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Leier & Farrell tally for Axemen in loss

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The U SPORTS No. 7 ranked Acadia Axemen (11-5-2) ended the first half of their season on a sour note, losing 3-2 in OT to the No. 2 UNB Varsity Reds (15-0-3).

Acadia held the lead twice in the game, but the league’s best V-Reds answered back each time.

The Axemen head into the holiday break with fourth place in the AUS standings.

The first period was dominated by the Axemen, as they outshot UNB 12-7 and took a 1-0 lead into the second frame.

Axemen forward Boston Leier scored at 6:07 in the opening period when he picked up the puck off the back boards and fired it past UNB’s goalie Alex Dubeau to ignite the home crowd.

Near the end of the first, a fight broke out in front of the UNB net and saw Dubeau receive a rare roughing penalty.

UNB responded with a strong second period, where they dominated most of the play and outscored the Axemen 2-1 in the period to tie the game 2-2 heading into the final frame.

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Three first period goals power Acadia to victory

WOLFVILLE, N.S – Following two weeks on the road that saw Acadia go 2-2, the U SPORTS No. 7 ranked Axemen (11-5-1) defeated the UPEI Panthers (4-12-1) 6-3 in the first of two home games this weekend before the Christmas break. Axemen forward and Subway First Star of the Game Boston Leier scored two goals on the night to help the Axemen secure the win.

Acadia was strong offensively in the first and held a 3-0 lead heading into the second period.

Axemen forward and Third Star of the Game, Chance Braid, opened the scoring, lifting the puck past the left shoulder of the Panthers’ goalie Matt Mahalak, knocking the water bottle off the top of the net in the process.

Adding to their lead, Axemen forward Boston Leier scored a power-play marker late in the period.

Leier took a pass from Stephen Harper while coming over the blue-line and ripped a wrist shot over the glove of the Mahalak to make it 2-0.

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McNulty with a goal & an assist in win

HALIFAX, N.S. – In AUS men’s hockey action at the Halifax Forum, the Acadia Axemen defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 3-1 in a game where quality chances were hard to come back. 

The first period saw a high pace of play that would persist throughout the game, but good chances were not as easy to attain. Dalhousie got on the board first when Mike Evelyn (Ottawa, ON) put a great wrist shot from the high slot into the net at 15:11 to make it 1-0. The speed was still there, but no goals came of it as the first period ended with a 1-0 Tigers lead. 

In the second period, Acadia struck back when Sam Fioretti (Calgary, AB) knocked it in off a slight scramble in front of the Dalhousie net at 2:58 on the powerplay to tie it up at 1-1. The Axemen took the lead when Kyle Farrell (Howie Corner, NS) shot it in from right in close at 9:08 to make the score 2-1. It looked like Acadia would get another one, but Dalhousie put together a fantastic kill of a two minute 5 on 3, which even included a Tigers breakaway, to keep it to within one. That wouldn’t last long as Subway Player of the Game Marc McNulty (Medicine Hat, AB) scored off a shorthanded 2 on 1 at 17:08 to give the Axemen a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.   

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Braid tallies for Axemen in loss

Antigonish, NS – The U SPORTS No, 4 ranked StFX X-Men topped the No. 7 ranked visiting Acadia Axemen 2-1 in their last home game of the fall term. The victory marked the fifth consecutive win for the X-Men in a rough-and-tumble game Friday evening at the Charles V. Keating Centre in front of a crowd of 900. 

Matt Needham (Pentincton, BC) potted the game winner in the third period for X while Subway player of the game Chase Marchand (Halifax, NS) posted 27 saves in goal as he earned his league-leading 10th win of the season between the pipes. 

The first goal of the game came 5:32 seconds into the opening period. Axemen forward Boston Leier (Saskatoon, SK) took possession of the puck from X-Men defenseman Cole MacDonald (Wetaskiwin, AB) while on the penalty kill. He then found Chance Braid (Wainwright, BC) who fired a snapshot as the Axemen’s first shot on goal beat Marchand for the short-handed marker.  

