Posted on Posted in Team Stories

1st Half Experience & Added Depth Key for Acadia

The Acadia Axemen hit the ice to start the second half of their AUS men’s hockey season on Friday night on the road in PEI, as they face the UPEI Panthers, and then again on Saturday night in Fredericton against the UNB Reds. Not an easy start for the Axemen who will look to improve on a tough first half, that saw a young team, with 12 new players, go through some growing pains. A 5-10-2 record, good for 6th in the conference, with a 5-3 record on home ice, meant an 0-7-2 record on the road. Something the Axemen need to improve on to climb the AUS standings.

The Axemen came in to the season leaving 2 roster spots open, and with injuries and suspensions in the first half, it definitely spread the team thin at times. 1st year forward Cole Reginato saw action in just 5 games due to an early season injury, assistant captain Alex Lepkowski missed 7 games due to suspension and injury. 2nd year Axemen Michael Zipp & Cristiano Digiacinto missed 4 games a piece, while first year forward Johnny Corneil was out for two games.

The decision to hold those roster spots open looks to have paid off for the Axemen however, as they have added former WHL sniper Jordy Stallard, and stalwart defenceman Tate Olsen, who also played in the WHL. Both players spent the first half of the season playing in the ECHL; both players are NHL draft picks as Stallard was drafted in the 5th round in 2016 by the Winnipeg Jets, and Olsen in the 7th round in 2015 by the Vancouver Canucks.

Acadia Head Coach Darren Burns expressed excitement heading into January saying, “We are very excited to get started with the second half. The intensity of AUS hockey ramps up in the second half of the season and that is something we need to be prepared for. There’s no question the first half was a huge learning experience for our team and the second half will be even tougher. We were extremely fortunate to add two strong players which will help. There’s no place to hide in our conference and commitment and execution will be critical if we are going to succeed.”Read more »

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Acadia bolsters lineup for 2nd half run

The Acadia Axemen have made a big splash in AUS men’s hockey news by adding two key pieces to their lineup for the second half of the Usports hockey season; adding defenseman Tate Olson, and forward Jordy Stallard.

Veteran head coach of the Acadia program, Darren Burns welcomed the new recruits, “We are extremely excited to be able to add these two impact players to our program. With the large turnover in players from last year, this was a huge recruiting year. We left two roster spots open in the 1st half as it was important that we were adding the right people on and off the ice. We knew we were going to experience some growing pains being an extremely young team. We left these spots open to make sure we could add impact to our line up and we are very confident we have done that. We are probably the youngest team in USports, but we feel we have an extremely committed group, and this is going to pay dividends.”

Jordy Stallard is a 5th round NHL draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 2016. The 6’2” centreman, from Brandon, Manitoba, will give the Axemen another elite scoring threat. After 2 ½ years with the Calgary Hitmen, Jordy played a year and a half with the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. In 2017-18, he racked up 91 points in just 72 games, including 44 goals, good for 14th in league scoring in the competitive Western Hockey League. This season, Stallard has played with the Allen Americans and Indy Fuel of the ECHL, adding 4 points in 19 games.

“Jordy is a proven scorer in the WHL and he has good size. He is a high character player who no doubt can help us offensively. His assets will help us five on five and on the powerplay as well. It’s no secret that we weren’t the most offensive team in the 1st half. We think he can help our program immediately,” said the Axemen Head Coach.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Game Recaps

Morrison scores his 1st as an Axemen

WOLFVILLE, N.S – The Acadia Axemen (5-10-2) closed out the first half of their season on a sour note with a loss to the U SPORTS No. 1 ranked and conference best UNB Reds (15-0-3) who won by a decisive 5-1 score.

“I thought we played pretty good except for that stretch (three goals in the opening 4 minutes of the second period) of time and we made a few errors compounded by the fact that we only had 18 skaters. But, we should have been executing better than that and we’ve been through it enough but sometimes you just make mistakes,” noted assistant coach Mike Alcoe following the game.

UNB opened the scoring early in the first, on a goal from forward Matthew Boucher.

Boucher took a pass in front of the net and fired the puck five-hole to make it 1-0.

The closest Acadia came to scoring occurred near the end of the opening period when the puck appeared to go in during a mad scramble in front of the net, but the referees were adamant that the puck did not cross the line.

With a shots on goal advantage of 9-7 for UNB, the Reds added to their lead early in the second, with two goals from Chris Clapperton and Subway First Star of the Night, Alexandre Goulet.

Clapperton scored on a wrist shot in tight to make it 2-0, while Goulet scored less than a minute later when he rifled a backhand into the top left corner of the net to make it 3-0.

Acadia pulled goaltender Logan Flodell and replaced him with Dawson Carty after the two quick goals that opened the second frame.

UNB did not let up, as forward Kris Bennett added a short-handed goal to make it 4-0.

