Category: Team Stories

Coach Burns prepped for stretch run

Welcome to 2017! We’re looking forward to a terrific 2^nd half of the AUS Men’s Hockey season. The Axemen resume regular season AUS play on Friday night as they take on the Saint Mary’s Huskies in Halifax, and then host the U de M Aigles Bleus on Saturday night in Wolfville.

But before we look ahead, we need to reflect on the first half, where the Axemen finished in 2^nd place, in the always competitive AUS conference, with an 11-6-1 record in 18 games.

Acadia hit the ice this season with some major changes in their lineup from the 2015-16 season; gone was perennial scoring leader Mike Cazzola, high scoring threat Zach Franko, & key two way players Dylan Anderson and Travis Randell.

The Axemen had a strong recruiting off-season, adding major size to their lineup with 6’6 defenseman Marc McNulty and 6’4 Alex Lepkowski. Up front 6’5 Nick Betz arrived in Wolfville following a camp invite to the New York Rangers camp, along with 6’3 Stephen Harper who attended the Ottawa Senators main camp. Also added to the lineup were former captain of the STU Tommies Brendan Childerley, Kris Hodge, and Chris Clark.

One of the major recruits was netminder Devin Williams, who starred with the Erie Otters of the OHL with a 41-10-1 record and a 2.36 GAA in 2015-16.

The Axemen struggled out of the gate going 5-5 in their first 10 games, before going 6-2 in their final 8. The early struggles were a team trying to gel, while being hampered by injuries. The biggest struggle of the first half came on the power play where for the first dozen games, the team could not find a way to score with the man advantage. The jinx seems to have been broken and now have edged the pp % to 12.5% after 18 games.

Acadia ended the first half with a 7-1 record on home ice at the Andrew H. McCain Arena, but struggled with a 4-6 record on the road.

Axemen head coach Darren Burns reflected on the first half saying, “I was happy with our recovery from a slow start in the first half. However, the first half is a thing of the past. The reality of our league, especially with only 12 games in the second half, is the teams that kept in shape and are focused, will be successful. Playoffs will begin before you know it and you don’t have as much time to create and maintain structure and work habits.”

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Set to faceoff against Team Canada Jr hopefuls

TORONTO (U Sports) –U Sports unveiled Monday its roster for a two-game exhibition series between the U Sports men’s hockey all-stars and Canada’s National Junior Team prospects. Acadia’s Geoff Schemitsch will join the U Sports all-star squad. Last season, Axeman Matthew Pufahl was named to the team.

The two-game set, which was announced last month, will take place at the Centre d’Excellence Sports Rousseau, home of the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, on Monday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. ET and Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. ET as part of the National Junior Team’s preparation for the 41st IIHF World Junior Championship in Toronto and Montreal (Dec. 26 – Jan. 5).

The 23-player U Sports lineup – all but one with CHL experience – is comprised of 11 standouts from the OUA conference and six apiece from the AUS and Canada West leagues. Twelve of the 23 players have represented U Sports against the World Junior hopefuls in the past, including 11 returnees from last year’s inaugural national all-star squad which split the two-game series, winning the first game 5-4 in a shootout. The OUA contingent will look to make their case for a spot on the 2017 Winter Universiade roster, with head coach Brett Gibson also serving as the FISU Games bench boss.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for these 23 U Sports athletes from across the country to showcase how great of a product we have,” said Gibson. “It also comes with a great responsibility to be a small part of the preparation for our Canadian under-20 team in their quest for a gold medal.”
Protecting the U Sports net in Boisbriand will be goaltenders Kevin Bailie from Queen’s, Corbin Boes from Dalhousie and Jordon Cooke from Saskatchewan, who all suited up in last year’s event.Read more »

TORONTO (U Sports) – The CIS student-athletes announced last month (Oct. 19) as Top Eight Academic All-Canadians for the 2015-2016 season were honoured in Ottawa on Tuesday morning.

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, presented the fourth Governor General’s Academic All-Canadian Commendation to the eight recipients, during a ceremony at Rideau Hall, his official residence.

Every year, a growing number of CIS student-athletes are recognized as Academic All-Canadians, having maintained an average of 80 per cent or better over the academic year while competing for one – or more – of their university’s varsity teams.

Among these outstanding individuals, one female and one male student-athlete from each of the four conference are selected annually to make up the Top Eight.

The 2015-16 recipients from Atlantic University Sport (AUS) are Elenor Henry (Toronto), a soccer player and biochemistry student from Mount Allison University, and Geoff Schemitsch (Thornhill, Ont.), a hockey player and kinesiology student from Acadia University.

