Category: Team Stories

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‘The rules have changed,’ but Acadia Hockey Dinner guest speaker Ray Bourque still loves hockey

JohnJohn Decoste
Published on June 25, 2015

RayBourqueArticle

WOLFVILLE – Hockey, and in particular playing defence, has changed since Ray Bourque last played in the NHL in 2001.

Bourque, now 54, was in Kings County June 18 as the headline guest for the annual Acadia hockey Axemen celebrity dinner.Bourque’s only connection with professional hockey these days is through his two sons, both of whom play professionally. In terms of playing defence, “the rules have changed” since he played.“The rules make it so you have to be a really good skater to get into position and stay there,” he said.

“Some of the things you could get away with when I was playing, you can’t get away with now” – things like subtle holds or hooks or other means of holding up or impeding an opponent.

“I’d like to be able to be playing hockey now. The game has changed, but the rules have changed, too,” and he would enjoy the challenge.

“Going back for the puck is tougher now, because of the rules. You have to time things differently. Maybe if goalies were able to play the puck more,” or were allowed to wander further from their net, “it might compensate for that.”

Bourque says he still enjoys watching the game.

“I still think it’s great.”

Bourque was one of the top defencemen of his era, winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenceman five times. He still holds the NHL records for career goals, assists and points by a defenceman.

Today, he’s a fan of Duncan Keith, Shea Webber and Drew Doughty.

“They have that combination of playing good defence, being physical, but also have the skill and vision to be able to make a difference offensively,” he said.

A first-round draft choice of the Boston Bruins in 1979, Bourque played 1,612 NHL games from 1979 to 2001, all but 94 of them for the Bruins. He finished his career with 410 goals and 1, 579 points, and entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.

He was traded to the Colorado Avalanche during the 1999-2000 season, and ended up winning his only Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2001, after which he retired.

“For me to leave Boston was hard. It wasn’t a good situation (at the time), but it was still a tough decision to make,” he said.

“The 15 months I spent in Denver were great. I got to see how things were done differently somewhere else, and I got to win the Cup my last year.”

Bourque was 38 years old when he went to Colorado.

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Two forwards, two defencemen recruited for Acadia

John

John Decoste
Published on June 19, 2015

Athletics - A3WOLFVILLE – Head coach Darren Burns is adding two forwards and two defencemen to the Acadia hockey Axemen bench this fall.

Kyle Farrell, a five-foot-eight forward from Howie Centre, Cape Breton, played four full seasons and 26 games of a fifth with the QMJHL Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, after playing major midget with the Cape Breton Tradesmen.Farrell scored 103 goals and had 217 points in his major junior career, topping out with 42 goals in 63 regular season games in 2014-2015.

“Kyle is an extremely hard-working player who plays a complete 200-foot game,” Burns said. “He is a very quick player whose skating ability and tenacity will help him be an impact player in this league.”

He called Farrell “an extremely dedicated player who always strives to get better. His leadership skills and desire to succeed will be a huge asset to our program.”

Daniel Pettersson, a native of Toronto, played his major junior hockey with the Moncton Wildcats, for whom he played in the 2010 Memorial Cup tournament.

Twice a 20-goal scorer with Moncton, Pettersson played the bulk of the past two seasons overseas in Sweden and France.

“Daniel is a very experienced player,” Burns said – and at 24, Pettersson is also a bit older than a typical AUS rookie. “He has excellent vision and is a very good skater.”

Burns expects Pettersson’s “high hockey IQ” will help ease his transition to university hockey.

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Former Axemen Moves Behind Acadia Bench

May 27, 2015

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Acadia Hockey head coach Darren Burns and Acadia University announced the hiring of former hockey Axeman Kris MacDonald as the team’s new assistant coach. MacDonald replaces departed assistant coach Michael Chiasson, who accepted a position with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Orwell, P.E.I. native played for the Axemen from 2007 to 2010 before starting his coaching career in 2011-2012 with the UPEI Panthers for one season as an assistant coach.

In 2012-13, MacDonald became the head coach Notre Dame College in Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hounds and remained so for two seasons. MacDonald became an assistant coach with the Acadie-Bathurst Titans of the QMJHL last season.

“We are very excited to be able to add Kris to our coaching staff at Acadia. It is very important for us to bring somebody here who understands the fabric of the Axemen Hockey program in academics, community and commitment on the ice”, pointed out Burns.

Burns added, “Kris is a very passionate and dedicated person who has worked very hard in building his coaching resume by spending time coaching at the prestigious Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Sask. and with the Acadie-Bathurst Titans.”

Prior to his time at Acadia, MacDonald played his final year of junior hockey with the Summerside Western Capitals of the Maritime Hockey League after two seasons with Acadie-Bathurst and PEI Rocket of the QMJHL.

MacDonald is excited about the opportunity to return to Acadia University. “Acadia’s athletic program has really taken off over the past few years under the leadership of Director Kevin Dickie and his staff.”, pointed out MacDonald.

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to move back to the Valley and join the Acadia Axemen coaching staff. I’m looking forward to working with Darren, Mark (Richards) and Mike (Alcoe)”, said MacDonald. “Darren and his staff have really taken the program to another level having coming off two straight CIS National appearances. It’s an exciting time for program”.

The Axemen open training camp on September 11th followed by an exhibition games against Moncton on September 23rd and at home hosting the Brock Badgers on September 25th and 26th. Acadia concludes their exhibition season in the U.S.A. at Boston University on October 3rd and Vermont University on October 4th.