The X-Men responded with a tally of their own midway through the period and 17 seconds into a power play opportunity. Following several quality scoring opportunities in the Axemen zone, the X-Men solved goaltender Robert Steeves (St. Joseph-de-Kent, NB) as forward Michael Clarke (London, ON) scored his 10th goal of the season. From the blue line Santino Centorame (Mississauga, ON) passed off to Kristoff Kontos (Penetanguishene, ON) who found Clarke in the slot. Clarke snapped the puck over the glove of Steeves to tie the game at one.  

Shots in the first period favoured StFX at 16-9. 

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Harper & Leier both with a goal & 2 assists

The Acadia Axemen (9-4-1) fended off a first period push from UdeM Aigles Blues (1-10-2) on Friday night in Moncton, before putting up 9 goals, to defeat the Aigles Bleus 9-1. In a rematch from a week ago in Wolfville, that saw Acadia win 6-1, the Aigles Bleus came out in the first period looking for redemption in front of their home town crowd. UdeM had numerous grade A scoring chances, including 12 shots in the opening period, but Acadia netminder Robert Steeves was up to the challenge, keeping the game scoreless.

That was until Axemen Remy Giftopoulos picked up a miscued clearing pass from a UdeM defender and went in all alone on Moncton starting goalie Alexi Thibaudeau, going forehand to backhand before sliding the puck past the UdeM goalie, for his 4th goal on the season, to give Acadia a 1-0 lead at 14:33. That lead held up for the remainder of the frame.

The Axemen opened up a four goal lead after the second period as the Axemen put three more behind Thibaudeau. At 3:16 of the period, Kris Hodge deflected a point shot from Liam Maaskant to make it 2-0, the goal was Hodge’s 2nd of the year. Then at 9:35, Boston Leier broke in over the blueline on a 2 on 1 with Kyle Farrell, Leier blasted a shot that ended up going off the end boards and onto the stick of his teammate. Farrell made no mistake making it 3-0 with his 9th goal of the season.

The Axemen capped off their second period scoring at 13:19 when first year forward Ryan Foss found a rebound behind the UdeM netminder on a shot from the blueline from Michael Zipp and tapped the puck home for a 4-0 lead after 2. That ended Moncton netminder Alexi Thibeaudeau’s night, as he was replaced to start the third period with Brandon Thibeau.

The Axemen turned up the heat on UdeM in the third period, scoring early and often. At 3:58 of the period, while on the powerplay, the Axemen passed the puck around masterfully as Stephen Harper parked at the top of the circle found Kyle Farrell on the opposite side of the ice, who then slide the puck back to the other side of the ice to Boston Leier who was parked at the side of the Moncton net. Leier one timed the pass home to make it 5-0, his 8th goal of the season.Read more »

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Harper & Fioretti net singles in loss

(Halifax, NS)  The Saint Mary’s Huskies picked up a 3-2 win over the Acadia Axemen Wednesday night at the Halifax Forum.

It was the fifth win a row for the Huskies (9-3-1) who take over sole possession of third in the AUS. The Axemen (8-4-1) fall to fourth.

Jake Coughler (St. Catharines, Ont.), Alexander Peters (Blyth, Ont.), with his first career AUS goal, and Calder Brooks (Emerald Park, Sask.) found the net for the Huskies.

Eric Brassard (St. Hubert, Que.) finished with 17 saves and boosted his record to 5-3.  Stephen Harper (Burlington, Ont.) and Sam Fioretti (Calgary, Alta.) scored for the Axemen.

Robert Steeves (St. Joseph-de-Kent, N.B.) made 23 saves and fell to 4-4.

Coughler got the scoring going with a power-play goal 14:49 into the first. Working with a four-on-three advantage, Peters sent the puck from below the right-circle up to Anthony Repaci (Toronto, Ont.) at the top of the circle. He fed it across to Coughler who ripped a one-timer from the left-dot high short-side.

Peters got on the board at the 18:43 mark of the frame. Steven Shipley (Ilderton, Ont.) chipped it back towards the point, Taylor Burke (Halifax, N.S.) settled down the rolling puck and handed it off to Peters who snapped it in low-blocker from the high right-slot.

The Huskies won the shot battle in the first 11-4.

