Nagy & Peach with the Acadia tallies

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – In the first of a five-game homestand, and the home-opener of 2023, the Acadia Axemen (6-12-1-1) came out with a victory. Acadia downed the Saint Mary’s Huskies (14-8-0-0) 2-1 on Friday night in Wolfville. 

Snapping a losing streak of three games, the Axemen trail Moncton and STFX by six points in the AUS standings in sixth place.  

“It was a huge, big game for us. We wanted to come out strong and play the way we know we can,” said AUS Subway First Star of the Game, Corson Hopwo (Duncan, B.C.). “We wanted to get the cycle going and get shots on net and run their d-men. So I think we played well tonight and we want to keep it going into tomorrow.” 

Despite holding the lead in shots for the opening frame, Acadia was down 1-0 by the end of the first period. 

The play was even between the teams throughout the period. Both sides had a number of chances, but it was Saint Mary’s who struck first. 

Saint Mary’s opened the scoring with 90 seconds left in the first frame. 

Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhill, Ont.) potted a goal for the Huskies on a quick pass from Nathan Dunkely (Campbellford, Ont.) to open the scoring. 

By the end of the first period, the shots were 9-8 in favour of Acadia. 

It was all Acadia in the second, as they responded with a pair of goals to take a 2-1 lead heading into the third frame. 

The Axemen tied the game on a goal from Cole Nagy (Saskatoon, Sask.), 12 minutes into the second period. 

Acadia used a strong breakout from their zone to score. Nagy took a pass from Nick Deakin-Poot (Georgetown, Ont.) and ripped a shot past the glove of Saint Mary’s goalie Jeremy Helvig (Kingston, Ont.). 

Bailey Peach (Falmouth, N.S.) gave Acadia their first lead of the game just over three minutes later. 

Peach sniped a shot from the slot to make it 2-1 for Acadia. 

At the end of the second period, Acadia held a commanding 23-13 lead in shots. 

Neither team was able to add to the scoresheet in a tight defensive third period. 

Acadia had a shot at getting an empty-netter late in the game, but they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity, making for a tense final minute of play. 

Acadia goalie Conor McCollum (Pickering, Ont.) turned aside 22 of 23 shots on the night, while his Saint Mary’s counterpart, Jeremy Helvig, stopped 31 of 33 shots on net. 

Acadia returns to play tomorrow night in Wolfville against the UPEI Panthers, while the Huskies host the UNB REDS next Friday night. 

Peach, Flaman, & Sellan score for Acadia

Antigonish, NS – The STFX X Men snapped a three-game losing streak with a convincing 6-3 victory over the visiting Acadia Axemen at the Charles V. Keating Centre on Saturday night. 

The Axemen came out quick in the first five minutes, holding the majority of possession and quality shots in the early going. STFX had a few chances in a row off a scramble during a powerplay later in the period but Acadia goalie Conor McCollum (Pickering, ON) and the stingy Axemen defence kept the score at zero though the first 10 minutes. 

It’s was STFX’s Adam Holwell (St. John’s, NFLD) who broke the tie, going high on the glove side with a clapper from the wing while shorthanded for his second goal of the season. Acadia however tied it up just over three minutes later, with Bailey Peach (Falmouth, NS) jumping on a loose puck in front of the X net.  

Josh Nelson (Lockport, IL) put the X-Men up again just over a minute later, showing off his hands off a feed from Zack Trott (Mulmur, ON) and Liam Hawel (Arnprior, ON). Shots at the end of the period were 17-15 in favour of Acadia. 

Trott made the game 3-1 with just over six minutes gone in the second, knocking the puck out of the air off a Jacob Hudson (Antigonish, NS) shot on the powerplay. STFX almost added to their lead with about five minute left in the period, but McCollum made a great cross crease save. 

The chippy play continued through most of the period, with the teams incurring 80 minutes in penalties over the first 40 minutes of play. Shots at the end of the second were 26 apiece as STFX held onto the 3-1 advantage. 

Acadia cut into the lead with almost four minutes gone in the third, with Jack Flaman (Vibank, SA) potting one off a shorted handed 2-on-1 from Luke Zazula (Langley, BC).  

