2018 U SPORTS Cavendish Farms University Cup

Quarter-final 3: Golden Bears hold on to beat Acadia 

March 16, 2018

FREDERICTON (U SPORTS) – Stephane Legault had a five-point afternoon and Riley Kieser had two goals and two assists as the Alberta Golden Bears beat the Acadia Axemen 8-6 in the third quarter-final game of the 2018 U SPORTS Cavendish Farms University Cup.

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Jason Fram and Cole Sanford each picked up a goal and two assists in the win for Alberta.

The Golden Bears avenge their quarter-final loss against Acadia at last year’s University Cup with the win.

“It was never about redemption,” said Golden Bears head coach Serge Lajoie.

Alberta quickly entered the Acadia zone off the opening faceoff. Kieser converted on a cross-ice, backhand pass from Fram to open the scoring just 13 seconds in.

After some back and forth action, Kieser would score his second goal, redirecting a pass from the corner to put the Bears up by two.

Kyle Farrell responded for Acadia just 16 seconds later with a quick shot from the slot. Read more ›

6 different scorers lead Acadia to victory

WOLFVILLE, N.S – The USports No. 7 Acadia Axemen went out with a bang for their last game on home ice of the 2017-18 season, with a 6-1 blowout win over the No. 8 Saint Mary’s Huskies.

Even sweeter for the Axemen is the fact that the win guarantees them a spot in the 2018 U SPORTS University Cup in Fredericton, N.B. Axemen forward Sam Fioretti was named Subway First Star of the Night for a pair of terrific assists.

Although Saint Mary’s dominated the opening minutes of the first, Acadia controlled the rest of the period, taking a 4-0 lead into the second period.

Acadia opened the scoring just before the two-minute mark in the first, when forward Stephen Harper dropped the puck at the top of the right faceoff circle for Ryan Foss, who ripped a low wrist shot past the Huskies goalie Cole Cheveldave.

The second Axemen goal came from forward and third star of the night, Taylor Makin – his first goal of the post-season.

Makin took a cross-crease pass from Rodney Southam in front of the net and lifted it over the Saint Mary’s goalie for a 2-0 lead.

Sam Fioretti had a pair of beautiful assists in the first, exactly two minutes apart, setting up the third and fourth goals of the period, for Boston Leier and Kyle Farrell on the power-play. Read more ›

3rd & Deciding Game Goes Friday in Wolfville

(Halifax, N.S.) The Saint Mary’s Huskies picked up a 3-2 win over the Acadia Axemen in game two of their AUS consolation final series on Wednesday night at the Halifax Forum. The best of three series is now even at 1-1.

Anthony Repaci (Toronto, Ont.) picked up a pair and Aaron Berisha (Mississauga, Ont.) scored for SMU. Cole Cheveldave (Calgary, Alta.) made 21 saves in the win.

“I thought Chevy played outstanding,” said Huskies Head Coach Trevor Stienburg. “He held the fort, he moved the puck well for us and gave us a chance to get pucks out of our own end.”

Samuel Fioretti (Calgary, Alta.) and Kyle Farrell (Howie Corner, N.S.) scored for the Axemen.

Robert Steeves (St. Joseph-de-Kent, N.B.) finished with 21 saves.

Fioretti opened the scoring 9:19 into the first. Boston Leier (Saskatoon, Sask.) knocked a clearing attempt out of the air, Fioretti jumped on the puck just above the left circle and snapped it home low blocker through a screen in front from just above the dot.

Berisha tied it up just under two-minutes later. Berisha back to Dylan DiPerna (Nobleton, Ont.) who took a point shot that was tipped by Jake Coughler (St. Catherines, Ont.) and Berisha knocked the rebound in from in tight.

Repaci made it 2-1 at 17:18 of the first. Calder Brooks (Emerald Park, Sask.) held the puck in at the line and flipped a backhand on net, Repaci tipped it on the way through and it bounced in passed the left pad. Read more ›

Harper with a goal & 3 assists in Axemen win

WOLFVILLE, N.S – The AUS consolation series got off to an exciting start, as the USports No. 6 Acadia Axemen doubled up on the No. 7 Saint Mary’s Huskies for a final score of 6-3 on Monday night.

Axemen forward, and Subway First Star of the Night, Stephen Harper had a solid performance in his first home game since sustaining an injury in the first round of the playoffs, registering three assists and the game-winner.

Despite being even in shots, the Axemen dominated the first period, as they held a 3-1 lead heading into the second period.

The first goal of the game came when Axemen forward Stephen Harper curled in the on the right side of the offensive zone, protecting the puck.

As Harper went behind the Huskies net, he threw a backhand pass out to an open Remy Giftopoulos, who lifted the puck over the Saint Mary’s Eric Brassard for the 1-0 lead.

Acadia added to their lead roughly 30 seconds later, with a power-play marker from forward Sam Fioretti, who redirected a wrist shot from the point by defenseman Matthew Pufahl.

For their third goal, the Axemen got offence from first year forward Ryan Foss, who lobbed a wrist shot from against the left boards past the screened goalie into the far-right corner of the net.

Saint Mary’s responded eight seconds later, off the faceoff with a 2-on-1 rush, finished by forward Connor McGlynn, who lifted the puck over the blocker of the Robert Steeves to make it 3-1 heading into the second. Read more ›

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StFX scores late powerplay goal in 4-3 victory

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The USports No. 3 StFX X-Men managed to stay alive in the best-of-five series on Monday night in Wolfville, with a 4-3 win over the No. 7 Acadia Axemen to tie the series at 2-2.

AUS Most Valuable Player Chase Marchand deservedly received Subway First Star of the Night honours on the night for another strong performance to help his team win.

An evenly matched opening period between the two teams showed on the scoreboard, with the teams tied at 1-1 heading into the second.

The X-Men opened the scoring 5:56 into the first frame, on a goal by StFX defenseman Daniel Robertson, who came in off the blue-line and ripped a shot into the top right corner of the Axemen net.

Acadia evened the score late in the period, when defenseman Stephen Woodworth sent a cross-ice pass to forward Boston Leier who fired a low wrist shot past the screened Marchand.

By the end of the period, the X-Men led 11-10 in shots.

The second period mirrored the first. StFX capitalized on an untimely change by an Axemen defenseman due to an equipment issue, with StFX forward Matt Needham scoring on a scramble in front of the Acadia net to make it 2-1. Read more ›

Clarke scores lone goal in victory

WOLFVILLE, N.S – It was a nail-biter on Sunday night in Wolfville, as the USports No. 7 Acadia Axemen took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series with a 1-0 win over the No. 3 StFX X-Men.

The game was dominated by the goaltenders, with Axemen goaltender Robert Steeves and X-Men goaltender Chase Marchand taking second and third stars of the night, respectively.

Neither team was able to score in the first period that saw the Axemen outshoot the X-Men 11-3.

The period saw no shortage of penalties, as the teams combined for 22 minutes in penalties, including a ruckus that broke out in front of the StFX net.

Acadia nearly scored when defenseman Geoff Schemitsch broke in on the right wing and slid a pass in front of the net that slid under the pad of the X-Men goalie, but stayed out of the net.

The Axemen broke the scoreless tie at 3:11 into the second for the only goal of the period, taking their 1-0 lead into the third.

Axemen forward, and Subway First Star of the Game, Michael Clarke came out in front of the X-Men net and lifted a backhand over the glove of the X-Men goaltender Chase Marchand to make it 1-0. The goal would be the eventual game-winner for the Axemen. Read more ›