Acadia finally answered back before the midway point of the second, on a goal from rookie defenseman Loch Morrison.Read more »

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5 separate goal scorers power Axemen to victory

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (5-9-2) snapped their three-game losing skid, and the three-game winning streak of the UPEI Panthers (8-6-1) at the same time with a 5-2 win on Friday night in Wolfville. Acadia won a gritty game that saw the teams combine for 102 penalty minutes.

Despite chances on both sides, it was not until late in the first when Acadia opened the scoring on a goal from forward, and Subway First Star of the Night, Jackson Houck.

Houck picked off a pass from a defender in the UPEI zone and deked out the goalie before sliding it into the net to make it 1-0.

By the end of the first period, the shots were 12-7 for Acadia.

The Panthers responded early in the second with a marker from forward Brent Andrews, who buried a cross-ice pass into the wide-open net to make it 1-1.

Acadia responded quickly with a power-play marker from forward Kyle Farrell.

Farrell took a pass from Houck and lifted the puck over the blocker of the Panthers goaltender in tight to make it 2-1.

Shortly after retaking the lead, Axemen forward Jack McClelland was awarded a penalty shot, which was the first on home ice this season.

Read more »

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Harper with the lone Acadia marker

FREDERICTON, NB – The UNB Reds scored four power-play goals on route to a 6-1 win over the Acadia Axemen on Saturday. 

Chris Clapperton (Cap d’Espoir, QC) and Tyler Boland (St. John’s, NL) each scored twice for the Reds, while Kris Bennett (Brampton, ON), and Joe Gatenby (Kelowna, BC) each had three assists. 

Matthew Boucher (Los Angeles, Calif.) had a goal and an assist for UNB, while Samuel Dove-McFalls (Montreal, QC) also scored. 

Acadia actually struck first, when Stephen Harper (Burlington, ON) scored, on the power-play, at 5:42 of the first period. 

Kyle Farrell (Howie Centre, NS) won a face-off right back to Harper, who’s shot eluded Reds netminder Alex Dubeau (Mascouche, QC). 

UNB countered with their first power-play goal about two-and-a-half minutes later. 

Boucher’s shot from the face-off circle was kicked out by Axemen netminder Dawson Carty (Burlington, ON) but Dove-McFalls was right there to fire the rebound home. 

That goal sent almost 1300 stuffed animals flying onto the Aitken Centre ice and brought the game to a temporary halt. 

It was the Reds 3rd annual Teddy Bear Toss. 

1295 stuffed animals were collected and will be distributed by the Salvation Army to less fortunate children during the upcoming holiday season. 

Read more »

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Harper with lone marker for Acadia

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI – A Panther-Axemen matchup at MacLauchlan Arena rarely disappoints and on Friday night, UPEI got the better of their rival 4-1. 

After surrendering an early goal, the Panthers (7-5-1) countered with four unanswered to grab the victory. Cody Payne broke out and matched his season total with two goals, while Kameron Kielly and Beau McCue chipped in with a goal apiece.

The Panthers were unlucky in the opening minutes, as they hit the post a couple times and saw several pucks miss just wide of the net. The same couldn’t be said about the Axemen (4-8-2), who found the back of the net at 4:28 when Stephen Harper scored off a faceoff win that eluded goaltender Simon Hofley. 

However, UPEI would get that goal back before the period ended. Troy Lajeunesse connected with Payne, who came in from the left, waited out the keeper and snuck the puck past him to tie it at one apiece. 

The Panthers hit the gas in the second and quickly took the lead at 3:42. Tanner McCabe sent the puck across the crease to Kameron Kielly, who tapped it in the open cage to pull his team ahead 2-1.

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Houck & Harper Tally for Acadia

HALIFAX, NS – The Saint Mary’s Huskies (8-3-1) and the Acadia Axemen (4-7-1) faced off for the second time in less than a week at the Halifax Forum in AUS Men’s hockey action. Trailing for most of the game, the Huskies were able to tie things up and took the win in overtime.

The teams traded power play opportunities early in the game, but nobody was able to convert. 

Back at even strength, the Axemen opened the scoring at 7:55 of the first period. Rodney Southam (Saskatoon, SK) jumped on a turnover just outside the Saint Mary’s blue line and passed across to Jackson Houck (Delta, BC) who sniped a shot low corner. Liam Maaskant (Clinton, ON) also assisted 

The Huskies tied it up less than two minutes later with a power play goal, a one timer from Jake Coughler (St. Catharines, ON) that rang off the inside post and in. It was assisted by Hunter Garlent (Thorold, ON) and Dawson Theede (Brooklin, ON). 

The score was 1-1 after twenty minutes of play. 

It was a penalty filled second period, with penalties going both ways, but the only goal of the period came during 5 on 5 play and it was in Acadia’s favour. 

Read more »

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Farrell leads the way with 3 points in win

WOLFVILLE, N.S – The Acadia Axemen (4-7-1) got a much-needed win and snapped a two-game losing skid on Sunday afternoon, beating the Moncton Aigles Bleus with a convincing 5-1 win.

Acadia opened the scoring early, with a power-play marker from forward Kyle Farrell.