About three minutes later, Connor Roberts (Owen Sound, ON) notched his fourth goal of the season and made it a two goal lead once again.  STFX added another three minutes later, with Roberts firing one that got stopped but Nelson banged in the rebound for the home team three minutes later.  

X-Men defenseman Clark Webster (Kensington, PEI) tallied his first goal of the season two minutes later, off a pass from Matthew Struthers (Milton, ON), but Acadia responded quickly, with Acadia’s Brendan Sellan (Orangeville, ON) making the score 6-3.  

STFX netminder Joseph Raaymakers (Chatham, ON) had 34 saves in the win while McCollum made 29 saves in the loss. Shots at the end of the game were 37-35 in favour of Acadia.  

Nelson’s two goal performance earned him first star and Subway player of the game honours, while Roberts picked up the second star and Acadia’s Flaman was named third star.  

The X-Men next take to the ice on January 13, when they will travel to Moncton. As for the Axemen, they will host St. Mary’s next Friday. 

-30- 

Recap courtesy Matt Draper, STFX Athletics 

Morgan Nauss scores for Acadia in loss

The Dalhousie Tigers Men’s hockey team welcomed the Acadia Axemen to the Halifax Forum on Friday night for both teams’ first game of the new year. 

The Tigers wasted no time bringing the offense to 2023 as Campbell Pickard (Halifax, NS) deposited a quick shot off a rebound, just 35 seconds in for a 1-0 lead. The Axemen would respond with several good shifts of their own, cycling the puck in the Tigers zone, which resulted in a great opportunity for Hudson Wilson (Toronto, ON).  

Acadia’s pressure continued, testing Dalhousie goaltender Connor Hicks (Kanata, ON), but he stood tall. With less than two minutes remaining in the opening frame, Acadia would head to the powerplay for the first time where some pretty passing saw Liam Kidney (Enfield, NS) get a great chance in front, but was denied by Hicks. Other than the physicality picking up, not much more would change through the end of the first, as Dalhousie took a 1-0 lead into the second, despite being heavily out-shot by the Axemen. 

Carrying their momentum forward, Acadia came out flying for the second period as Adam McMaster (Beamsville, ON) got a clear shot on net and the Axemen would draw a penalty for their second powerplay of the game. Coming ever so close Bailey Peach (Falmouth, NS) hit the crossbar with a laser from the blue line, but it remained a one-goal game. Finding some energy on the penalty kill, the Tigers responded with several shifts of their own in the Axemen zone, resulting in a beautiful wraparound goal by Matt Green (Hammonds Plains, NS) to make it 2-0 Dalhousie.  

Midway through the period, Acadia would head to the man advantage for a third time, but some big blocks by the Tigers defense kept it 2-0. Dalhousie’s powerplay would get their first opportunity with seven minutes left and saw both teams ring the puck off the post, but the Tigers held the two-goal lead into the third period.  

The Tigers would return to the powerplay to start the final period, but this time it was the Axemen penalty kill coming up big to hold strong. Dalhousie would go on to take two more penalties in the last frame, giving Acadia several opportunities leading down to four minutes remaining. The last powerplay would come to an abrupt end however as the Axemen took a major penalty. 

With the Acadia goalie pulled, the Tigers would add an empty net goal from Pickard, for his second of the game to make it 3-0. The Axemen would spoil the shutout, however, adding a goal from Morgan Nauss (Hammonds Plains, NS) with just seconds remaining in the game, for a final score of 3-1. 

Goaltender Connor Hicks took home the Subway Player of the Game award for the Dalhousie Tigers 

The Dalhousie Tigers won their second straight, improving to 3-15-0-1, and will look to keep it going against Saint Mary’s Saturday at 7:00 pm. 

Acadia drops to 5-11-2-1 and will look to bounce back when they travel to play the X-Men in Antigonish Saturday at 7:00 pm 

Axemen eager for more after gaining 1st half experience

We’ve hit the holiday break in the AUS season, so let’s take a look back at the first half of the season for the Acadia Axemen.