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Mavericks Acquire Defenseman Chris Owens

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(March 11, 2015)- The Missouri Mavericks announced Wednesday afternoon that they have acquired defenseman Chris Owens from the Ontario Reign in exchange for forward Josh Brittain. Missouri also gained future considerations in the trade.

“Chris is a solid defenseman with the offensive capability to help our power play”, said Richard Matvichuk, Head Coach & Director of Hockey Operations for the Missouri Mavericks. “He has had a great collegiate career at Acadia University and we are excited to get him in the lineup in the near future.”

The twenty-five year old St. John’s, Newfoundland native Owens, 25, appeared in training camp this season, first with the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps, and then with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign, before returning to Acadia University for a fifth and final year of CIS eligibility. He notched 4 goals and 16 assists through 25 games. Owens led all defenseman on Acadia’s roster in points (20) through their 2014-15 campaign. In his five season with the Axemen, Chris recorded 124 points in 134 regular season AUS games.

The Axemen defenseman was named to the AUS all-rookie team in 2010-11, and selected as a first team AUS all-star 3 times, and a second-team all Canadian in 2011-12. Owens and the Acadia Axemen lost their CIS University Cup quarterfinal berth last Friday, losing to UQTR by a 6-5 score in overtime.

“We are excited for Chris to get an opportunity at the pro level. He made an excellent decision to return for his fifth year and earn additional courses for his future while helping get the team back to Nationals”, said Acadia head coach Darren Burns, “He will do very well in the East Coach Hockey League and I look forward to following his progress.”

Prior to coming to Acadia University, Owens set career points records in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League with 258 points in just 213 games with the Miramichi Timberwolves.

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2748OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of Alberta Golden Bears hope to repeat as University Cup champions later this week when the top CIS men’s hockey programs gather in Halifax for the first time in history.

Championship website: www.universitycup.ca

St. Francis Xavier University hosts the 2015 tournament at the Scotiabank Centre. The national competition, using a new eight-team format this year, gets underway on Thursday and culminates Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic Time (5:30 p.m. ET) with the gold-medal final, live on Sportsnet 360.

Saturday’s semifinals are also live on Sportsnet 360 (noon & 4 p.m. Atlantic), while the quarter-finals and the bronze-medal match are set to air on Eastlink TV. All eight games from the tourney will be webcast on www.CIS-SIC.tv.

The Golden Bears, who won their record 14th University Cup title a year ago and successfully defended the Canada West banner over the weekend, will be joined in Nova Scotia’s capital by the second-seeded UNB Varsity Reds (AUS champions), No. 3 Guelph Gryphons (OUA champs), No. 4 UQTR Patriotes (OUA finalists), No. 5 Acadia Axemen (AUS finalists), No. 6 Calgary Dinos (Canada West finalists), No. 7 Windsor Lancers (OUA bronze medallists) and No. 8 StFX X-Men (AUS semi-finalists).

The quarter-final matchups, split over two days, include Calgary vs. Guelph at 1 p.m. and Windsor vs. UNB at 7 p.m. on Thursday, as well as Acadia vs. UQTR at 1 p.m. and StFX vs. Alberta at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Alberta was a logical choice to earn the top seed for a third straight year as the reigning champions led all 20 weekly national polls this season, posted a CIS-best 24-3-1 mark in league play and added four straight wins in the Canada West playoffs, including a two-game sweep against Calgary in the conference final.Read more »

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Axemen Return to the University Cup for 2nd Straight Year

CIS-SEEDINGThe Acadia Axemen will take the ice on Friday afternoon at 1pm at Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre, when they face the UQTR Patriotes. This year’s University Cup tournament features a new format, with 8 teams, separated into two brackets, in a win and move on, lose and go home format.

The Axemen return to Nationals after an unfulfilling finish to last year, as they went out to Saskatoon as AUS champions, with high hopes of bringing home a CIS title to Wolfville, NS. But the opening game of the tournament all but dashed those hopes, dropping the opener 4-2 to the Windsor Lancers. In the past 6 team format, although it wasn’t a single game knockout, an opening loss would mean a lot would need to go right the rest of the way, with some help from another team to advance. It wasn’t meant to be as Acadia was knocked off by the tournament host University of Saskatchewan Huskies 3-2. Despite the two close games, the Axemen wanted more… another chance.Read more »

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Acadia ranked #5, face UQTR Friday at 1pm

The Acadia Axemen received the #5 ranking for the CIS University Cup tournament in Halifax this week; with that seed, they will take on the #4 seeded UQTR Patriotes on Friday at 1pm at the Scotiabank Centre. The UQTR were OUA finalists, falling to the tournament #3 ranked Guelph Gryphons. Acadia lost in the AUS finals to the tournament #2 ranked UNB Varsity Reds.

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Axemen Thompson & Cazzola named to All-Stars, Franko & Giftopoulos to Rookie Team

AUS-ALLSTARS15(HALIFAX, N.S.) – Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2014-15 AUS men’s hockey major award winners and all-stars as selected by the conference’s eight head coaches following regular season play.

Second-year forward Philippe Maillet of Lachenaie, Que. has been named the Atlantic University Sport most valuable player.

Other AUS major award winners announced today were UNB’s Randy Gazzola of Thorold, Ont., who was named rookie of the year; Saint Mary’s Ben Duffy of Lower Sackville, N.S., who was selected as the most sportsmanlike player; StFX’s Rob Slaney of Portugal Cove, N.L., who earned the Godfrey award for student-athlete community service; and UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall, who was named the AUS coach of the year for the fourth time in his career.Read more »