Leier & Harper with two goals each

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The UPEI Panthers (5-9-2) were unable to snap their five game skid, extending their losing streak to six, with a 5-2 loss to the Acadia Axemen (10-5-1) on Saturday night in Wolfville. The Axemen continued their winning ways, having now picked up nine of their last ten possible points.

Acadia jumped out to a 1-0 lead, early in the first, when rookie forward, Stephen Harper (Burlington, Ont.), fired one past UPEI goaltender, Matt Mahalak (Monrow, Michigan). Harper scored on a nice feed from Brett Thompson (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.), who picked up the puck in the corner, before passing it to Harper to make it 1-0 for the Axemen.

UPEI answered at the tail end of the opening period on the power play, when second year forward Sam Aulie (Lumsden, Sask.) sped in and danced around the Axemen defense, before sniping the top right corner of the net past Axemen goalie Robert Steeves (Moncton, N.B.).

Acadia led 12-8 in shots at the end of the first, with the teams in a 1-1 deadlock.

Harper continued to dominate in the second, scoring on the power-play, with a one-timer on a pass from fellow rookie, Alex Lepkowski (Buffalo, New York), who also had a secondary assist on Harper’s first goal.

Acadia struck again, with a passing play entering the offensive zone, with fourth-year forward Tyler Makin (Lethbridge, Alta.) sliding a cross-ice pass to third-year forward Boston Leier (Saskatoon, Sask.), who buried the puck past a sprawling Panthers goaltender, putting the Axemen up 3-1.

Heading into the third period, the Axemen were leading 24-16 in shots and held a 3-1 lead.

A scrappy third period saw Boston Leier add his second of the night, with a beautiful shorthanded marker. Leier blew past the UPEI defenders and waited out Mahalak and lofted the puck over the UPEI goalie’s left pad.Read more »

Steeves Stars in Goal for Acadia

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (9-5-1) defeated the first place UNB Varsity Reds (12-1-2) 2-1, handing the V-Reds their first regulation loss of the season and snapping their eight-game winning streak. Axemen goaltender Robert Steeves (Moncton, N.B.) had a stellar game, giving Acadia a win against the U Sports No. 1 ranked team in the country.

Acadia struck first in a fast paced first period. Fourth year defenseman Geoff Schemitsch (Thornhill, Ont.) took a slap shot from the point that was redirected by forward Michael Clarke (Halifax, N.S), to put the Axemen up 1-0 on the power-play.

UNB responded roughly six minutes later, at the beginning of a four-minute penalty kill, when fifth year V-Reds forward, Rob Mignardi (Richmond Hill, Ont.), sped past the defenseman and ripped a low wrist shot past Axemen goaltender, Robert Steeves.

By periods end, UNB led in shots, 11-9, with the game tied at 1-1 and the Axemen carrying a power-play over into the second.Read more »

Pufahl & Harper chip in with 3 assists a piece

The Axemen travelled to Halifax on Friday night to face the surprising team of the first half in the AUS, the Dalhousie Tigers. Although Acadia had won the previous two games with the Tigers this season, the Tigers came in to play just 2 points back of the Axemen. Acadia’s lineup was decimated by injuries, with starting netminder Devin Williams out, and top forwards Kyle Farrell, Nick Betz, and Chance Braid all injured. But the Axemen didn’t use that as an excuse, as they toppled Dalhousie by a 5-2 score at the old Halifax Forum.

For the first time this season, the Axemen powerplay was the reason for the victory, converting on 3 of 8 chances. The man advantage has been a major speed bump this year coming in to play on Friday with just a 6% conversion rate, worst in the AUS.

The Axemen came out flying, scoring off the opening faceoff on their first shot as Boston Leier converted a cross crease pass from Matthew Pufahl just 11 seconds into the game to give Acadia the early 1-0 lead.  That score stuck until late in the period when the Axemen doubled their lead while on the powerplay, as Marc McNalty parked himself in front of the Dal net and put a rebound past the Dal netminder Corbin Boes. Just over 2 minutes later, the Axemen appeared to take a firm hold on the game when Stephen Harper found Michael Clarke at the left circle. Clarke ripped a perfect shot over the shoulder of the Dal netminder to make it 3-0 with just 35 seconds to play in the opening period. But the Tigers responded quickly as Felix Page showed great skill and patience as he dangled around Axemen netminder Robert Steeves to get his team on the board just 23 seconds later, and sent the teams to the intermission with a 3-1 score.

Dalhousie fed off that late first period goal by scoring just 1:24 into the second period, cutting the Acadia lead to just one goal, as Page again found the back of the net. The teams headed to the dressing rooms with the score 3-2 for Acadia.

The Axemen found their stride in the third period with the man advantage as Daniel Pettersson unloaded a slap shot from the point, with a nice screen in front of the net, compliments of Sam Fioretti to give Acadia a two goal lead. Midway through the period, again on the powerplay, Remy Giftopoulos walked into the high slot and snapped a shot past Boes to seal the win for Acadia 5-2.

