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2019-20 AUS men’s hockey major awards and all-stars announced

Acadia’s Logan Flodell named AUS MVP

(HALIFAX, N.S.) – Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2019-20 AUS men’s hockey major award winners and all-stars as selected by the conference’s seven head coaches following regular season play.

Second-year Acadia Axemen goaltender Logan Flodell (Regina, Sask.) has been named the AUS MVP.

Other major award winners include Saint Mary’s Mitchell Balmas of Sydney, N.S., who was named rookie of the year; Moncton’s Vincent Deslauriers of Blainville, Que., who was selected as most sportsmanlike player; Acadia’s Liam Maaskant of Clinton, Ont., the recipient of the Godfrey Award for student-athlete community service; and Acadia head coach Darren Burns who was named AUS coach of the year for the fourth time in his career.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (Kelly Trophy): Logan Flodell, Acadia Axemen

The Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey most valuable player is Logan Flodell of the Acadia Axemen.

Flodell, a second-year goaltender from Regina, Sask., played in 26 games for the Axemen this season. He led the conference with a save percentage of .918. His goals against average of 2.79 was the third best in AUS.

Acadia finished the regular season with a 19-9-2 record, good for second place in the conference standings, securing a bye through to the semi-final round of the Subway AUS Men’s Hockey Playoffs.

In addition to being named AUS MVP, Flodell earned a place on the AUS first team all-star squad for the first time in his career.

Flodell now becomes the AUS nominee for the for the U SPORTS Senator Joseph A. Sullivan trophy as the nation’s top player.

The Atlantic conference has claimed nine of the past 16 national player of the year awards.

Former Axemen standout Liam Heelis is the most recent player from an Acadia team to be named national MVP. He won the award in 2013-14.

Philippe Maillet of UNB is the most recent player from the Atlantic conference to earn the national honour. He won the award in 2016-17.

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Harper, McNulty with 2 points in Acadia loss

Antigonish, NS – The StFX X-Men closed out AUS regular season play with a 5-2 victory over the Acadia Axemen Saturday night at the Charles V. Keating Centre.

The X-Men scored three power play goals in the game as the held leads of 3-0 after one and 4-1 after two periods.

Acadia went on the penalty kill 23 seconds into the game and the X-Men took advantage as Santino Centorame (Mississauga, ON)) scored at 1:27 on the man-advantage. He beat Axemen netminder Dawson Carty (St. Stephen, NB) on a shot from the face-off circle.

Adam Laishram (Ashburn, ON) scored five minutes later, again on the power play, on a nice shot off a feed from Adam Holwell (St. John’s, NL).

Bryson Cianfrone (Stoney Creek, ON) rounded out the first period scoring with a goal at 16:54 as he put the puck into the open side of the Acadia net, pouncing on a Holwell rebound.

The X-Men outshot the Axemen 15-3 in the opening period.

The visitors responded in the second period as Stephen Harper (Burlington, ON) tallied just over six minutes in, putting in a rebound as the puck bounced around the X crease in front of goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon (Antigonish, NS).

The X-Men regained their three-goal lead on a power play goal by Regan Spears (Port Hood, NS) as he netted a rebound after Carty made the save on a Matt Needham (Kamloops, BC) shot.

StFX outshot Acadia 10-7 in the second period and took the 4-1 lead into the locker room after 40 minutes.

Marc McNulty (Medicine Hat, AB) closed the gap when he scored for the Axemen just 18 seconds into the third period. Harper won the face-off in the X zone, circled behind the net and got it out front to the open McNulty who beat Mann-Dixon.Read more »

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7 different players with goals for Acadia

WOLFVILLE N.S. – The Acadia Axemen’s Senior Night and final home game of the season proved to be a fruitful one, as they came away victorious over the visiting Dalhousie Tigers Friday night.

“We made a couple of blunders. A couple of mistakes we haven’t been making and they scored. We did play better in the last 10 minutes which was nice to see. Overall we put in a pretty good effort, sometimes near the end of the season it’s a little tougher with the grind that goes on, but we’re pretty pleased the way we performed,” said assistant coach Mike Alcoe following the win.

With 5:24 remaining in the first, Acadia found the back of the net. Axemen forward Maurizio Colella parked himself in front of goal and deflected in a Liam Maskaant point shot to put Acadia ahead 1-0 on the powerplay. Ross MacDougall also assisted.

The Axemen were not done there. Just 1:12 later, Owen MacDonald buried his 10th of the season after capitalizing on a Dalhousie turnover with a perfect wrister over the blocker of Dalhousie goaltender Kevin Resop and under the bar, popping the water bottle on its way in.

The teams headed to the dressing rooms after 20 minutes with Acadia leading 2-0.

At the 6:35 mark of the second period, Acadia defenceman Ross MacDougall added a goal to his points tally for the evening with a slapshot from the tops of the circles that found its’ way through the scrambling Tiger’s goalie. The goal was assisted by Stephen Harper and TJ Fergus.