The Axemen came into the season with a total of 9 new recruits joining the program, including six 1^st year forwards, 2 defensemen and 1 goalie. A tall order to initiate nearly half of the team into the fast paced, ultra competitive AUS conference. But the Axemen came out of the gate strong winning 2 of the first 3 games of the regular season before falling into a lull through mid October to mid November going 1-8-1.  The team found their stride heading into the holiday break, earning points in 4 straight games and going 2-1-1-1 in their last 5 games. Acadia currently sits in 6 place in the AUS, just 4 points back of the 5th place StFX X-Men.

Acadia Axemen head coach Darren Burns was pleased with his team’s progress saying, “To me, looking at the first half, it needs to be assessed in two parts. This was a very important year for the program coming out of the last two fragmented years and graduating so many players. It was crucial we got the right people to strengthen our foundation and culture and we feel extremely confident we have done that. This, mixed with great leadership by our veterans, has proven to create a positive first half. On the ice surface we feel the team grew immensely over the first half. We had a strong finish, as players got used to the league. We liked what we saw when we had our full line up. At the same time, it has made us hungry to want more and we believe our players feel the same. That being said, everyone knows the league is going to another level in the 2^nd half, that’s just the way the AUS is.”

In terms of individual players, forward Liam Kidney, of Enfield, got off to a hot start with 6 goals in his first 6 games and continues to lead the team with 7 goals and 12 points over 18 games.

Falmouth’s Bailey Peach had a strong first half in his 1^st season with Acadia, with 10 points in 17 games, good for second on the team; tied with fellow rookie Brendan Sellan, who came on late in the 1^st half with 6 points in his final 8 games.

Corson Hopwo came on strong with 8 points, before being injured in the 2^nd last game before the break, while Cole Nagy continues to impress at both ends of the ice with every AUS game he adds to his resume.

2^nd year centreman Adam McMaster had 9 points, while Peyton Hoyt had 7 points in 15 games. Nick Deakin-Poot also excelled to start the season, laying the body on the opponents every chance he had, scoring 6 points in 12 games despite injuries which forced him out of the lineup for 6 games.

Captain Jack Flaman, assistant captain Eric Henderson, and forward Keegan Stevenson began to find their scoring touch late in the 1st half, and will be counted on for continued leadership and secondary scoring in January.

The Axemen greatest strength may have been their defense. The returning 6 defenseman have led the way, with the shotblocking extraordinaires Orie Mainolfi and Morgan Nauss, getting in lanes and taking away scoring chances. Luke Zazula has pitched in on offense with 6 points, and Merrick Rippon has increased his offensive prowess this season with 9 points in 15 games. Assistant captains Reilly Webb and Hudson Wilson have brought strong leadership and continue to force opponents to earn every inch, the full length of the ice. Brendan Tomilson has been a strong addition on the blueline, also showing versatility stepping in to play forward when called upon.

In goal, 5^th year netminder Conor McCollum has emerged as the starting goalie throughout the first half, starting 11 games with a 5-4-2-1 record with a .895 Save Percentage and 3.11 Goals Against Average. While 1^st year Axemen Zack Paputsakis has been strong despite still looking for his 1^st win on the season, he has given Acadia a chance to win in each of his 7 starts on the season, with a 2.89 GAA and .908 SV%.

The Axemen will get a boost on the offensive side going into the 2^nd half as they have added former Halifax Mooseheads centremen Zack Jones to the team. The extra scoring punch may be just what Acadia needs to continue their push in the standings as they head into January.

As Coach Burns concluded, looking forward to coming out of the break, “It’s about to get faster and tougher starting in January and it’s up to our staff to prepare our players for this. We are looking forward to this challenge. At the end of the day, we were impressed with our team’s commitment. However bigger challenges lie ahead, and we look forward to taking them head on as a team.”

With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Axemen will look to come out of the holiday break strong when Acadia returns to the ice on January 6^th .  They will look to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Dalhousie Tigers in the final game before the break, when they travel to Halifax to face the Tigers at 7pm at the Halifax Forum.