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Axemen earn point in OT loss

Philippe Maillet(Terrebonne, QC) scores the OT winner, as UNB beat Acadia 2-1, Saturday night. (Brian Smith/UNB Hockey)

(FREDERICTON, NB) Philippe Maillet scored a highlight reel goal 1:12 into overtime as the UNB Varsity Reds beat the Acadia Axemen 2-1, Saturday night.

Maillet raced through centre ice and pushed around an Axemen defender before lifting the puck over Acadia goaltender Robert Steeves(Moncton, NB), on the short side.

“It was 3 on 3, so there’s a lot of space on the ice and I had a forward against me, so I just tried to take it to him and just finished up top shelf,” said Maillet.

The Axemen opened the scoring in the first period when Geoff Schemitsch(Thornhill, ON) scored at the 11:30 mark.

That 1-0 lead held until Maillet scored at 14:58 of the second period, banging a rebound past Steeves.

Both teams traded opportunities through the third period, but Steeves and Varsity Reds netminder Etienne Marcoux(Terrebonne, QC) held their ground.

Acadia went on the offensive early in the overtime, but a quick pass from defenceman Matt Petgrave(Brampton, ON) sent Maillet up ice to end the game in spectacular style.Read more »

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Steeves stars in goal, Lepkowski nets winner

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Acadia didn’t have a lot of opportunities in the game, but they made the few they had count.

The Axemen scored twice on just 13 shots on goal, with Remy Giftopoulos and Alexander Lepkowski leading the way with a goal each in a 2-1 victory over the UPEI Panthers Friday night.

Down two heading into the final period, the Panthers outplayed their opponent and trimmed it to a single goal on RT Rice’s sixth goal of the season. But goaltender Robert Steeves was too much for the home team to overcome.

“I’m really happy for him,” said Axemen head coach Darren Burns of Steeves. “He’s had a big year for us and our guys love playing in front of him.”

Steeves recorded 25 saves on 26 shots, including 10 in the decisive final period, guiding Acadia (15-7-1) to their eighth win in their last 10 games.

Coming into the game, Steeves split playing time with freshman Devin Williams. But after Friday’s performance, the third-year netminder might see more action between the pipes. In 12 games, Steeves owns a 9-3 record with a 2.17 goals against average and a .920 save percentage.

“He’s worked hard and he’s a great teammate,” Burns said. “He’s had a great season for us and we need him to keep doing that.”

The intensity was high, with both teams looking to get back in the win column. Shots on net were scarce as the defences played disciplined and didn’t give up many open looks.

That lasted until the midway point when Giftopoulos opened the scoring. From the side of the net, he corralled a bouncing puck with his stick and buried it past a diving Matt Mahalak for the early advantage. Read more »

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Leier notches lone Axemen goal

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – It was a battle between first and second placed teams in the AUS standings in Wolfville on Saturday night, as the U Sports No. 1 UNB Varsity Reds (17-2-3) defeated the U Sports No. 4 ranked Acadia Axemen (14-7-1), by a score of 6-1. Although Acadia jumped out to an early first period lead, UNB scored six unanswered goals to rebound from an overtime win against Saint Mary’s in Friday night’s matchup in Halifax.

Acadia scored on their first shot of the game when forward Boston Leier (Saskatoon, Sask.) skated through three UNB defenders before going 1-on-1 with Reds goalie Etienne Marcoux (Terrebonne, Que.). Leier faked to go forehand, then moved to his backhand and lifted it over the right pad of Marcoux to ignite the home crowd of 2015 and put Acadia up 1-0.Read more »

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Leier leads the way with 3 goals & 2 assists

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – On the back of Axemen forward, Boston Leier’s (Saskatoon, Sask.) five-point performance, U Sports No. 4 ranked Acadia (14-6-1) dominated the UPEI Panthers (8-19-3) to win 8-1 on Friday night in Wolfville. Acadia scored eight unanswered goals after UPEI opened with a 1-0 lead, early in the first period.

UPEI jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, when second-year forward RT Rice (Invermere, B.C.), fired a rocket of a wrist shot past Axemen goalie, Robert Steeves (Moncton, N.B.), and off the crossbar to put UPEI ahead.

