Posted on Posted in Game Recaps

Colella, Southam, Foss with Axemen Goals

Story By UPEI’s Thomas Becker 

The UPEI Panthers lit up the Acadia Axemen Saturday night and in the middle of all the action was sophomore forward Filip Rydstrom, who single-handedly outscored the Axemen with four goals in an 8-3 win.

Joining him on the score sheet were Nick Shumlanski, Riley Whittingham, Gabe Guertler and Kameron Kielly, who also recorded two assists on the night. Owen Headrick and Cody Payne chipped in with a pair of assists as well.

Rydstrom’s career night was a welcome sight, as the skilled forward makes an already deadly offence even more threatening. After the game, head coach Forbes MacPherson said he moved Rydstrom back to his natural centre position this season after a subpar rookie campaign, where he finished with four goals and an assist – the same numbers he accumulated on Saturday.Read more »

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Reds score four powerplay goals

FREDERICTON, NB – Tyler Boland (St. John’s, NL) had two goals and two assists as the U SPORTS No. 1 ranked UNB Reds defeated the Acadia Axemen 7-0 on Friday night.

The Reds improve to 7-0 with the win, while the Axemen drop to 2-5. 

Kris Bennett (Brampton, ON) also had a strong showing with two goals and an assist. 

The Reds had all the momentum early, putting six shots on net before the Axemen could muster one. 

The Reds pace caused the Axemen to commit all sorts of turnovers, keeping most of the play in the Acadia end. 

With the Reds on the power–play, Mark Rassell (Calgary, AB) took a shot from the slot that bounced right to a wide-open Matthew Boucher (Los Angeles, CA) who put it in a gaping net to put UNB up 1-0. 

The Reds power–play would pay off again with Bennett feeding a textbook pass in front to Boland, who put away the Reds second goal to make it 2-0. 

The Reds would keep the pressure on in the second period, and just 5:41 in, Cam Brace (Etobicoke, ON) put the puck five-hole on Axemen goaltender Logan Flodell (Regina, SK) to extend UNB’s lead to 3-0. 

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Houck, Southam, & Harper Tally for Axemen

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – For the second night in a row, the Acadia Axemen (2-4) were unable to stage a late comeback, this time against the UPEI Panthers (3-3), who left Wolfville with a 5-3 win.

Despite leading in shots for the entire game and going 3-for-6 on the power-play, the Axemen did not hold a lead at any point in the game.

UPEI got off to an early start with a goal from forward Gabe Guertler.

Guertler came from behind the Axemen net and jammed the puck in on the right post to give the Panthers a quick 1-0 lead.

The Panthers added to their lead a few minutes later with a power-play marker from forward Sam Aulie.

Aulie took a pass in front of the Axemen net from defenceman Doug Blaisdell and lifted the puck over the right shoulder of the Acadia goalie to make it 2-0.

By the end of the first period, the shots were 10-7 for the Axemen.

The Axemen got on the scoreboard just before the midway point in the second with a power-play marker from forward Jackson Houck.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Axemen Coaches Burns & Richards excited for continued partnership

For the past 15 years, male & female hockey players of all ages and skill levels have had the opportunity to continue their hockey development by taking part in the leading spring hockey program which takes place at Acadia University Arena.  The long-time partnership between the University of Acadia and the Atlantic Hockey Group has benefited thousands of young hockey players.

Established in 2003, the Jr Axemen program was the vision of Darren Burns, Head Coach of the Acadia Axemen hockey program and Charlie Bourgeois, Director of the Atlantic Hockey Group.  The objective was to offer a local program for players and families lead by the many high-level coaches we have in the area. To provide an alternative to having families forced to travel to Halifax or other major centers to take part in spring hockey.  It was also very important to make available programs for players of all skill levels – for the Elite to recreational players.  Says Bourgeois “With the great success of the Jr Axemen program I believe it is fair to say that we have exceeded expectations.  The success of the program is due to the hard work of many great hockey people.”

Mark Richards, a long-time assistant coach with the Acadia Axemen (entering his 16th season) as well as minor hockey is the Director of the program.  Mark has also operated the very successful Acadia Selects program which takes part in the Elite spring hockey division.  Among his many responsibilities, Mark is responsible for bringing in the most qualified coaches to work with our players. Says Mark, “we are very fortunate to have a great hockey culture in the Valley area. Our teams are led by a group of very passionate, dedicated and knowledgeable coaches.  The ultimate goal is to find the balance of high-level training as well as providing our teams the opportunity to compete against teams at the appropriate level allowing us to challenge players of all levels.”Read more »

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Southam with lone Axemen goal

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (2-3-0) were unable to mount a comeback against the undefeated UNB Reds (5-0-0) on Friday night, as they lost 2-1. Although the teams were evenly matched for most the game, UNB dominated the third period to take the win.

