some additional games in the playoffs before this series to help us to prepare. Anytime you are playing university hockey this time of the year is very exciting.”

StFX, along with UNB earned first round bye’s for finishing atop the AUS conference; that will mark a 12 day layoff for StFX since their last game in February 10^th, a 5-0 loss to UPEI. February has not been kind to the X-Men as they lost 7-3 to Dal, 5-2 to UNB, and as mentioned, 5-0 to UPEI. They did defeat Moncton 5-2 amidst the losses.

Acadia has had trouble with the X-Men this season, as the X-Men won 3 of the 5 games in regulation time, and another in a Shootout to open the season. Acadia took the matchup on November 3^rd , in overtime 6-5 in a game that saw emotions run over with 212 combined penalty minutes and player suspensions.

There’s no doubt that this series will be a physical battle and emotions will run high, but it will be key for the teams to keep their emotions in check and stay out of penalty trouble as both teams are dangerous on the man advantage; Acadia converting 25.5% of their powerplays and StFX 25.7%.

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Current Screaming Eagle to join Axemen next season

The Acadia Axemen are happy to announce the commitment of Ross MacDougall to the program. Ross currently plays with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the QMJHL; the defenceman is a native of St. Stephen, New Brunswick & has 19 points in 29 games.

Previous to joining Cape Breton last season, he played 2 1/2 seasons with the Quebec Remparts. Last season MacDougall put up his best offensive numbers, splitting the season with Quebec & the Eagles, with 39 points in 63 games, adding 6 points in 11 playoff games for Cape Breton.

Acadia head coach Darren Burns on adding MacDougall to the program, “We are very excited to be bringing in Ross for next season. He is an extremely high character kid who has a strong offensive upside, his skating abilities will be a big asset to our d-corps.”

MacDougall joins fellow recruits Lochlan Morrison & Jack Flaman, along with Jackson Houck who has red-shirted this season after playing pro last year. Acadia will graduate up to 10 players from their current roster, so Coach Burns and his coaching staff will have more work to do, but adding a player of MacDougall’s pedigree is a major addition.

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Acadia University’s Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that Acadia University has been awarded hosting rights for the 2020 U SPORTS Men’s Hockey National Championship, referred to as the University Cup.

“The bids that we received were excellent which demonstrates a strong interest in hosting a U SPORTS national championship,” said Graham Brown, President and CEO of U SPORTS. “It is encouraging to see our member institutions developing creative ways to host national championships offering the best experience for our student-athletes as well as for Canadian sports fans, and guaranteeing the best attendance on site. This is promising for the future of U SPORTS and all of its members.”

This will be the fourth consecutive U SPORTS National Championship to be hosted in the coming seasons, beginning with the 2016 women’s soccer championship, this year’s Final 8 men’s basketball championship, this coming fall’s 2018 women’s rugby championship, and now the 2020 University Cup.

Acadia University will partner with Sports Entertainment Atlantic to stage the University Cup in 2020, with the Acadia Axemen serving as hosts.

S|E|A is no stranger to attracting U SPORTS championship events to Nova Scotia’s capital. The Halifax-based company is partnering with Acadia University for this year’s Men’s Final 8 after working with Dalhousie on last season’s event at the Scotiabank Centre.

The Axemen, who captured two national championships during the 1990s and have been a perennial Top 10 program over the last two decades, will host the men’s hockey national championship for the first time. Acadia’s Executive Director of Athletics, Kevin Dickie, said that the right to host the University Cup is a reflection on the program’s success.Read more »

Axemen pair to face World Jr hopefuls

TORONTO (U SPORTS) – U SPORTS announced Monday the roster of the 2017 U SPORTS Men’s Hockey All-Star Team for the upcoming two-game series against Canada’s National Junior Team prospects.

The games are set for Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT and Thursday, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ont., home of the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs.  The games will mark the culmination of a four-day camp for the U SPORTS Men’s Hockey All-Stars beginning Dec. 11, while also serving as part of Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team selection camp for the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship slated for Dec. 26 -Jan. 5 in Buffalo, N.Y.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Hockey Canada for what should be two very entertaining hockey games, and a continued partnership between our organizations,” said Graham Brown, President and CEO of U SPORTS. “We all know how excited Canadians get every December about Canada’s National Junior Team. These games will provide great exposure for U SPORTS men’s hockey, and I know our players and coaches are looking forward to shining on a national stage.”

It will mark the third straight year Canada’s National Junior Team Prospects have faced off against the U SPORTS Men’s Hockey All-Stars, all but one of whom have CHL major junior experience, including six returning players from last year’s squad.

Acadia Axemen forward Boston Leier and Stephen Harper are included on the All-Star team roster.Read more »