Farrell took a pass and kicked the puck up to his stick and fired a wrist shot in tight of the net past the blocker of the Moncton goalie to make it 1-0.

The Axemen doubled their lead before the half-way mark of the period with a beautiful goal from defenseman – and Subway First Star of the Night – Ross MacDougall

MacDougall entered the zone late, picked the puck up at the blue-line, made a nice toe-drag around a Moncton defender and then wired a wrist into the top right corner of the net.

Cristiano Digiacinto added to Acadia’s lead in the first frame when the Axemen forward potted a rebound that came off the top of the net and landed in the crease, making it 3-0.

Acadia spent the rest of the period killing off penalties, as Moncton went 0-for-4 on the power-play in the first period.

By the end of the first period, the shots were 13-9 for the Axemen.

Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the second, as the Axemen maintained their 3-0 lead going into the third.Read more »

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WOLFVILLE, N.S. – By John DeCoste – Prior to the fall of 2017, it was rare for the Acadia hockey Axemen to have a player whose father had played in the NHL. The list, including Fred Armstrong (son of long-time Toronto captain George Armstrong), an Axemen player in the early 1980s, has not been a long one.

It’s still a fairly rare occurrence, but for the record, this year’s Axemen roster includes not one, but two ‘second generation’ hockey players, whose dads were both long-time NHLers.

Second-year winger Jack McClelland is the son of Kevin McClelland, who played all of part of 14 seasons with five NHL teams.

The elder McClelland spent most of his career as a valuable role player with the Edmonton Oilers, and ended up part of four Stanley Cup champions as a teammate of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.

Jack McClelland, who was born in Oshawa, ON in 1996, the year after his father retired as a player, grew up in the U.S, largely in Wichita, Kansas where Kevin served as head coach of the CHL Wichita Thunder from 2010-2016.

“I was born in Oshawa, but I didn’t live there long,” says Jack, who moved around a lot as a youth as his father’s lengthy coaching career progressed.

He played most of his junior hockey with the Wichita Thunder Tier 1 Junior A team in the Western States Hockey League. His father was coaching the pro team in Wichita at the time, “so I was never coached by him.”

First-year Axemen defenseman T.J. Fergus is the son of Tom Fergus, who played all or part of 12 NHL seasons, including multiple years in Boston, Toronto and Vancouver.

While he never got his name on the Stanley Cup, Tom Fergus finished his career in 1995 with 235 goals and 581 points in 726 NHL games. He had 28 and 30-goals season with Boston, and scored a season-high 31 goals his first season with Toronto in 1985-1986.

T.J. Fergus, born in Oakville, ON in 1997 – two years after his dad retired as a player following two seasons playing in Switzerland – played his major junior hockey in the OHL, spending three seasons with the Erie Otters and splitting his age-20 season between Hamilton and Barrie.

During his time with Erie, he was a teammate of current NHL superstar Connor McDavid, who “was my captain” during the 2014-2015 season.Read more »

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Harper & Corneil Score for Acadia

HALIFAX, NS – In their first meeting of the season, the Saint Mary’s Huskies stopped a two game losing streak with a 4-2 win against the Acadia Axemen in AUS men’s hockey action at the Halifax Forum.  

The game started off at a good pace, and it was the Axemen who struck first at 7:56 into the first period. Defense, Marc McNulty had some room and made his way slowly through the neutral zone before crossing with Stephen Harper (Burlington, ON) at the top of the slot. Harper’s one-timer beat SMU goalie Eric Brassard (St. Hubert, QC) for Harper’s fifth goal of the season. 

After taking a couple of penalties, the Huskies went on the power play late in the period and found the equalizing goal. With traffic in front of the net, a shot from Nicholas Welsh (Halifax, NS) was deflected by an Acadia defence. Goalie Logan Flodell (Regina, SK) made a pad save but Logan Denoble (Peterborough, ON) was there to tap home the rebound for the Huskies. Hunter Garlent (Thorold, ON) also picked up an assist on the play. 

The teams headed into the break tied 1-1, with the Axemen having better scoring chances. Saint Mary’s struggled to control the play in the first period, with passes hitting skates and shots getting deflected away from the net. 

The second period looked very different, with SMU coming out much sharper. They dominated, leading Acadia 21-7 in shots during the second frame. 

Four minutes into the period, Bronson Beaton (Springhill, NS) was nearly at the Acadia goal line and buried a sharp angle wrist shot upstairs to take a 2-1 lead for the Huskies.  

The Axemen had some good chances on their third power play of the night after Welsh was sent to the box for a high stick. The closest they came was a nice shot from Jackson Houck (Delta, BC) and Brassard had to stretch to make the save with his toe. 

The Huskies nearly scored several minutes later, sending a puck across the crease. Flodell couldn’t get across in time, leaving the net wide open, and Axemen defense TJ Fergus (Oakville, ON) was forced to take a hooking penalty to save a sure goal. 

SMU couldn’t convert on the power play and the period ended with the Huskies ahead 2-1. They added two more goals in quick succession in the opening minutes of the third period. 

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