Acadia Takes 2-0 Series Over Moncton On Home Ice

Never say die.

That seems to be the theme of the 2013-14 AUS playoffs for the Acadia Axemen.  The Axemen, after receiving a pass into the AUS conference semi-finals, drew the Aigles Bleus of Moncton University.  The Axemen finished the CIS rankings at #3, while Moncton finished at the #10 rank.  It was a much anticipated matchup, with the first two games at Acadia Arena in Wolfville.  When the dust settled, Acadia had taken a 2-0 series lead in the best of five series with a 5-2 win in Game 1 on February 26, and a 6-5 double overtime win in Game 2 on February 27.

In Game 1, the Aigles Bleus scored less than a minute into the game and took the play to the Axemen in the first period.  But they ran into a wall in Axemen goaltender Evan Mosher.  In what would be one of his finest games in an Acadia jersey, Mosher held his team in the game, making several acrobatic saves throughout the contest, until his teammates could seize control.

And they did.  The Axemen recovered from the early Moncton goal to build a 3-1 lead, and despite Moncton closing the gap to 3-2 late in the second, they couldn’t solve Mosher again, and Acadia rewarded their netminder’s work by building a 5-2 and locking it down in the third.  Mosher finished the game with 27 saves, many of them the eye-popping kind, while his counterpart in the Moncton goal, Adrien Lemay, did his part.  He stopped 30 shots, but couldn’t stop the Axemen tide all on his own.Read more »

Acadia Falls Short to UNB, Downed 2-0

The UNB Varsity Reds came to Wolfville on February 15 with one thing in mind…securing first place in the AUS hockey standings.  As the season progressed, it became more and more clear that first place in the AUS conference would come down to one game, as the Acadia Axemen and UNB Varsity Reds battled each other all season for the top spot.  It had all the making of a classic.  Acadia…led by forward Liam Heelis in scoring, but having to face UNB without the AUS leading scorer in Heelis in the lineup.  UNB…having battled the Axemen hard all season.  The stage was set for a game for the ages.

The UNB Varsity Reds jumped at the Axemen, but Acadia held firm, starting goalie Evan Mosher made some in tight saves, and the Axemen weathered the early storm.  They then took the play to the Reds, outshooting them 9-5 in the period, but were unable to solve UNB starting netminder Charles Lavigne.  Lavigne made several key saves in the period, the most notable coming during the man advantage, as he bailed out his power play unit with several stops.  When the dust settled at the final buzzer of the first, the score read 0-0. Read more »

Axemen Victory Sets Up Winner Take All Final Game

The Acadia Axemen and the UNB Varsity Reds have been battling each other all season for first place in the AUS conference.  It seems only fitting that it comes down to the final game of the regular season.

The Axemen secured their place in this regular season classic by dumping the Moncton Blue Eagles 5-2 in Wolfville.  After a scoreless first period, the Axemen went to work.  Playing without leading scorer Liam Heelis, the Axemen still jumped out to a three goal lead on goals by Dylan Anderson, Brett Thompson, and KC Brown.  Acadia ruled the rink in both goals and shots, much to the delight of the Wolfville crowd.  At the end of two periods, the shots read 23-12 in favor of Acadia, and the Axemen seemingly had the game well in hand.  With UNB holding a sizeable lead in their own AUS action against the Dalhousie Tigers, the date with destiny seemed set.

Not so fast.

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Axemen Continue to Roll with 6-1 Win Over Dalhousie

The Acadia Axemen continue to roll towards a date with destiny.  That destiny is a meeting with the UNB Varsity Reds in their last regular season game, a game that has huge implications for first overall in the conference. It’s a game that promises to have a major impact on the AUS playoff picture.

But first, the Dalhousie Tigers stood in the way.

The Axemen proved why the Tigers were no more than a speed bump on the road to first place.  They dropped the Tigers with a resounding 6-1 victory on home ice February 8, outshooting them 48-18, including a 22-5 edge in the first period.  It was a barrage that resulted in a 3-0 Acadia lead after the opening frame.