Despite chances on both sides, the first period was a scoreless affair. UNB dominated the play early in the period, but Acadia eventually found their footing before the midway point of the first.

By the end of the first period, the shots were 12-9 for the Axemen.

UNB broke the scoreless tie with a shorthanded marker in the second period from Reds forward Samuel Dove-McFalls.

Dove-McFalls buried the puck into the empty net after the Axemen goalie fell over and let go of the loose puck, making it 1-0 for UNB.

The Axemen responded just under six minutes later when they tied the game off a goal from Acadia forward, Rodney Southam.

Southam scored off a weird bounce like McFalls’ goal, as the puck ricocheted off the glass behind the net and bounced in front where Southam potted it to make it 1-1.

By the end of the second period, the shots were 22-19 for the Axemen.

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Flodell with 26 saves in victory

WOLFVILLE, N.S – The Acadia Axemen (2-2) gave the home crowd something to cheer for on Homecoming Weekend in Wolfville, as they defeated the Dalhousie Tigers (1-3) 6-3 on Friday night. The game was a back and forth for most of the 60 minutes – including 4 lead changes – but Acadia pulled away in the third period with four goals coming in the final frame.

Acadia opened the scoring just before the midway point of the first, with a power-play from rookie TJ Fergus.

Fergus took a pass in front from forward Ryan Foss and buried the puck into the wide-open net for the first goal of his USports career to make it 1-0 for the Axemen.

Dalhousie responded with two of their own, with both goals coming from Aiden Jamieson.

Jamieson came streaking into the offensive zone, got the Axemen goalie moving to the right and then slid a low shot into the left corner of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

Just over two minutes later, the Tigers added another goal on a beautiful toe drag wrist shot from Jamieson at the left face-off circle in the offensive zone, which beat the Axemen goaltender high glove side.

Despite Acadia leading 11-9 in shots by the end of the first, the Tigers took a 2-1 lead into the second.

Although both sides had their chances during the second, it was a mostly uneventful period until Axemen forward Stephen Harper tied the game up late in the period.

Harper burst in with less than eight minutes to play in the second, muscling his way past the Tigers defense where he waited out the Tigers goalie and flipped the puck over his left pad to tie the game at 2-2.

By the end of the second period, the shots were 29-20 for the Axemen.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Alumni News

Peyton, St. Louis, Reynolds & Dickie to be Inducted

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Acadia’s 2018 Homecoming weekend celebrations will include the Axemen Hockey Honour Roll induction luncheon on Friday, Oct. 12 beginning at 11:30 am at Fountain Commons.

Included in this year’s hockey honour roll induction ceremony are former Axemen Josh St. Louis ’01, Chris Peyton ’00 and Doug Reynolds ’98. Also included in this year’s Hockey Honour Roll induction is former head coach Kevin Dickie, who is now the Executive Director of Athletics and Community Events.

Former Axemen Captain, Chris Peyton, will be entering the Honour Roll after an outstanding four year career. Peyton played his Junior hockey years with the Halifax Mooseheads before coming to the Axemen. With 59 assists, Peyton is leader of his class of 1996 to 2000 in assists.

After an incredible 57 goals and 108 points in his last year of Major Junior hockey with the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL, Josh St. Louis was arguably the top recruit entering the CIAU in 1997. In only 3 seasons, St. Louis scored 43 goals for Acadia in his career – 22nd among the top Axemen.Read more »

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Colella notches 2 points in loss

Photo by Rachel Drummond

ANTIGONISH, N.S. – The StFX X-Men outplayed the Acadia Axemen Wednesday evening at the Charles V. Keating Centre, besting the visitors 5-2 after an intense, physical game that saw a combined 74 minutes of penalties incurred. 

Freshman goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon, a native of local Antigonish, N.S. guided the X-Men to their first win of the season and the first of his AUS career, posting 25 saves and earning the game’s second star honour. 

StFX opened the scoring early, just 1:33 into play, when Subway player of the game and first star Bryson Cianfrone (Stoney Creek, ON)  found the back of the net after taking advantage of his position in the slot. StFX managed to hold the line and keep play in the Axemen zone, despite several failed clearing attempts. Assisting on Cianfrone’s snapshot goal was Matt Needham (Penticton, BC). 

The X-Men kept the momentum going, scoring six and a half minutes later. William Bower (Saint John, NB) passed the puck behind the net to Adam Laishram (Ashburn, ON) who took the initial shot on goal. Lane Cormier (Hopewell, NS) capitalized on the rebound bringing the score to 2-0. 

Acadia answered StFX’s goal at 11:52 with a shot that rang off the post behind Mann-Dixon. Michael Zipp (Edmonton, AB) took a shot from the slot that bounced off the post, Jackson Houck (Delta, BC) captured the rebound and scored off a backhanded shot. Third star of the evening Maurizio Colella (Tottenham, ON) was also credited with an assist on the goal.  

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