Category: Team Stories

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Axemen freshman goaltender recognized for exceptional regular season

Atlantic University Sport named the men’s hockey All-Star and All-Rookie teams today, and Acadia Axemen freshman goaltender, Thomas Couture has been named to both the All-Rookie Team, as well as a 1st Team All-Star.  The Acadia Axemen hockey program would like to send our congratulations to Thomas on this tremendous achievement.

The Levis, QC native, not only had excellent statistical numbers this season, but also made countless highlight reel and game saving stops for the Axemen throughout the year. He was named AUS and USports male athlete of the week for the first week of January 2024.

With teammate Brayden Peters going down with a season ending injury early in the season, Couture was counted on heavily to shoulder the load in goal for Acadia, seeing action in 24 of 30 regular season games, where he would boast a .915 Save Percentage, good for 3rd best in the AUS, and a 2.76 Goals Against Average, which was 4th best in the conference.

Couture repeats the impressive feat that UNB netminder Samuel Richard achieved last season, earning a spot on both the 1st Team All-Star and All-Rookie Team for the AUS.

He also becomes the 1st Axemen to be named a 1st Team All-Star since fellow goaltender Logan Flodell did so in 2019-20, and the first Acadia member of the All-Rookie Team since defenceman Garrett McFadden got the nod in 2018-19.

Acadia Axemen Head Coach Darren Burns congratulated his goaltender on the announcement saying, “We are very proud of Thomas and his accomplishments this season. For a rookie goaltender to be named a first team all-star is not an easy task. His play this year spearheaded a very strong defensive effort for our team. He played in many low scoring games, which added to the pressure during his season. Playing against national contending teams every night, he was ready to compete night in night out. His personal statistics spoke volumes and his leadership on and off the ice were vital for the program this season. Having him in our lineup bodes very well for the future of this team.”

Prior to joining the Axemen, Couture played in the QMJHL with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in 2022-23, where he was 26-16-3 in 48 regular season games, and the previous season, he captured a Memorial Cup championship with the Saint John SeaDogs, along with current Axemen teammates Brady Burns and Charlie Desroches. After starting the season in Moncton, he went 18-1-1 in the regular season with the SeaDogs with a 1.99 GAA & a .925 save percentage enroute to the MEM Cup.

Couture and the Axemen will look to even up their AUS quarterfinal series at one in a best of 3 series with the StFX X-Men on Saturday night in Wolfville. The Acadia netminder made 57 saves on 61 shots in game 1, including a number of acrobatic stops in the OT sessions, but the X-Men went on to prevail in the 3OT marathon.

Congratulations Thomas!

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Best of 3 Series, Acadia Axemen vs StFX X-Men

In a re-match of last year’s AUS quarterfinal series, the Acadia Axemen will face the StFX X-Men in a best of 3 matchup. Much like last year, StFX owns the home ice advantage in the short series, and the Axemen will look to replay history, as a year ago they went into Antigonish, winning game 1, before returning to Wolfville to close out the best of 3 series at home in game 2. What will this year’s series bring? We will soon see, as Game 1 goes on Wednesday evening.

The 16-13-1 X-Men have won their last 3 games, and feature a high flying offense, that was 2nd to only UNB in the AUS, as they scored 112 goals in the regular season. In contrast, Acadia (9-16-5) scored just 70 goals on the season, however, the Axemen were stingy on the defensive side, giving up just 98 goals on the season, 3rd lowest in the AUS, and 5 less than the X-Men.

For Acadia, Bailey Peach (18 points and co-team lead with 8 goals), Liam Kidney & Brendan Sellan (16 points each), and Ethan Ernst (8 goals) will be heavily counted on for offense against StFX. While forwards Nick Deakin-Poot, Reilly Webb, and Zack Jones will be leaned on to provide strong defensive, two-way play, for Acadia in this short series. As has been the case all season, the strong defence corps of the Axemen will play a big role in the success of the team in this series. The Axemen are hopeful to see the return of  leading scorer Brady Burns, (21 points in 24 games), who has missed the last 6 games, and Peyton Hoyt (6 points in 13 games) at some point during the series, but their status will be a game time decision.

The Axemen will need to focus on containing the X-Men offensive prowess led by AUS 2nd leading scorer Matthew Struthers (46 points), and perennial top scorer Liam Hawel, (37 points), along with the team’s top goal scorer Jacob Hudson, who had 18 goals and 32 points, and Charlie Callaghan delivers offense from the backend with 21 points as a defenseman.

Perhaps the biggest spotlight of the series will shine on the goaltending matchup, where the X-Men’s Joseph Raaymakers (14-12, 2.96 GAA, .912 SV%) will face Axemen star rookie Thomas Couture (7-10-5, 2.76 GAA, .915 SV%). Acadia will look to Couture to continue his outstanding play moving forward in the series.

We caught up with Axemen head coach Darren Burns to get his thoughts on the series, he said, “We are looking forward to the start of the playoffs. We have been really happy with our team’s battle level and focus this year.

Its been a season where players have had to continually adapt to different situations and responsibilities, as our line up was always changing with many players not available. It is important for our team to keep this focus in the post season.”

Game 1 goes Wednesday night in Antigonish at 7pm, before the series shifts to Wolfville for a Saturday night matchup in Game 2. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for Monday, February 19th back in Antigonish.

Get your tickets for Acadia’s home game at the Acadia Box Office or purchase online at acadiau.universitytickets.com

#GoAcadiaGo