Though both teams had scoring opportunities throughout the remainder of the period, neither squad could beat the oppositions netminder and score remained 3-0 for the Axemen after two.Read more »

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Acadia uses final weekend to prep for playoffs

The Acadia Axemen have secured a first round bye in the AUS playoffs. With two games left to play in the regular season, the Axemen have an 18-8-2 record, good for 38 points, 6 more than 3rd place Saint Mary’s. The Axemen clinched the bye last weekend earning a point in a 4-3 overtime shootout loss to the Moncton Aigles Bleus.

Coach Darren Burns is pleased with earning the bye saying, “I believe our team should feel really good about reaching one of their goals of securing a bye. There is no doubt that we needed the time for some guys to get ready to play and back in our lineup.”

The Axemen have battled injuries all season but have continued to find a way to win through a strong defensive game, great goaltending, and a knack to find the back of the net.

Acadia has the 2nd most goals in the AUS, tied with SMU with 104, trailing only UNB who have amassed 143 goals. Meanwhile at the other end of the ice, the Axemen have given up the 2nd lowest number of goals against this season, with just 85, trailing only UNB’s 53 goals against.

2nd year netminder, Logan Flodell has been stellar in the Axemen net this season with a 15-8 record, leading the conference with a .918 save percentage.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Digiacinto continues to have a breakout season, tied for the AUS lead in goals with 19, even with UdeM’s St-Cyr. Digiacinto has an impressive 36 points in 28 games and a +13 rating, having also amassed 80 minutes in penalties on the season.

Coach Burns looks forward to the playoffs and his team’s preparation adding, “The playoffs are an exciting time. As a coaching staff we are eager to see what our team is capable of. We really haven’t had an opportunity to see how good we can be since early September during practices. We still have two games left where we must work hard to improve our game. It’s important not to overlook this weekend. We have lots to works on over the next couple of weeks in preparation for the playoffs.  This practice time will be crucial as the intensity and speed of the playoffs compared to the regular season is at a completely different level. If you’re not ready to go, you get left behind. That’s just how good this league is.”

The 1st round playoff matchups remain undecided heading into the last weekend of the regular season, with Dalhousie being eliminated from contention.Read more »

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McFadden with 3 points for Acadia

WOLFVILLE N.S – The Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleus left the Andrew H. McCain Arena with a win 4-3 overtime-shootout win over the home Acadia Axemen. The overtime loss earns the Axemen one point in the standings – clinching the second place in the AUS standings and a quarterfinal bye.

Acadia’s Garrett McFadden was first to find the back of the net 4:21 into the game when his pass aimed for a teammate at the side of the goal hit a UdeM player’s skate and found its way past the foot of goaltender Etienne Montpetit. The powerplay goal was assisted by TJ Fergus and Owen MacDonald.

The powerplay remained hot for the Axemen as Stephen Harper doubled the lead about two minutes later on a 5-on-3 break. After receiving a McFadden pass just below the goal line, he patiently found his way to a shooting angle and fired it to the far side past the blocker of Montpetit. Cristiano Digiacinto also assisted the goal.

Les Aigles Bleus brought the game back within one with 4:55 remaining in the opening period. Maxime St-Cyr’s one-time slapshot hit an Acadia penalty killer before finding its way past Logan Flodell. The 5-on-3 powerplay goal was assisted by Vincent Lanoue and Samuel Guilbault.

Moncton was not done there. The same three players combined to tie the game within 30 seconds of the last goal. This time it was Samuel Guilbault who found the net, tapping in a pass through the five-hole of Flodell for yet another powerplay goal.Read more »

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Corneil & MacDougall with Acadia goals

WOLFVILLE N.S. –The visiting UNB Reds came away from victorious over the home Acadia Axemen, winning by a score of 4-2 and extend their winning streak to 11 while ending Acadia’s home game winning streak of 11.

The Axemen were the first team on the scoresheet. Johnny Corneil picked up the marker after finishing off a shorthanded 2 on 1 break by beating Reds goalie Samuel Harvey with a backhand through the five-hole. The goal was assisted by Rodney Southam and Tate Olsen.

The rest of the high-flying first period saw a bulk of chances at both ends, but no more goals. The Axemen led 1-0 after 20 minutes but trailed UNB’s 13-10 shots on goal advantage.

The second frame was a scoreless one, the main highlight coming from Axemen goaltender Logan Flodell who robbed UNB’s Tyler Boland with a flashy glove save on a one-timer in the slot. Even with numerous powerplay opportunities for both the Reds and the Axemen, neither team was able to find the back of the net and the score remained 1-0 for the home team.

Within the first two minutes of the third, UNB tied up the game at one.

Kris Bennett found a loose puck in front of the goal and showed great patience to maneuver around the goalie before sliding the puck past the outstretched Logan Flodell. The goal was shorthanded.Read more »

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Digiacinto with 3 goals, 1 assist in Acadia win

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI – The Acadia Axemen picked up a valuable win despite a strong UPEI Panthers comeback on Friday.  

