Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Acadia sits atop of AUS Standings at the Holiday Break

With 18 games in the books and the first half of the year complete, the Acadia Axemen sit on top of the ultra competitive AUS men’s hockey conference with a 14-4 record. Many a night in the first half, the Axemen roster consisted of 14 or 15 skaters – 9 forwards and 5 defenceman; with two of those forwards often being defenceman playing out of their normal positions.

Despite the Axemen losing a total of 59 man games in the first half of the year, which could have been an easy way to excuse a bad first half, the Axemen refused to use a short bench as an excuse, instead they dug in deeper and rose to the moment every night.

After losing the first game to U de M Aigles Bleus on home ice, 5-2 to open the season, the Axemen then reeled off 9 straight wins. With each win their confidence built, and their strength came in playing as a team, outworking their opponents, capitalizing on chances, and backed by great goaltending. The Axemen then faced some mid first half struggles, dropping 3 of 4 games, before going back on a four-game win streak to close out the 1st half.

In looking back at the first half of the season, Acadia Head Coach Darren Burns was happy with his team’s result saying, “Our staff was very happy with our first half. In knowing we are hosting the nationals planning started close to two years ago, so we knew we were going to experience some growing pains last year in preparation, we feel as a team we have made a lot of progress over the last 18 months. It’s a positive to see the players commitment showing in the first half results.”

Looking at the different aspects of the Axemen game over the first 18 games, their powerplay is vastly improved over last year. At this point last year, the Axemen were desperate for answers as their powerplay struggled mightily, however this year, they have clipped along at a 22.8% conversion, good for 2nd best in the AUS, trailing only UNB’s 30%.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Game Recaps

Owen MacDonald nets the OT winner

WOLFVILLE N.S. – The Acadia Axemen closed out the 2019 half of their season on a high note with a nail-biting overtime win over the visiting Moncton Aigles Bleus.

Acadia took advantage of a powerplay opportunity to get their first goal of the night. After some patient play from Owen MacDonald, he feathered a perfect pass across the ice to Jordy Stallard who ripped a wrist shot over the blocker of the Moncton goaltender. The goal came at 6:49 of the first and was also assisted by TJ Fergus.

The rest of the period remained quiet with solid goaltending from both Moncton’s Etienne Montpetit and Acadia’s Logan Flodell.

It was 1-0 Axemen after the first period.

Les Aigles Bleus were next to strike, tying up the game just before the halfway mark of the second period. After dangling through a pair of Acadia players creating a 3 on 1, Danick Crete eventually finished off the rush by slamming home a rebound at the side of the Acadia goal. Robbie Graham and Alexis Roy assisted.

The Axemen regained their lead at the 14:03 mark of the period on the powerplay. Right off of an offensive zone faceoff, the puck took a weird bounce off of a Moncton players’ helmet before glancing off the goalie for a rebound potted home by Cristiano DiGiacinto on the edge of the crease. Mason McCarty grabbed the assist.

The period closed with the Axemen on top 2-1.

Maurizio Colella would give the Axemen a two-goal cushion on the powerplay 5:59 into the third period. A long battle along the boards eventually came loose to Mason McCarty who fed Colella in the slot for a one-timer that beat Montpetit to the blocker. Cristiano DiGiacinto had the second assist.Read more »

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Flodell stops 40 shots for the win

WOLFVILLE N.S. – After a quick back and forth game of hockey, the Acadia Axemen won their third straight game with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the U SPORTS No. 1 ranked UNB Reds.

Acadia was the first team to strike, taking advantage of a powerplay opportunity. Alexander Lepkowski buried his second of the season after finding a loose rebound from a Johnny Corneil shot and flipping the puck over the downed goalie and into the net.

The goal celebrations were short-lived as the Reds answered right back just under a minute later with a goal of their own. After Alexandre Goulet ripped a shot off the post, Olivier LeBlanc was in the right place to gather the rebound and stuff the puck in the open Acadia goal. Stephen Anderson also assisted.

The game was tied 1-1 after the first.

It took only 24 seconds into the second period for the Axemen to reinstate their lead. A speedy two-on-one rush was ended by Eric Henderson driving the net hard and having Maurizio Colella’s pass bounce off of him and past UNB goalie Rylan Parenteau.

Jack Flaman was next on the scoresheet for the Axemen, scoring 6:27 into the frame. He was sprung on a breakaway following a blocked shot and squeezed a quick wrister through the netminder.

The Reds responded with a goal of their own under a minute later. Matthew Boucher received a perfect backdoor pass from Alexandre Goulet for an easy tap-in to bring UNB within a goal.Read more »

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Carty with win in net for Axemen

WOLFVILLE N.S. – The Acadia Axemen were led by a Cristiano Digiacinto’s hat-trick to cap off a successful week of hockey with a 3-1 win against the UPEI Panthers Saturday night in Wolfville.

In what was a fast and physical first period, neither team was able to get the upper hand on the opposition. Thanks to some stellar goaltending from both UPEI’s Simon Hofley and Acadia’s Dawson Carty, who had 18 and 13 saves respectively, the game remained deadlocked as the teams headed to their dressing rooms.