Acadia responded a little over a minute later, on the power-play, when defenseman Daniel Pettersson (Toronto, Ont.), moved the puck across the blue-line to his defense partner, Matthew Pufahl (Saskatoon, Sask.), who fired it past the Panthers goalie Matt Mahalak (Monrow, Michigan) to tie the game.

Pufahl continued to be an asset on the power-play, when Boston Leier picked up a rebound on Pufahl’s point shot and buried it past a sprawling Mahalak, to give the Axemen a 2-1 lead on the man-advantage goal.Read more »

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Steeves with another strong game in goal

WOLFVILLE, N.S – The new year has been kind to the U Sports No. 7 ranked Acadia Axemen (13-6-1) so far, as they improve to 2-0 in 2017 after defeating the Moncton Aigles Bleus (7-11-1) 4-1 on Saturday night, a day after beating the Saint Mary’s Huskies by the same score.

Despite Acadia dominating play for most of the first period, Moncton struck first when Aigles Bleus forward, Carl Marois (Montmagany, Que.), fired the puck into a wide-open net. Axemen goalie, Robert Steeves (Moncton, N.B.), got caught up with one of his teammates, taking him out of the play and allowing Marois an open cage to bury the puck.

By periods end, Moncton held onto a 1-0 lead, despite trailing 10-7 in shots on net.

Acadia had a strong showing in the second, scoring three unanswered on Moncton. To tie the game, second-year Axemen forward, Remy Giftopoulos (Ancaster, Ont.) finished a 2-on-1 passing play with Sam Fioretti (Calgary, Alta.), by deking out Moncton goaltender, Brandon Thibeau (Moncton, N.B.), and sliding the puck in on his backhand.Read more »

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Four unanswered 3rd period goals seal victory

The Acadia Axemen kicked off the second half of the AUS men’s hockey season on a snowy night in Halifax as they faced the Saint Mary’s Huskies at the historic Halifax Forum. It took two periods for the Axemen (13-6-1)  to shed the holiday rust, but by the third period, they looked like a well-oiled machine, scoring four unanswered goals on route to a 4-1 victory over the Huskies (9-10-1).

Between the pipes, the Axemen started Robert Steeves who ended the first half strong in goal with 5 wins, while Saint Mary’s countered with Cole Cheveldave.

SMU had a chance to shake off the holiday break already as they had opened their second half with a game on Wednesday night and it showed in the first period as they carried an edge in play in the opening period. This led to a goal on the powerplay from the newest Huskie, Aaron Berisha at 10:49 of the opening period. Berisha, playing in just his second game after committing to Saint Mary’s over the break. Calder Brooks and Hunter Garlent picked up the helpers on the goal. Shots after the first period were 7-4 in favor of Saint Mary’s.

The second period was a tight affair that saw three powerplays for each team, but neither side could capitalize and the teams went to the 2nd intermission with the same 1-0 score. Shots on goal were 8-6 in favor of Acadia in the 2nd period.

The Axemen started the third period on the man advantage and were able to get on the scoreboard as Daniel Pettersson ripped home a booming slap shot 56 seconds into the frame to tie the game. Boston Leier and Geoff Schemitsch picked up the assists.

Midway through the period, Axemen defenseman Matt Pufahl was able to intercept a clearing attempt from the Huskies, keeping the puck on side by the narrowest of margins, before carrying the puck towards the SMU net and dishing it off to Taylor Makin who one timed the puck past Cheveldave to give the visitors the lead.Read more »

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Coach Burns prepped for stretch run

Welcome to 2017! We’re looking forward to a terrific 2nd half of the AUS Men’s Hockey season. The Axemen resume regular season AUS play on Friday night as they take on the Saint Mary’s Huskies in Halifax, and then host the U de M Aigles Bleus on Saturday night in Wolfville.

But before we look ahead, we need to reflect on the first half, where the Axemen finished in 2nd place, in the always competitive AUS conference, with an 11-6-1 record in 18 games.

Acadia hit the ice this season with some major changes in their lineup from the 2015-16 season; gone was perennial scoring leader Mike Cazzola, high scoring threat Zach Franko, & key two way players Dylan Anderson and Travis Randell.

