Posted on Posted in Team Stories

AUS/CIS All-Star defenceman returns for 5th year of Eligibility

Chris Owens pictured last season in the CIS University Cup tournament in Saskatoon. (Photo By Calvin So/CIS University Cup)
Chris Owens pictured last season at the CIS University Cup tournament in Saskatoon. (Photo By Calvin So/CIS University Cup)

The Acadia Axemen hockey team is very pleased to announce that Chris Owens has returned to the team for his 5th and final year of CIS hockey eligibility. Owens has decided to continue to pursue his education at Acadia University this year.

Owens was in the lineup for the Axemen on Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to St. FX, where he scored shorthanded on a great individual effort that at the time tied the game at 2. Chris wore #3 for Acadia on Wednesday, since his number from the past four seasons, #10, has been worn by freshman Zach Franko this year.

Coach Darren Burns said, “We are very excited that Chris has decided to pursue more education and continue to play at Acadia. His leadership and abilities will be a great addition to our program.”

In four seasons with Acadia, Owens has scored 30 goals and 104 points in 109 regular season games, but he doesn’t just play in the offensive end of the ice, in 2014 Chris was chosen as the Axemen defensive player of the year. He was also a first team AUS all-star last season, helping to lead Acadia to an AUS championship and CIS University Cup tournament berth.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Game Recaps

Chris Owens Makes his Axemen Return in Loss

Athletics - AThe CIS #3 ranked Acadia Axemen suffered their first loss of the young AUS regular season tonight, as they fell 4-3 to the St. FX X-Men. Previous to tonight, the X-Men had been winless on the season, with an 0-3 record, however they came out of the gates hungry tonight.

Just 50 seconds into the first period, Robert Slaney gave X the early lead, putting the puck behind Axemen goalie Brandon Glover. Before the Axemen could right the ship, the X-Men added another, less than a minute later as Cole Grbavac put X up 2-0. Acadia was able to cut the lead to one at 5:55 on a 5 on 3 powerplay goal from Daniel Poliziani; assists went to Sam Fioretti and Travis Gibbons. That would be all for the scoring in the first period. X went to the dressing room with a slim 7-6 shot on goal margin after one period of play.

Acadia tied things up at 05:26, while shorthanded in the second period, as newly added Axemen Chris Owens scored on a tremendous individual effort to knot things up at 2. But the X-Men answered right back on the same penalty, the X-Men were able toΒ  convert as Jarrad Struthers scored at 06:05. With the Axemen back in penalty trouble just 2 minutes later, St. FX made Acadia pay again, as Cole Grbavac got his second goal of the night, this one on the powerplay, to make it a 4-2 score. That score held for the rest of the 2nd period. After 2 period, X outshot Acadia 25-16.Read more »

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Axemen Edge Tommies 7-6 in Overtime

A great moment prior to the game, as Acadia University raised a Don Wells banner to the rafters. The late Wells, was a player for the Axemen, Coach, and Athletic Director between 1964-1999.
A great moment prior to the game, as Acadia University raised a Don Wells banner to the rafters. The late Wells, was a player for the Axemen, Coach, and Athletic Director between 1964-1999.

The Acadia Axemen welcomed the St. Thomas Tommies to Andrew H. McCain Arena in Wolfville Saturday night. The Axemen were riding a two game winning streak going into the game. What was supposed to be a convincing win for the Axemen turned into a 7-6 overtime nail biter.

The Tommies struck first on a strange bounce that beat rookie netminder Robert Steeves early in the first. Then they sat back and watched as the Axemen began a 19 shot barrage on their netminder. Luke Lee-Knight allowed five goals as the Axemen simply rolled over the Tommies in the first. When the dust settled, the Axemen had built a comfortable 5-1 lead. Mike Cazzola scored twice, with Liam Heelis, Remy Giftopoulos, and Matthew Pufahl adding singles. Ranklyn Campbell replied for the Tommies.

Acadia held a 19-14 advantage in shots in the first period.

The game seemed well in hand. When St. Thomas replaced Lee-Knight with Tyson Teichmann in goal, it seemed to be a sidenote. But St. Thomas proved what happens when hard work meets opportunity. They drew upon an incident in which their goaltender got run over behind his net. The incident sparked the Tommies to a new level. They scored three times in the second, two on the power play, to draw within one goal when the period drew to a close.

