Leier notches 4 pts in win

By Thomas Becker 

The Acadia Axemen surrendered their lead three times, but held the Panthers down long enough to escape the Island with a 7-5 win Saturday night. 

Subway Player of the Game Samuel Fioretti scored the game’s first and last goals, while teammate Kyle Farrell scored a pair as well to lead the Axemen to victory. Boston Leier finished with four points on a goal and three assists, with Owen MacDonald and Rodney Southam finding the back of the net for the other two. 

“We played hard but there are things we need to sharpen up,” Fioretti said. “We just stuck to it and we didn’t quit when they started to get momentum.” 

The Axemen (5-2-1) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as Fioretti was given a gift on the doorstep and made it count for the 1-0 edge just three minutes into the game. 

The Panthers (2-5-1) bounced back after surrendering the quick goal and pressured Acadia’s defence. With just over a minute remaining in the opening period, Kameron Kielly rounded the net and left the puck behind for Gabe Guertler, who fired it off rookie goaltender Dawson Carty and in for the equalizer. 

Harper with 2 pts in loss

FREDERICTON, N.B. – One week after suffering a 3-2 overtime loss in Wolfville, the UNB Varsity Reds handed the Acadia Axemen a 7-2 loss. 

Freshman forward Kris Bennett(Brampton, ON) scored twice and added three assists to the lead the Varsity Reds. He was named the Subway Player of the Game. 

Stephen Anderson(Morell, PE) had two goals and two assists, and Mark Simpson(Rothesay, NB) scored twice. Olivier LeBlanc(Quebec City, QC) also had a goal for UNB. 

Boston Leier(Saskatoon, SK) and Stephen Harper(Burlington, ON) scored for the Axemen. 

A scary moment brought the game to a halt after just 1:28. 

Acadia’s Alex Lepkowski (Buffalo, NY) took UNB’s Chris Clapperton hard into the boards. 

Clapperton lay motionless on the ice for several minutes before being taken off on a back board. 

He was taken by ambulance to Fredericton’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital, where he was alert and moving. 

“It’s tough to see something like that, but it’s out of our control,” said Bennett. “We just had to bounce back and work as hard as we can for him. We were playing for him and hopefully he’s doing well.” 

“You just hate to see that in sports,” said Axemen head coach Darren Burns. “We want to compete, but you never want to see a guy get injured.” 

Antigonish, NS – The U SPORTS No. 4 ranked StFX X–Men edged the No. 6 ranked Acadia Axemen by a 5-4 score Wednesday evening at the Charles V. Keating Centre. For the second time in a week, the Axemen have been on the short end of the stick with both games resulting in a 5-4 for the X-Men. The first loss came at the hands of an overtime shootout and this time, with 1:12 remaining in regulation time.

Matt Needham (Penticton, BC) scored the game winning goal with only 1:12 left in the third period as the home team staved off an Acadia comeback and held on for the win. 

The X–Men opened the game by scoring three goals in quick succession. Thirty-six seconds into the period Sam Studnicka (Windsor, ON), assisted by Adam Stevens (Bedford, NS), found the back of the net after intercepting an Axemen pass.  

Just 29 seconds later Holden Cook (Oshawa, ON) went top shelf on Axemen goaltender Dawson Carty (Burlington, ON). Craig Duininck (St. Cloud, MN) and Needham had the helpers on the second goal.