Posted on Posted in Alumni News

Mike Johnston has been named the new coach of the Penguins

Mike JohnstonDarmouth native and former Acadia Axemen player, Mike Johnston has been named head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins today.

The Penguins have been without a coach since firing Dan Bylsma on June 6.

Johnston has been the coach of the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League since early in the 2008-09 season. In his first full season he led the Winterhawks to the biggest turnaround in team history in 2009-10, improving the team by 48 points.

Prior to coaching Portland, Johnston served as an associate coach in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks (1999-2006) and Los Angeles Kings (2006-08).

Mike attended Acadia University in the late 1970’s, where he graduated with a bachelor of physical education, and starred for the Axemen hockey team; he was named to Acadia’s Hockey Honor Roll in 2008.

He played hockey for the Brandon University and Acadia University and then became a coach at the age of 23. He at first coached Camrose College in Alberta and then was an assistant coach at the University of Calgary. In 1989 he took over as head coach at the University of New Brunswick, a job that lasted until 1994.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Archer accepted to Medicine program in Edmonton

Axemen assistant captain in 2013-14 Colin Archer, has been accepted into Medicine at the University of Alberta.
Axemen assistant captain in 2013-14 Colin Archer, has been accepted into Medicine at the University of Alberta.

The Acadia Axemen will be bidding farewell to one of their leaders, defenceman and assistant captain, Colin Archer. Archer has been accepted into the Medicine program at U of A in Edmonton, Alberta.

Archer came to Acadia midway through the 2011-12 season after deciding to leave Montreal’s McGill University. Due to this, he was forced to red shirt, and only practice for the Axemen for the remainder of the season.

The 2012-13 season saw Archer suit up for 26 regular season games, recording 2 points and 38 PIM’s, making a reputation for himself as a tough competitor who took care of his defensive zone first. 2013-14,  he played in all 28 regular season games, recording 5 points and 46 PIM’s. Archer captured the AUS championship with the Axemen in the 13-14 playoffs, recording 3 points in 8 games. He also saw action in the CIS national tournament before being injured in the opening game for Acadia.

The loss of Colin Archer, adds to hole on the backend left by graduating defensemen Chris Owens, Leo Jenner, and Cullen Morin. The Acadia coaching staff is expected to rely heavily on the recruiting process to fill these holes on the blueline for the 2014-15 season. Geoff Schemitsch, Travis Gibbons, and Chris Buonomo are the returnees for the Axemen on defense.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Great on the Ice, Great off the Ice – Paul Coffey

A great night, great support, and great featured guests. The seventeenth annual Acadia Axemen Celebrity Hockey dinner took place on Thursday, June 19th with headline guest and four time Stanley Cup winner Paul Coffey.

The night opened up with the master of ceremony, TSN correspondent and studio anchor, Paul Hollingsworth welcoming a crowd of nearly 500 Acadia Axemen supporters, including many Axemen alumni, as well as coaches and players from other Acadia varsity teams.

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The silent auctions continued throughout the night with many great items including autographed jerseys from NHL greats and Cole Harbour natives Nathan MacKinnon & Sidney Crosby, along with jerseys & autographed photos from the featured guest himself, Paul Coffey.

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Coach Darren Burns took to the stage and thanked the community for the tremendous support throughout the year, and let the crowd know how much he appreciates being a part of the valley community.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Featuring 2004 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee Paul Coffey

Click here to Download Registration Form to Purchase a Table or Single Tickets

Paul Coffey averaged better than a point per game during his three seasons in junior, including a personal-high 72 assists for the 1978-79 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Paul Coffey averaged better than a point per game during his three seasons in junior, including a personal-high 72 assists for the 1978-79 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

Smooth-skating Paul Coffey embodied everything an offensive defenseman could be – lightning fast, skilled playmaker, booming shot, savvy — yet still able to defend his team’s zone employing blinding speed.

Born June 1, 1961 in Weston, Ontario, after two seasons of junior, Paul Coffey was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers using their first pick in the 1980 Entry Draft. It was perfect timing for both sides – the Oilers were a highly skilled, offensively explosive club and Coffey’s skill set fit in perfectly as the quarterback of the dynamic young team.

In his second season, 1981-82, Paul led all NHL defensemen with 89 points and was chosen for the Second All-Star Team. In 1982-83, he collected 96 points, but it was his 126 points in 1983-84 that put him second only to teammate Wayne Gretzky in the NHL scoring race that year. That season, the Edmonton Oilers won the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

On his way to helping lead the Oilers to their second straight Stanley Cup, Paul Coffey won the Norris Trophy as the National Hockey League’s best defenseman and was selected to the First All-Star Team in 1984-85, a feat he replicated in 1985-86 in a season that can only be considered extraordinary. Coffey finished third in scoring with 138 points, including 48 goals.