Acadia (18-7-1) did most of their work in the first period and carried a 5-1 lead into the intermission, but had to fight off a strong second and third period from UPEI (8-13-3). 

This loss continues UPEI’s four-game losing streak as their discipline haunted them throughout the game. 

A UPEI turnover in front of their own net led to an early Acadia goal by Johnny Corneil; Cristiano Digiacinto and Jordy Stallard assisted with 15:51 remaining. 

Five minutes later, Acadia’s Owen MacDonald scored on a rebound from a Maurizio Colella shot on the powerplay. 

Acadia scored again less than 30 seconds later as the Subway Player of the Game Cristiano Digiacinto scored his first of the evening. 

UPEI called a timeout in the first period in hopes of turning the tides. 

The Panthers finally answered back with a five-on-three powerplay goal from points leader Kameron Kielly, with Kyle Maksimovich picking up his first assist of the game. 

Penalties continued to hurt the Panthers late in the first, as Digiacinto scored his second of the night on a five-on-three power play. 

Acadia’s powerplay was not done either Colella scored on the man advantage with 20 seconds remaining. Owen MacDonald picked up his second point of the game with an assist on the goal. 

Read more »

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Flodell brilliant in Acadia net with 36 saves

(Halifax, NS) In AUS men’s hockey action, the Saint Mary’s Huskies hosted the Acadia Axemen at the Dauphinee Centre and two power play goals helped propel the Huskies to a 4-2 win.

The Axemen were looking to get in control early, using regroups in the neutral zone to great effect. The Huskies, meanwhile, had a couple sloppy defensive plays that led to scoring chances for the Axemen. First was a dangerous pass through the middle on their breakout that was picked off by an Axemen forechecker; shortly after, a giveaway in front of the net gave Ryan Foss (Oakville, ON) an opportunity to open the scoring. Huskies goalie Eric Brassard (St. Hubert, QC) had to be sharp early to keep the game scoreless.

Once the Huskies started getting their feet moving, the game evened out. With a couple back-to-back power plays, they generated chances with shots from the point and opened the scoring halfway through the period.

On the man advantage, Stephen Johnson (Moncton, NB) came into the zone down the right wing. The rebound from his sharp angle shot popped straight out in the slot to Keith Getson (Bridgewater, NS), who put home the rebound. Anthony Repaci (Toronto, ON) also assisted.

The Axemen responded with just under four minutes left in the first frame. In a pretty passing play down low, the puck danced between Jordy Stallard (Brandon, MB) and Mason McCarty (Blackie, AB) before getting dished to Cristiano Digiacinto (Hamilton, ON), who had an open net for the Axemen’s first goal.

After an Acadia power play, the first period ended with the teams tied 1-1, each with 10 shots.Read more »

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Digiacinto scores in Acadia loss

MONCTON, N.B. – Goals by Vincent Millette (Gabriel Vanier, Jeremy Hannah) and Maxime St-Cyr (Samuel Guilbault, Robbie Graham), 33 seconds apart midway in the first period, lifted the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus (10–8–6-0=26pts, 4th position) to a 2-1 win over Acadia University Axemen (17-6–1-0=35pts, 2nd position) at the J.-Louis-Lévesque Arena on Saturday in an Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey game in front of over 525 spectators. 

The Judes Vallée coached team then held on in the second and third periods for the win. Winning goaltender Étienne Montpetit made 28 saves compared to 24 for his opponent, Logan Flodell. Cristiano Digiacinto (Stephen Harper, Liam Maaskant), in the eight minute of the third, had reduced to lead to a single goal.

Millette scored his first university career goal. Moncton was 0 for 5 on the power play and Acadia, 0 for 4. The Blue and Gold ended a four game losing streak while Acadia has lost its‘ last three outings. 

Acadia plays Saint Mary’s on Wednesday in Halifax while the Aigles Bleus play two home games next weekend, against the X-Men Friday and the Tigers, Saturday.

Provided by Moncton Communications. 

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Flodell with 38 saves for Acadia

RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics

(FREDERICTON, NB) The U SPORTS No. 1 UNB Reds scored a 2-1 shootout win over the No. 6 Acadia Axemen, in an exciting game at UNB’s Aitken Centre, on Friday night.

Kris Bennett (Brampton, ON) scored the Reds’ shootout winner, and was named the Subway Player of the Game.

“I thought, if I had a little pump fake, it might fake him out and it did,” said Bennett. “Fortunately, I’m lucky and I really think we deserved that win, one way or another.”

“Credit to the guys, especially Sam Harvey in net. It was a huge win,” he said.

The visitors struck first when Acadia’s Jordy Stallard (Brandon, MB) jammed home a loose puck at the side of the Reds net at 4:14 of the first period.

The Reds drew even mid-way through the opening frame.Read more »