Acadia fired 40 shots at the Dal net, while Robert Steeves turned aside 23 of 25 shots he faced. Matt Pufahl and Stephen Harper each had 3 assists on the night, while Boston Leier and Michael Clarke each had a goal and an assist.

With the win, Acadia advanced to 8-5-1, while Dalhousie fell to 5-6-3. The Axemen have Saturday night off, as they head home to prepare to host the AUS #1 team, the UNB Varsity Reds next Friday and the UPEI Panthers on Saturday.

Pufahl & Giftopolous score for Axemen

Antigonish, NS -  The U Sports #2-ranked StFX X-Men (10-4) skated to a 3-2 overtime victory over the visiting Acadia Axemen (7-5-1) in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) hockey action Wednesday night at the Keating Centre.

Freshman Cole MacDonald (Wetaskiwin, AB) notched the game-winner, at 2:28 of the extra session, after taking a lead pass from team-mate Kristoff Kontos (Penetanguishene, ON), who notched the lone assist.

Both teams engineered great chances in the end-to-end 3-on-3 overtime period.

In the first period, at the 2:38 mark, freshman forward Matt Needham (Penticton, BC) opened the scoring for StFX. Bryson Cianfrone (Stoney Creek, ON) and Adam Stevens (Bedford, NS) assisted on the power-play goal.

A short time later, the X-Men garnered a man advantage, with Holden Cook (Oshawa, ON) walking off the side boards to take a hard wrist shot, but Axemen freshman goaltender Devin Williams (Saginaw, MI) made the save and smothered the puck.

While short-handed, Boston Leier (Saskatoon, SK) got sent in on a partial breakaway for the Axemen, but Brandon Hope (Canton, MI) stretched out his left pad and glove hand to make the stop on the forward’s shot from the top of the face-off circle.

Leier collected a second scoring opportunity, on the same penalty kill, but Hope steered the shot aside with his right pad.

At 11:45, defenseman Matthew Pufahl (Saskatoon, SK) sent a lead pass to a streaking Remy Giftopoulos (Ancaster, ON), who went from forehand to backhand, before stuffing the puck behind Hope. Pufahl notched the lone assist on the equalizer.

Forward Mark Tremaine (Dartmouth, NS) attempted to regain the lead for the X-Men, but Williams corralled his soft backhander from in close.

On the power play, Leier had another chance, after taking a pass from Nick Betz (Detroit, MI), in the slot, but Hope stymied him, again, with his right pad.

Late in the period, X-Men captain Eric Locke (Toronto, ON) found a streaking MacDonald, but he could not beat Williams, from the lip of the crease. Cook started the play with a cross-ice feed to Locke, who carried the puck just inside the blue line.

Regan Spears (Port Hood, NS) and Cianfrone also had chances to make it 2-1, before the end of the frame, but Williams was equal to the task.

In a fast-paced and physical second period, the teams went scoreless.

Early on, Leier bolted in on his off-wing, but the puck rolled away from him and through the X-Men crease, before he could get away a quality shot.

The best chance to start the middle frame, for the X-Men, came off the stick of Locke, who was left alone in front of the net. But, after taking a cross-ice pass from Kontos, he had to gather the puck before shooting, which gave Williams time to slide over and make the save.

Giftopoulos had a chance for his second of the night, but Hope made another right pad save.  Read more »

Giftopoulos leads the way with 2 tallies

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (6-5), improved to 5-1 at home, as they handed the Dalhousie Tigers (4-4-3), on a rare Tuesday night game, a 4-1 loss. The Axemen also leapfrogged the Tigers in the AUS standings, for the time being, to move into fourth place behind the UPEI Panthers.

Although the first period saw no goals from either side, there were numerous bone crushing hits from both teams. Dalhousie was unable to capitalize on a string of Axemen penalties in the middle of the first, which saw Acadia forward, Remy Giftopoulos (Ancaster, Ont.), block a cross ice shot that would have surely gone in past the sprawling Axemen goaltender Devin Williams (Detroit, Michigan). At the end of the period, Acadia led in shots, 11-8.

Bad blood continued between the two teams into the second, with both sides pleading their case to the referees’ multiple times during a period that saw questionable hits from both sides.

Early in the second, the Tigers had a goal immediately called back, due to a hand pass.

Acadia scored early in the second, when fourth-year forward, Brandon Childerley (Stratford, Ont.), picked up the puck off the boards from a point shot by rookie defenseman Marc McNalty (Medicine Hat, Alta.) and fired the puck low glove side on Dalhousie goaltender Joe Gladnick (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

The Tigers ended the period on a four-minute power play, but were once again unable to find the back of the net against the best penalty killing team in the conference.

By periods end, the Axemen were still ahead in shots, 22-18 and holding a 1-0 lead going into the third period.Read more »

Giftopoulos & Leier with Axemen goals

Charlottetown, PE – The UPEI Panthers defeated the Acadia Axemen 3-2 to take home 2 important points in AUS Men’s Hockey action before 950 fans at MacLauchlan Arena.