Zach Hodder scored twice, with Brandon Childerley adding a single. Teichmann turned out to be the ace in the sleeve of the Tommies, as he stuffed all 15 shots the Axemen threw at him. The Axemen outshot the Tommies 15-11.

The third period turned into a sluggish affair, with the Axemen trying to nurse the one goal lead, and the Tommies desperately trying to tie the game. The Axemen had three straight power plays, and while the Tommies bent, they didn’t break. They kept pressing, but when Heelis scored his second goal of the game late in the third, it seemed as though Acadia had dodged a bullet.Read more »

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Acadia Hosts UPEI In Home Opener

photo_2015046_resize_articleThe Acadia Axemen hockey club thrilled their fans in the 2013-14 season with a dream run that ended just short of their ultimate goal–another CIS championship banner. It’s now the start of the 2014-15 season, and this year’s Axemen are just as hungry.

After undergoing some roster turnover after last season, Acadia looked impressive in their first game of the season, a 4-0 win over the Dalhousie Tigers. On October 17, they welcomed the UPEI Panthers to the newly renamed Andrew H. McCain Arena in Wolfville. In their first game in Wolfville of the new campaign, Acadia defeated UPEI 3-1 in a game that went down to the wire.

The Axemen jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, with Alex Beaton and Travis Gibbons finding the net. The story of the period, however, was goaltender Brandon Glover. Glover made 12 saves in the frame, some of the spectacular variety. He weathered a five on three power play opportunity, kicked aside a two on one one time chance, and gave the Panthers fits all period long.

The Panther regrouped a bit in the second, managing to solve Glover once on a goal by Matthew Brenton. They drew within one goal, but couldn’t solve Glover again, despite several close calls. Acadia outshot UPEI by an 11-10 margin.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

AxemenGameSquare

AUS Regular Season hockey has finally returned to Wolfville! Your Acadia Axemen return to the ice in Wolfville for their season home opener tonight, as they host the UPEI Panthers. Game time is 7pm. This weekend is also Homecoming weekend at Acadia University, so get your tickets to the hockey game, and come on out and cheer on the team!

One item that has changed since their last regular season AUS game in Wolfville is the name of the Arena, which was formerly known as the Acadia Arena, has been renamed the Andrew H. McCain Arena. You will also notice many upgrades and renovations to the Arena, including new lighting, sound system, and wall materials. Another major addition you will surely notice is the walking track around the arena.

Arrive early to the game on Friday night, as prior to puck drop, a special ceremony will take place as the Axemen raise their 2014 Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Championship banner to the rafters of the arena.

Now onto the game! The Axemen are coming off a 4-0 win over the Dalhousie Tigers last Saturday night in Halifax, which saw their top line of Liam Heelis, Brett Thompson, and Mike Cazzola combine for 3 of Acadia’s 4 goals. The Panthers suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to UNB in Charlottetown on Saturday night, despite an outstanding performance in goal from Mavric Parks, as he turned away 39 of 42 shots he faced from UNB.

Parks will more than likely get the start on Friday night, while Acadia’s Brandon Glover, who shutout the Tigers, will likely get the nod for the Axemen.

Acadia will look to put their team speed and relentless work ethic to the forefront on the larger ice surface of the McCain Arena this weekend; characteristics that were clearly a factor in the retooling of this year’s team and recruitment of new players.

For those out of town, or who can’t make Friday’s game, the game can be watched live online at AUStv.ca , as always, Len Hawley will have the call of the game on AVR Radio, 97.7FM or online on avrnetwork.com. The Axemen return to the ice at home on Saturday night as they welcome the St. Thomas Tommies to town.

Posted on Posted in Game Recaps

Acadia Axemen down Dalhousie Tigers 4-0 in AUS Season Opener

Sam Fioretti shoots as the Axemen and Dal players battle in front of the net.
An Axemen forward battles for position with a Dal defender, on a shot from Acadia’s Sam Fioretti, Acadia won the game 4-0. (Photo Credit Nick Pierce)

The Axemen’s production line started off the season doing what they do best, produce. The top scoring line from a year ago of Liam Heelis, Mike Cazzola, and Brett Thompson picked right up from last year, scoring 3 of Acadia’s 4 goals, and leading the Axemen to a 4-0 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers.