The CIS fourth ranked Axemen made a statement to UNB that they will keep pace with them, as UNB also won their game, 4-0 over Moncton.  They currently sit two points back of UNB in the standings.Read more »

Axemen Begin Playoff Stretch With Win Over Huskies

It was a special night at the Halifax Forum on February 7, as the St. Mary’s Huskies honored one of their own.  The Huskies’ hockey team donned special jerseys to honor Tom Lee, their long time assistant coach, who has battled lymphoma, a form of cancer.  In a night designed to bring support for Tom and awareness to defeat this horrible disease, the Huskies raised thousands of dollars to research a cure.

Once the puck dropped, it was apparent that the Huskies were on a mission.  But that mission was put on hold for a lengthy delay, as the glass broke in the Axemen end.  Once that was fixed, the Huskies quickly went up 2-0.  In a game in which they were fighting for their playoff lives, everything was going the Huskies’ way.Read more »

Acadia Rebounds From UPEI Loss In A Big Way

It appears as though the Acadia Axemen needed a wakeup call.

The Axemen played back to back home games this weekend, facing the UPEI Panthers on Friday night, then taking on the St. Thomas University Tommies on Saturday evening.  After being unceremoniously dumped 5-2 on home ice by UPEI, and suffering their third loss in five games, something had to give.

Unfortunately for St. Thomas, they were in the wrong spot at the wrong time.  The Acadia offence roared to life, eager to make amends for their recent slide.  The Axemen built a 6-0 lead before St. Thomas managed any offence.  They made it 6-2, but Acadia snuffed out any hope of a comeback, scoring twice more and rolling over the Tommies 8-3 in the end.

Mike Cazzola led the scoring with a four point night – a goal and three assists.  Brett Thompson added a goal and two assists, with Liam Heelis, Michael Clarke, Chris Owens, KC Brown, Taylor Makin, and Geoffrey Schemitsch rounding out the scoring.  Evan Mosher only faced 22 shots, but was solid when needed, squelching any hope of a ST. Thomas comeback after they scored two quick goals in the second.Read more »

Panthers hand CIS No. 4 Axemen 3rd loss in last 5 games

story courtesy of hockey.acadiau.ca

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The CIS No. 4 ranked Acadia Axemen continued to struggle with the UPEI Panthers, losing to the Panthers for the second time in four regular season matchups.  With a 5-2 loss to the Panthers, Acadia drops to sole possession of second place in the AUS standings.

Acadia had several chances, hitting the net a total of 49 times, but the Subway First Star of the Game, Mavric Park, stood tall making numerous acrobatic saves and stealing the win for the Panthers.

Evan Mosher registered only his fourth loss of the season, allowing four goals on 27 shots.

UPEI opened the scoring late in the first when fourth year forward Reginaldo Traccitto pounced on a give-away and capitalized on the opportunity, going upstairs over the glove of Evan Mosher, ringing it off the cross bar and in. Traccitto also added an empty net goal with 92 second remaining in the game, whose effort was good enough for the Third Star of the Game award.Read more »

Despite spectacular goaltending from X-Men Owsley, Axemen prevail

A hot goalie can often mean the difference between victory and defeat.  On Saturday night, this was painfully evident to the Acadia Axemen.

The Axemen took on the St. FX X-Men in Wolfville last Saturday.  In their previous meeting, the Axemen had put away the X-Men in Antigonish by a 2-1 score.  Coming off a 7-2 win against Dalhousie the night before, it appeared as though the Axemen had regained their scoring touch.

The Axemen jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period, riding an 18-5 edge in shots.  The second period brought more of the same, as Acadia began a 24 shot barrage on the St. FX goal.  But X-Men goaltender Drew Owsley proved to be more than equal to the task, making several key saves in rapid succession to keep his St. FX squad in the game.  Acadia struck on the power play to open a 3-1 lead, but Owsley’s outstanding play kept the Axemen from opening up a wider lead and putting the game away early.  At the end of the second period, the score read Acadia 3, St. FX 2.Read more »