The Axemen had a strong recruiting off-season, adding major size to their lineup with 6’6 defenseman Marc McNulty and 6’4 Alex Lepkowski. Up front 6’5 Nick Betz arrived in Wolfville following a camp invite to the New York Rangers camp, along with 6’3 Stephen Harper who attended the Ottawa Senators main camp. Also added to the lineup were former captain of the STU Tommies Brendan Childerley, Kris Hodge, and Chris Clark.

One of the major recruits was netminder Devin Williams, who starred with the Erie Otters of the OHL with a 41-10-1 record and a 2.36 GAA in 2015-16.

The Axemen struggled out of the gate going 5-5 in their first 10 games, before going 6-2 in their final 8. The early struggles were a team trying to gel, while being hampered by injuries. The biggest struggle of the first half came on the power play where for the first dozen games, the team could not find a way to score with the man advantage. The jinx seems to have been broken and now have edged the pp % to 12.5% after 18 games.

Acadia ended the first half with a 7-1 record on home ice at the Andrew H. McCain Arena, but struggled with a 4-6 record on the road.

Axemen head coach Darren Burns reflected on the first half saying, “I was happy with our recovery from a slow start in the first half. However, the first half is a thing of the past. The reality of our league, especially with only 12 games in the second half, is the teams that kept in shape and are focused, will be successful. Playoffs will begin before you know it and you don’t have as much time to create and maintain structure and work habits.”

Read more »

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Set to faceoff against Team Canada Jr hopefuls

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TORONTO (U Sports) –U Sports unveiled Monday its roster for a two-game exhibition series between the U Sports men’s hockey all-stars and Canada’s National Junior Team prospects. Acadia’s Geoff Schemitsch will join the U Sports all-star squad. Last season, Axeman Matthew Pufahl was named to the team.

The two-game set, which was announced last month, will take place at the Centre d’Excellence Sports Rousseau, home of the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, on Monday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. ET and Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. ET as part of the National Junior Team’s preparation for the 41st IIHF World Junior Championship in Toronto and Montreal (Dec. 26 – Jan. 5).

The 23-player U Sports lineup – all but one with CHL experience – is comprised of 11 standouts from the OUA conference and six apiece from the AUS and Canada West leagues. Twelve of the 23 players have represented U Sports against the World Junior hopefuls in the past, including 11 returnees from last year’s inaugural national all-star squad which split the two-game series, winning the first game 5-4 in a shootout. The OUA contingent will look to make their case for a spot on the 2017 Winter Universiade roster, with head coach Brett Gibson also serving as the FISU Games bench boss.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for these 23 U Sports athletes from across the country to showcase how great of a product we have,” said Gibson. “It also comes with a great responsibility to be a small part of the preparation for our Canadian under-20 team in their quest for a gold medal.”
Protecting the U Sports net in Boisbriand will be goaltenders Kevin Bailie from Queen’s, Corbin Boes from Dalhousie and Jordon Cooke from Saskatchewan, who all suited up in last year’s event.Read more »

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Axemen sit in 2nd in AUS at Holiday Break

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(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB Varsity Reds scored four power-play goals in a 5-2 win over the visiting Acadia Axemen, in the 25th edition of UNB’s Mark Jeffrey Memorial Game.

Philippe Maillet(Terrebonne, QC) scored twice and assisted on two other goals to lead UNB.

In a pre-game ceremony, Maillet was named the recipient of the annual Mark Jeffrey Scholarship.

Jordan Murray(Riverview, NB) also had a four-point night for the Varsity Reds, recording four assists.

“They’re a tough team to play against,” said Murray, of the Axemen. “They have big “D”, they play physical, they want to take our skill away, make us take stupid penalties, but we came out on top tonight.”

Matt Murphy(Fredericton, NB), Rob Mignardi(Richmond Hill, ON), and Chris Clapperton(Cap Espoir, QC) also scored for the home team.

Geoff Schemitsch(Thornhill, ON) scored both goals for the Axemen.

Acadia opened the scoring at 2:09 of the first period, when Schemitsch beat Alex Dubeau(Mascouche, QC).

Murphy evened the score, with his first goal of the season and first as a Varsity Red, at 10:05. Read more »