The Axemen outshot the Tigers by a wide margin, with Acadia blasting 45 shots on goal, to Dal’s 16. The Tigers started rookie goaltender Corbin Boes in goal and he played very well, holding the Axemen at bay on many great powerplay chances.

Acadia went with second year goaltender Brandon Glover in goal, he recorded 16 saves for the shutout.

Coach Burns was pleased with the win, noting the battles were won in the trenches tonight saying, “It was a very tough opening game. Dal are vastly improved, they are well coached, can skate, and work hard. This game was a battle from start to finish.”

Acadia opened up the scoring just under 5 minutes into the game when Mike Cazzola fed a beautiful saucer pass through two Dal defenceman, to a streaking Brett Thompson who cradled the pass and put the puck past Boes. Travis Gibbons picked up the second assist on the play.

It looked like that would be the end of the scoring in the first period of play, until Scott Trask was able to find the back of the net with just 30 seconds remaining in the period. Dylan Anderson and rookie Remy Giftopolous picked up the assists on the goal that gave the Axemen a 2-0 lead.

At 6:36 over the 2nd period, Brett Thompson picked up his second marker of the night, taking a pass from Liam Heelis and sliding it home. Daniel Poliziani picked up the second assist on the play. That was the only goal of the second period.Read more »

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Regular Season Opener: Dal Tigers Host the Acadia Axemen

1st regular season game of 2014-15 season
1st regular season game of 2014-15 season

It’s go time for the Acadia Axemen! Having been chomping at the bit to get back on the ice after their appearance at the CIS championships last March; the Axemen now begin the long journey to get back to the University Cup tournament, and gain a shot at redemption. Game 1 of the journey is the 2014-15 regular season opener for both the Acadia Axemen and Dalhousie Tigers, on Saturday at 7pm at the Halifax Forum.

Dal starts the season with 11 new faces, including former Moosehead Memorial Cup winner Brendan Duke.They will look to compete for a playoff position after finishing 8th in the AUS last season with a 3-24-1 record.

Tigers head coach Chris Donnelly believes that his team can make some noise this season, saying, “We are returning a strong core of character players and looking around the league, a lot of teams have lost some core players, so this could be a good year for us to move up in the standings.”

Team leader in pointsΒ  from a year ago, (17 points) Fabian Walsh and Pierre-Alexandre Vandall will be heavily relied upon for scoring for Dalhousie. While third year netminder Wendell Vye will more than likely see action for Dal in goal.

The Axemen will look to match their AUS championship season of a year ago, which included a second place 21-4-3 record in the regular season.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Alumni News

Former Axemen Captain to play with Detroit’s Top Farm Club

Bruton1Former Acadia Axemen captain Chris Bruton will be suiting up this season for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. The Griffins are the top farm team of the Detroit Red Wings. Bruton attended the team’s training camp on a tryout and has made tonight’s opening day roster.

Bruton, who played last season with the New York Islanders AHL team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, is coming off an injury which limited him to just 41 games; during that time he did manage to rack up 91 penalty minutes and wore the Captaincy for Bridgeport. He skated alongside former Axemen teammate Andrew Clark with the Sound Tigers, while Andrew was called up from the East Coast League.

Chris was also named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Fairfield County community during the 2013-14 season, which includes participating in all types of community events, including hospital visits, on-ice hockey lessons and trips to local schools to discuss financial responsibility.

Prior to last season the hard nose, pesky forward spent a season and a half with the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL, notching 200 PIM’s in 107 games to go along with 15 points. At the time Peoria was the St. Louis Blues farm club. He had spent the first half of 2011-12 with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces before being recalled to the Rivermen.

Now age 27, the 5-foot-11 200 pound, Bruton, spent three season with Acadia from 2008-2010, playing a total of 69 regular season games and scoring 74 points for the Axemen, splitting the captaincy with Phillippe Bertrand.

Prior to joining the Axemen, the Calgary, Alberta native, was the captain of the 2008 Memorial Cup winning Spokane Chiefs.

To follow Chris’ season, check out griffinshockey.com, Best of luck this year for a great season Brutes!