Prior to the 1986-87 season, Coffey was traded to Pittsburgh, where he was able to further his exploits. In both 1988-89 and ’89-90, Paul cracked the

Paul Coffey had a solid rookie season in the NHL, recording 32 points in the regular season and leading all Oiler defensemen with seven points in the playoffs.
Paul Coffey had a solid rookie season in the NHL, recording 32 points in the regular season and leading all Oiler defensemen with seven points in the playoffs.

100-point plateau for the fourth time. Coffey helped the Penguins win their first Stanley Cup in 1990-91.

In February 1992, Coffey was moved to the Los Angeles Kings, the third of what would eventually be nine teams on his NHL resume. In January 1993, it was off to Detroit, but an injured knee hampered his play that season. By the following season, he had rebounded and not only led the Red Wings in scoring but was once again awarded the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Alumni News

Moose Tracks Interviews Brandon Benedict

Jun 10, 2014 – 11:49 GMT
Written By: MacIntosh, Scott original post at http://www.halifaxmooseheads.ca/article/brandon-benedict

His love of the game was evident each and every time he hit the ice as a member of the Halifax Mooseheads. A relentless digger in the corners, he paired that hard working mentality along with his offensive talents that have him sitting atop the franchise leaderboard in points (303), goals (119) and assists (184).

Brandon Benedict did everything his coach asked of him, and then some. The Avondale, Nova Scotia native was drafted by the Mooseheads in the 2nd round of the 1998 QMJHL Draft, and played his entire five year junior career in Halifax.

He later enjoyed a successful university career with the Acadia Axemen.

At age 32, Benedict is still playing competitive hockey in the EIHL, in fact he’s preparing for his fourth season with the Nottingham Panthers which begins in August. He said he initially moved across the pond to Belfast to play while taking his MBA.

Speaking from his childhood home in Hants County, Benedict says he’s home for a visit with his wife Kirsty and their newest addition to the family, four-month-old son Austin.

“We live in England basically from August until May, and then we split our time between Kirsty’s hometown just outside of Belfast, Ireland and Nova Scotia,” he said.

Benedict says even though soccer will always be #1 in the United Kingdom, it’s been a great place to play hockey.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Alumni News
John John Browne Published on June 03, 2014

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TC MEDIA

Calling Chris Owens “one of the smartest and most dynamic players that’s been at Acadia in the last 25 years,” Axemen coach Darren Burns said the Newfoundlander rates up there with the best players ever at the university.

Burns says he believes Owens can take his game to the next level. Acadia grad Owens hopes he’s right.

“He’s been one of the top defenceman in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) the past four years,” said Burns. “He has been an extremely pivotal player in the programs success especially this past season.”

Burns said he felt Owens took his game to a new level this season and he can go further in his hockey career.

“I feel he can definitely make the jump to the AHL next year, but it will take a lot of work,” the coach said. “The bottom line is when a player dominates at a level I feel he deserves a shot at the next level. That’s where Chris is at in his career.” Read more »

Posted on Posted in Alumni News

MacDonald new Assistant Coach

Jun 02, 2014 – 22:00 GMT
Written By: Albert, France of en.letitan.com

The QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan have nominated Kris MacDonald as assistant coach for the 2014-2015 season. MacDonald, from Prince Edward Island, will replace Kevin Desrochers behind the bench.

Kris is a former Titan player from the 2005-2006 season.  He played with the University of Acadia from 2007-2010 and completed his university career with UPEI in 2010-11. He was coaching at the Midget AAA level in Saskatchewan at the Notre-Dame College and is happy and ready to make the jump to the Québec Major Junior Hockey League.

Posted on Posted in Alumni News

Kingston Frontenacs tap Paul McFarland to be OHL’s youngest head coach

McFarland-was-Oshawas-assistant-coach-for-2-seasons-Terry-Wilson-OHL-Images

McFarland was Oshawa’s assistant coach for 2 seasons (Terry Wilson, OHL Images)

The Kingston Frontenacs believed they underachieved this season. Their rivals down Highway 401 in Oshawa overachieved, so there’s a clear rationale for taking from the competition.

Say whatever you want about what has to go on behind the scenes before an OHL team turns to someone still on the good side of 30 years old to fill a key job. Entrusting Kyle Dubas, who was only 25 on his start date, as its general manager has worked out wonderfully for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, who recently won their division for the first time in six seasons. Now it appears Frontenacs GM Doug Gilmour, coming off a stomach-punch playoff loss where a 3-0 series lead evaporated, is turning to 28-year-old Paul McFarland as the club’s head coach.

View Paul McFarland's Kingston Frontenacs welcome interview here: http://www.station14.ca/video.html?id=497Read more »

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Laberge a Champion with the Lyon Lions

Former Acadia Axemen Jonathan Laberge captured the France Division 1 Championship this year with the Lyon Lions. This was Jonathan’s first year with the Lions, after spending 5 seasons with the Acadia Axemen last season.

Laberge turned in a strong regular season with 26 points in his clubs 11 games and a team leading (+/-) of +19.

Read more »