UPEI’s Owen Headrick opened the scoring with a wicked top corner one-timer set up by Kyle Maksimovich on a 5 on 3 powerplay. The goal came at 6:59 of the second period and was also assisted by Darian Pilon. The rest of the period saw no more goals, but lots of chances at both ends of the rink.

The Panthers lead 1-0 after two.

Acadia was quick to tie up the game in the third. Just 4:34 into the frame Cristiano Digiacinto found some real estate in the slot and buried a quick Mason McCarty pass into the bottom right corner. Tate Olsen had the second assist on the goal.Read more »

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Stallard leads the way with 2 goals and an assist

WOLFVILLE N.S. – The Acadia Axemen got back to their winning ways after defeating the U SPORTS No. 8 ranked Saint Mary’s Huskies, by a score of 5-2.

The Axemen were the first to find the back of the net, with the first goal coming just 1:01 into the first period. Johnny Corneil was the opening goal scorer after getting his own rebound in front of the goal and beating SMU goalie Eric Brassard to the low glove side. Ross MacDougall and Cristiano DiGiacinto picked up the assists.

The second goal came only 1:24 after the first when Axeman Jordy Stallard buried his sixth of the season when a 2 on 1 rush ended with a perfect shot to the low glove, off the post and in. Garrett McFadden had the assist on the goal

The Axemen lead 2-0 after the first twenty.

It was just over halfway through the second frame when Nick Welsh scored to bring the Huskies within a goal. He received a nice pass on the left side of the offensive zone before beating Axemen goalie Logan Flodell to the far side with a quick wrister. Jonathan Hampton and Mitchell Balmas assisted.

Just 40 seconds later the Axemen struck back, as Jordy Stallard jammed home his second of the night after a scramble in front of the SMU net concluded with an easy loose puck tap-in. Mason McCarty and TJ Fergus were credited with assists on the tally.

With 2:21 remaining in the period TJ Fergus scored his first of the season on the powerplay.Read more »

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Acadia 3rd period comeback falls short

 

(Halifax, NS) – In Saturday night men’s hockey action, the Dalhousie Tigers hosted the Acadia Axemen at the Halifax Forum. Two goals over a seven-second span proved to be the difference in a 5-3 Tigers win.  

The Tigers controlled the puck early as they created an offensive chance in Acadia’s end. They were able to apply pressure down low which led to a wrap around chance but Logan Flodell (Regina, SK) made a good save to prevent the goal. 

The Tigers did not let up on pressure as they were able to create most of the scoring opportunities to start the period. After a blocked shot, Andrew Shewfelt (Dartmouth, NS) was able to pick up the loose puck and put it in the net for the early lead. 

After the goal, the Axemen were able to try and gain momentum back after the Tigers were handed an interference call. They were able to put several pucks on net however Connor Hicks (Kanata, ON) remained steady.  

After some neutral zone play, the Tigers were given a power play opportunity of their own. Although they were down a man, it was the Axemen who had the best scoring chance on the power play as Eric Henderson (Kingsville, ON) was sprung on a breakaway. He came in with plenty of speed but put the puck just past the net. 

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McCarty scores the winner for Acadia

Antigonish, NS – The U SPORTS No. 10 ranked Acadia Axemen skated to a close 4-3 victory over the StFX X-Men Friday night at the StFX Keating Centre. The teams didn’t disappoint the 800 fans in attendance as it was a hard-fought, close game down to the final whistle. 

The X-Men opened the scoring early on a power play marker from defenseman Santino Centorame (Mississauga, ON) as he picked up a nice cross-ice pass from Bryson Cianfrone (Stoney Creek, ON) and deposited it past Logan Flodell (Regina, SK) in the Acadia net 2:19 into the first period. 

The Axemen evened it up five minutes later when Liam Maaskant (Clinton, ON) scored an unassisted goal off a screen shot. He followed up on his own rebound off a point shot that Joseph Raaymakers (Chatham, ON) made the initial save but the X-Men couldn’t clear the rebound. 

Both teams saw time in the penalty box in a scrappy first period. X-Men forward Anthony Difruscia (Thorold, ON) left the ice after a hard hit but returned before the period was over. 

Regan Spears (Port Hood, NS) had a good scoring chance at the end of an X-Men power play but his shot on net missed wide. 

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Flodell with 31 saves in loss

(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB Reds rallied after a rare home ice, regulation time loss on Friday, beating the Acadia Axemen 4-3 on Saturday afternoon.

Tyler Boland (St. John’s, NL) scored a pair of goals in the win, including with winner, with just 47 seconds to play. He was named the Subway Player of the Game. 

“They tied it up and the building kind of lost a bit of life,” said Boland. “So just to get that one for us and get the building going again was pretty special.” 

James McEwan (Chatham, ON) opened the scoring with his second goal of the season at 8:29 of the first period. 

Cristiano Digiacinto (Hamilton, ON) tied it 1-1 at 14:53, but Boland’s first of two followed 54 seconds later and UNB led 2-1 after 20 minutes. 

The Reds led the Axemen 3-1 heading into the third period, but an early goal by Maurizio Colella (Tottenham, ON) cut the Reds lead. 

From there, both teams were fighting hard for two points. 

Garrett McFadden (Kincardine, ON) scored for Acadia with 3:30 to play, tying the score 3-3. 

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