The second period was where the Axemen did their damage.Read more »

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Braid & Harper each with a pair of goals

Wolfville, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (8-3-1) defeated the Moncton Aigles Bleus (1-8-2) 6-1 on Friday night in Wolfville, thanks to a strong performance from third star of the night, goalie Dawson Carty and an offensive outburst that saw the Axemen scored four goals in the second period.

Acadia jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to Subway First Star of the Game, Stephen Harper, who got the only marker of the period.

Harper scored on a one-timer, taking a pass from forward Kyle Farrell, who almost did the splits to stay onside to make the goal happen in the first place.

The Axemen had a chance to add to their lead, when Sam Fioretti was taken down while coming in on a partial breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot. Fioretti failed to score on the penalty shot.Read more »

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Steeves turns aside 44 shots in loss

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (7-3-1) had their three-game winning streak snapped in a 4-3 loss against the Saint Mary’s Huskies (7-3-1).

Due to suspensions and injuries, the Axemen were only able dress 14 skaters for the game. The Axemen were outshot 48-24 by the Huskies.

“Yah it’s hard. They have a good team and they played hard. We took a few too many penalties. It’s tough when you are tired,” said Boston Leier after the game.

“We never use the excuse of having a short bench ever, so it is what it is. We came out hard and played hard,” noted Leier.

Saint Mary’s dominated the first period, outshooting the Axemen 17-9 and taking a 1-0 lead into the second.

Huskies defenseman Alex Cord pulled the puck out from the left side of the Axemen net and roofed it over the shoulder of Robert Steeves to make it 1-0 for Saint Mary’s.

Acadia responded in the second period with a goal on the power-play to tie the game 1-1 heading into the third.

Axemen forward Kyle Farrell scored on a wrist shot in tight that beat the Huskies’ goaltender on the low blocker side.  Read more »

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Officially Commits to Robert Morris University

Valley native Maggie Burbidge announced this week that she has committed to join the NCAA’s Division 1, Robert Morris Colonials University women’s hockey team next season.

We caught up with Maggie and asked her about her decision to select Robert Morris (RMU) for her destination.

“I choose Robert Morris because I loved the school and the coaches are great. The atmosphere is awesome and the school is a very hard working place which I loved the environment when I toured. I believe I will grow as a hockey player and as a student going to Robert Morris and it will set me up for success later on in life.”

Maggie’s says she has her family & specifically her parents, Jeff and Alana, to thank for much of her success.

“My family played a huge role in this process. Both of my parents helped shape me into the player and the person I am today by teaching me to have hard work and determination in everything I do and to be better everyday. I wouldn’t have accomplished this without them and I can’t thank them enough for everything they do for me.”

Maggie concluded by saying, “If I had one message I could say to young female athletes in the Annapolis Valley, it would be to never give up on your dreams and your goals. Always work hard at everything you do, because it will pay off in the end and you will achieve great things.”

Congratulations and good luck Maggie, Acadia hockey & the Annapolis Valley will be routing for you!

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Harper with 5 points in penalty filled game

Wolfville, N.S. – The U SPORTS No. 7 ranked Acadia Axemen (7-2-1) won in a nail-biting 6-5 OT win, which saw the Axemen lose a 5-1 lead, on Friday night against the No. 3 StFX X-Men (8-1-1).

There was clearly bad blood between the two teams, who combined for 212 penalty minutes. Axemen forward and Subway First Star of the Night, Stephen Harper was the overtime hero.

“I took a dumb penatly in the third period. I felt like I had to make up for it. I was looking to pass it to Kyle but when I saw him go down, I tried to make a quick move to my left and get a shot out and I was lucky it went it,” said Harper after the game.

Harper scored on a partial breakaway, lifting the puck over the left pad of the X-Men goalie at the 2:05 mark of extra time and ignited the home crowd of over 1800 fans.

Despite being outshot 16-8 in the first period, Acadia held a commanding 3-1 lead heading into the second.

The Axemen struck a minute and a half into the game when forward Michael Clarke came out of the corner and fed it to Chance Braid who scored on his backhand.Read more »