Panther Cody Payne opened the scoring on the power play with 2:19 remaining in the first period, assisted by Ryan MacKinnon and Marcus Power, but Axemen Remy Giftopoulous evened the score shortly after with 53 sec remaining, helper going to Daniel Pettersson.

Defensemen Brock Beukeboom gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead mid-way through the second.  Drawing assists were Cody Payne and Kurt Etchegary.

Subway Player of the Game Marcus Power scored the eventual game winner with 12:16 remaining in the third assisted by RT Rice and Casey Babineau.

On the power play Axemen Boston Leir closed the gap to one from Sam Fioretti with 3:28 remaining but it wasn’t enough as the Panthers held on for a 3-2 win.

Matt Mahalek made 19 saves for the win, while Robert Steeves turned aside 28 shots in the loss.

The Panthers return to action Friday night on the road when they travel to Halifax to play the Dalhousie Tigers, game time 7:00 pm.

The Axemen’s next game is Tuesday when they host the Dalhousie Tigers, puck drop is 7:00 pm.

Lepkowski with loan goal for Acadia

(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB Varsity Reds continued their four-game homestand with a 5-1 win over the visiting Acadia Axemen.

Two goals from forward Cam Braes(Shawinigan Lake, BC) led the VReds (7-0-2) to the victory, along with a 19-save performance from goalie Alex Dubeau(Mascouche, QC) and three second period goals, one of them from Braes.

Mike Thomas(New Maryland, NB) picked up a loose puck halfway through the Acadia zone, off a turnover at the hashmarks, and fired it past Axemen netminder Brandon Glover(Victoria, BC) at 3:31 of the first period to get UNB on the board.

Thomas’ goal came on the VReds’ first shot of the game. That goal held up as the lone first period goal.

“I liked a lot of the things we did defensively tonight,” said Darren Burns, head coach of the Axemen. “There were a lot of good things we did, but they have a lot of talent, and they’re a hard team to come back against.”

Both teams came out firing early in the second period.Read more »

Thompson & Harper lead the way for Acadia

The Acadia Axemen flexed their offensive muscles on the weekend, scoring 13 goals in a pair of AUS hockey victories.

On the road Saturday, the Axemen defeated the Moncton Aigles Bleus 5-3.

At home in Wolfville the night before, the Axemen cooled the Saint Mary’s Huskies 8-3.

At Moncton on Saturday, Acadia received three-point efforts from Brett Thompson, with two power-play goals and an assist, and Stephen Harper, with a goal and two assists. Boston Leier, with two points, and Sam Fioretti also scored for the Axemen.

Acadia freshman Devin Williams made 27 saves, while his teammates fired 35 shots at Moncton’s Brandon Thibeau.

Allain Saulnier assisted on all three Aigles Bleus’ goals, including power-play markers from Pierre Durepos and Jean-Francois Plante and an even-strength marker from Alex Saulnier, Allain’s twin brother.

Fioretti, Farrell, & Harper each with a pair

It took the Axemen over 26 minutes to get on the board on Friday night, but once they did, they just kept coming. Acadia went on to tally 8 goals enroute to a 8-3 victory over the Saint Mary’s Huskies in Wolfville.

The opening period was a slow moving 20 minutes with many whistles, very little game flow, and just 13 total shots on goal; including the first shot of the game for either team coming after 7 minutes of play. Acadia first year netminder Devin Williams and SMU goalie Cole Cheveldave kept the game scoreless through the opening period.

The second period was a different story. The Huskies opened the scoring on the powerplay, just 44 seconds into the middle frame, when Bronson Beaton was able to beat Axemen netminder Williams. However, at 6:21 the Axemen answered back while shorthanded, as Sam Fioretti chipped a puck passed a pinching SMU defender, leading to a 2 on 1, where he found Kyle Farrell alone at the side of the SMU net, to square the game at 1. Just over 3 minutes later, Axemen freshman Stephen Harper scored his first of two on the night, and under two minutes later, 5^th year forward Brett Thompson got on the board, showing great patience holding onto the puck before beating Cheveldave, to make it 3-1 Acadia.

With the Huskies still reeling, Harper added his second of the night at 15:36 of the period, and Sam Fioretti rounded out the period scoring at 19:06, to cap off 5 unanswered Acadia goals in the second period leading to a 5-1 Axemen lead after 2.

With the large lead it appeared Acadia took their foot off the gas peddle momentarily as Saint Mary’s cut the lead to 2 when Hunter Garlent and Stephen Shipley each scored to make it 5-3 with under 9 minutes to play in the third. That seemed to wake the Axemen back up as Boston Leier scored on a beautiful solo effort, as he broke in on a breakaway with SMU defenceman Alex Cord draped all over him and being taken down to the ice, Leier still managed to roof the puck over Cheveldave to make it 6-3 Acadia.Read more »