Axemen with 5 different goal scorers in the victory

The Acadia Axemen improved their exhibition record to 2-1 with a 5-3 victory over the Dal Tigers on Wednesday night in Wolfville. In a rematch from last week, when Acadia downed Dal 7-1 in Halifax, the Axemen came out early with a goal at 2:50 of the first period as Brandon Sellan found Liam Kidney for a tap in, to give Acadia the 1-0 lead.

The Axemen made it 2-0 when Port Williams’ own Brady Burns scored on the powerplay at 13:09 on a pass from Bailey Peach. That would be all the scoring in the 1^st period, as Acadia outshot Dal 14-4 in the period.

In the 2^nd period, Dalhousie got into penalty trouble, sending Acadia on a 5 on 3 advantage, defenceman Charlie Desroches ripped a wrist shot home at 5:35 to make it a 3-0 Axemen lead. Bailey Peach picked up another assist on the goal.

Just over a minute later, the Axemen scored their 3^rd powerplay goal of the night as Ethan Ernst made it a 4-0 home team lead, with Peach picking up his 3^rd assist on the night.

Dalhousie got on the board at 17:43 of the period on a nice move by Tigers’ O’Rourke in front of the net before putting the puck by the sprawled out Axemen goalie to make it a 4-1 game after 2 periods. Shots on goal after 2 periods, 28 for Acadia, 13 for Dal.

The third period saw the visitors put the Axemen on their heels as Dal scored on the powerplay at 4:29 of the period on a goal by Serpa to cut the lead to 4-2. At 11:09, the Tigers pulled within 1 when Kerwin made it 4-3. Despite a strong push from Dalhousie to tie the game, the Axemen were able to ice the victory at 19:22 when Nick Deakin-Poot slid the puck into the empty net to give Acadia a 5-3 victory.

Acadia split the goaltending duties in the game with Thomas Couture getting the start and playing the 1^st half of the game, shutting the Tigers out, before Brayden Peters took over for the second half of the game.

Acadia will round out their exhibition schedule on Friday night when they host the UPEI Panthers at 7pm at the Andrew H. McCain Arena. Get your tickets at the Acadia Box Office or online at acadiau.universitytickets.com

Three 2nd period goals lead Gaels to exhibition victory

The Acadia Axemen came out strong in their 1st home game of the exhibition schedule, however the second period proved to be their demise in a 5-2 loss to the Queen’s Gaels.

Acadia opened the scoring at 9:38 of the 1st period when Corson Hopwo showed masterful possession of the puck in the Queen’s zone before sending a pass to Nick Deakin-Poot, who ripped a shot past the Gaels netminder to make it 1-0. Queen’s answered back at 13:14 on a bad break for the Axemen as Queen’s Katzalay tried to center a pass that hit the defender and deflected into the Acadia net to even the score.

The Axemen would regain the lead before the period ended as Peyton Hoyt fired a sharp angle shot that found the top corner of the net at 19:16, with assists going to Luke Zazula and Brendan Sellan.

Queen’s came out a new team in the second period as they took the play to Acadia, scoring at 4:15 of the frame, the goal off the stick of defenceman Duff.  The visitors then took the lead on a nice passing play as forward Richard found a streaking Hamilton cutting to the net who tipped the pass over the glove of Axemen netminder Brayden Peters. Queen’s rounded out the scoring in the period just over a minute later as Tolnai made it 4-2 heading into the 2nd intermission.

The teams played even hockey in the third period, with the Gaels protecting their 2 goal lead. Acadia tried to open up and push their offense, which lead to Brayden Peters needing to make a number of big saves to keep the Axemen within 2. Queen’s ended the scoring on the night with an empty net goal at 19:49 of the 3rd period on a goal by Paquette.

Final shots on goal in the game were 32 for Acadia and 32 for Queen’s. Acadia was 0 for 2 on the powerplay while Queen’s was 0 for 3.

Acadia’s next exhibition action is set for Wednesday, September 27th as the Axemen host the Dal Tigers at 7pm at the Andrew H. McCain Arena. Get your tickets for the game at the Acadia Box office or online at acadiau.universitytickets.com

Axemen with 7 different goal scorers in win

The Acadia Axemen kicked off their exhibition schedule with a 3-0 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers on Tuesday night in Halifax. The Axemen got off to a quick start, just :50 seconds into the game as Bailey Peach converted on the powerplay to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Later in the 1^st period, on the Axemen’s 2^nd powerplay of the night, they made it 2-0, as Cole Nagy took a pass from Bailey Peach and put it through the Dal netminder’s legs and into the net at 4:40. Brady Burns picked up the second assist on the goal.

The score remained 2-0 until late in the second period when Zack Jones streaked down the wing on a 2 on 1 for the Axemen before feathering a pass across the slot that Brendan Tomilson one timed home to give Acadia a 3-0 lead going into the dressing room for the 2^nd intermission.

The flood gates opened on scoring in the third period starting with Zack Jones scoring as he stepped out of the penalty box, gathered a loose puck for a breakaway and made no mistake to make it a 4-0 game at 5:56.

Dal got on the board with a goal from Dawson Stairs at 8:24, but it was all Axemen from there on out. Luke Zazula scored on a spinning wrap around goal at 12:05, followed by an Ethan Ernst goal at 13:55, and finally Peyton Hoyt scored at 15:21 to make it 7-1 Acadia. That held up to be the final score on the night.

1^st year Axemen netminder Thomas Couture was strong in net for the Axemen, stopping 28 of 29 shots, preserving the win. Charlie Desroches added 4 assists on the night for Acadia.

Acadia returns home to face the OWA’s Queen’s Gaels on Thursday night at the Andrew H. McCain Arena in Wolfville. Get your tickets today at acadiau.universitytickets.com or at the Acadia Box Office.

Valley business continues longstanding support of university hockey program

At 12 o’clock noon on Friday, 38 teams of golfers will tee off at the Ken-Wo Golf Club in New Minas at the Annual Friends of Axemen Hockey Golf Scramble, sponsored by Harvest Wealth Management. Today, we are proud to officially announce that Harvest Wealth will continue their sponsorship of the Acadia Hockey program, which includes the hockey uniforms and the title sponsorship for the annual golf scramble.

Scott Nichols, Financial Security Advisor and Investment Representative with Harvest Wealth sees great value in the sponsorship for the company and the valley community saying, “Harvest Wealth’s continuing sponsorship of Acadia hockey is two-fold in basic terms; First, Acadia hockey is an institution here in the Valley and has provided entertainment locally in the form of high-level hockey for all ages of spectators to enjoy.  Secondly, the outstanding dedication and support the Acadia hockey players, staff, and coaches give our local youth who participate in our minor hockey programs and camps throughout the year.

Acadia Axemen Head Coach Darren Burns was ecstatic with the announcement saying, “We are so appreciative in the generosity of Harvest Wealth and their belief in our program. Their financial commitment is crucial to the success of our players academically. Their generosity in purchasing team uniforms lessens the burden on our team and our Athletics department. They are true leaders in the community, and we appreciate everything they do for us at Acadia. We hope that our efforts on and off the ice make them proud to be partnered with us.”

Watch for announcements next spring on our social platforms, if you would like to register your team for next year’s Golf Scramble.

If you’d like to learn more about Harvest Wealth Management and the services they offer, please visit https://harvestwealth.ca/