Representing the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) are Laval University’s Gabrielle Lapointe (Montmagny, Que.), a soccer player and medical student, as well as McGill University’s François Jarry (Lachine, Que.), a cross country/track and field athlete and physical and health education major.

The winners from Ontario University Athletics (OUA) are Cindy Nelles (Belleville, Ont.), a rugby player and civil engineering student from McMaster University, and Colin Behenna (Waterloo, Ont.), a hockey player and math and business student from the University of Waterloo.

Last but not least, the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA) recipients are swimmer Rebecca Terejko (Brantford, Ont.), a kinesiology student, as well as Chad Bush (Ottawa), a soccer player and history major, both from the University of British Columbia.

“The number of Academic All-Canadians speaks volume about the quality of our student-athletes, but also our coaches, support staff and our universities,” said Graham Brown, chief executive officer of U Sports. “To be selected among 12,000 of their peers is an achievement these exceptional student-athletes should be extremely proud of. They represent the very best of what university sport is all about.”

Following is a profile of each member of the 2015-16 Top Eight, as well as a list of all-time winners.Read more »

Valley netminder voted ECAC’s Goaltender of the Week

The Acadia hockey community would like to say congratulations to Grande Pre’s Kate Spooner on being voted the ECAC’s Goaltender of the week. Kate is suiting up this season in Division 1 with Union College, and we wish her continued success throughout the season.

ALBANY, NY – First year defenseman Abby Ellis and first year goaltender Kate Spooner were both received ECAC honors, as announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.

Ellis was named Rookie of the Week after netting a goal and adding an assist in Friday’s 2-0 win over RIT. She helped on the eventual game winner in the second period as she helped find Katie Laughlin who scored her first career goal for Union to put the Dutchwomen up 1-0. Ellis would get her own career first as just 39 second into the third period she found the back of the net for her first career goal in Garnet and White.

Spooner also played an integral part in the victory over the Tigers as she stopped all 16 shots that she faced recording her first career collegiate shutout. For her efforts she was voted as the ECAC Goaltender of the Week finishing the weekend with a save percentage of .953.

This was the first time since Dec. of 2014 that Union has won back-to-back games.

Union is back on the ice tonight as it travels to Providence for a midweek clash in with the Friars. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

By John DeCoste (’77)

Geoff Schemitsch, a fourth-year student-athlete and member of the Acadia hockey Axemen, has moved around a good deal during his career, but it’s unlikely his travels have included a trip to meet His Excellency the Governor-General of Canada David Johnston at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

That’s where Schemitsch will be November 8 after being named a CIS Top-Eight Academic All-Canadian. Academic All-Canadians are exceptional student-athletes who achieve an academic standing of 80 per cent or better while playing on one of their university’s varsity teams. Among these outstanding individuals, one female and one male from each CIS regional association are selected annually. Schemitsch is this year’s AUS representative.

It’s the fourth year in a row that an Acadia student-athlete has earned CIS Top-Eight Academic All-Canadian status. Previous honorees include Katie Ross (in 2015), Michelle Pryde (2014), and Travis Gibbons (2013).

In pursuit of excellence

Growing up in Thornhill, Ontario, in the northeast sector of Toronto, Schemitsch tried a variety of sports as a youngster, but by about age 10 it was pretty much all hockey.

He became a AAA-level player in his final year in the novice division. He started his career as a forward, but shifted to defense in his second year of novice. “Our team had a few injuries on defense,” he says. “I started playing D in the playoffs that year, and made it permanent the following year.”Read more »

TORONTO (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport proudly announced Wednesday the student-athletes selected as Top Eight Academic All-Canadians for the 2015-2016 season. Acadia’s Geoff Schemitsch, a fourth year hockey player, was named to the Top 8. It is the fourth year in a row for Acadia to be honoured with a CIS Top 8.

Link to Story on Geoff Schemitsch>

The elite group will be honoured in Ottawa on November 8, when His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, presents the fourth annual Governor General’s Academic All-Canadian Commendation to the eight recipients during a ceremony at Rideau Hall, his official residence.
Every year, a growing number of CIS student-athletes are recognized as Academic All-Canadians, having maintained an average of 80 per cent or better over the academic year while competing for one – or more – of their university’s varsity teams.

Among these outstanding individuals, one female and one male student-athlete from each of the four CIS regional associations are selected annually to make up the Top Eight.

The 2015-16 recipients from Atlantic University Sport (AUS) are Elenor Henry (Toronto), a soccer player and biochemistry student from Mount Allison University, and Geoff Schemitsch (Thornhill, Ont.), a hockey player and kinesiology student from Acadia University.Read more »

Hear what Coach Burns has to say about his 2016-17 Acadia squad