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

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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 »

Posted on Posted in Alumni News

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.

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Posted on Posted in Team Stories

The 22nd Annual BLG Awards: CIS athlete of the year nominees announced

Liam Heelis(HALIFAX, N.S.) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport and national law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) announced Tuesday the eight finalists for the 22nd Annual BLG Awards.  Acadia men’s hockey player Liam Heelis is the AUS’s male nominee for male athlete from universities affiliated with CIS.

The BLG Awards were established in 1993 to recognize the top female and male athletes from universities affiliated with CIS.On Monday, April 28, the eight national nominees will be honoured at the EPCOR Centre’s Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary. One female and one male winner will receive a $10,000 post-graduate scholarship, while all finalists will return home with a commemorative gold ring.

The 2014 awards show will premiere nationally on Sportsnet 360 on Thursday, May 15, at 9 p.m. EDT. A replay is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, at 1 p.m. EDT, also on Sportsnet 360.

The BLG Awards are based on athletic accomplishments, outstanding sportsmanship and leadership. Each of the 54 CIS schools selects one female and one male athlete of the year. From these nominees, one female and one male athlete are chosen within each of the four regional associations: Atlantic University Sport (AUS), Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA). To be eligible, a student-athlete must have competed in a CIS sport for a minimum of two years and cannot be a previous recipient of a BLG Award.

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Posted on Posted in Team Stories
Heelis adds to his hardware for the year; Gibbons awarded the Kevin Powell Memorial Award
From Left to Right: Coach Darren Burns, MVP - Liam Heelis, Defensive Player of the Year - Chris Owens, Most Improved Player - Travis Randell, Co-Rookies of the Year - Geoff Schemitsch & Michael Clarke (Michael is not in the picture)
From Left to Right: Coach Darren Burns, MVP – Liam Heelis, Defensive Player of the Year – Chris Owens, Most Improved Player – Travis Randell, Co-Rookies of the Year – Geoff Schemitsch & Michael Clarke (Michael is not in the picture)

The AUS Champion Acadia Axemen hockey team wrapped up the 2013-14 season with the announcement of their team awards at the Annual Fred G. Kelly Awards Night hosted by the Department of Athletics.

The award for Rookie of the Year for the 2013-14 season went to co-winners Geoff Schemitsch and Michael Clarke.

A standout first year defenseman, Geoff Schemitsch played a big role on the team’s back end. Good offensively and responsible defensively, Geoff is a smooth skating defenseman and a  player to watch for years to come. This season Geoff was named to the AUS All-Rookie team.

Michael Clarke flew under the radar the entire season. Scoring nine of his 12 regular season goals in the second half of the season, Clarke was one of the Axemen’s top goal scorers. A strong and physical player, Michael shoots the puck like a pro and plays a complete two way game. With great hands, Michael has the ability to take control of a hockey game.

Second year centerman Travis Randell was named the Most Improved Player of the Year. A great leader that can play in all situations, Travis is a centerman that has the ability to produce and play a sound defensive game. While Travis had three goals in the regular season – all three in the second half of the season, he also scored three important goals in eight playoff games including two eventual game winning goals.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

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2014 AUS Champion Acadia Axemen Graduating Player’s Banquet

Monday April 7th at the Wolfville Lion’s Hall

Doors open at 5:15pm with Dinner beginning at 5:45pm

Cost: $20.00

Dinner: Ribs, Potatoes, Vegetables, Desert with Tea or Coffee

Come celebrate this year’s graduating Axemen; Evan Mosher, Cullen Morin, Leo Jenner, Chris Owens, KC Brown, Joe Gaynor and Dustin Ekelman

Please email Mike Chiasson at mike.chiasson@acadiau.ca to reserve your tickets for this year’s event.

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Posted on Posted in Game Recaps

Final Curtain Falls On Acadia’s Hockey Season

Axemen goalie Evan Mosher looks to poke check Saskatchewan sniper Derek Hulak. Hulak scored on the play and Saskatchewan went on to take the game 3-2.
Axemen goalie Evan Mosher looks to poke check Saskatchewan sniper Derek Hulak. Hulak scored on the play and Saskatchewan went on to take the game 3-2.

The Acadia Axemen needed to win their next game at the CIS National Championships to have a chance to move on to the championship game.  The Axemen unexpectedly lost their opener, a 4-2 loss to the Windsor Lancers.  A lack of team discipline helped in that loss, as the Lancers converted twice on the power play.

Their fate no longer in their own hands, the Axemen got set to face the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night.  The hometown Huskies hadn’t played in a few weeks, and were raring to go.  The Axemen needed a win to give themselves a chance…an Acadia win by three goals and a Lancers loss on Saturday would put the Axemen in good shape to reach the championship final.

The win never materialized.  The Huskies stole the game in the last five minutes, scoring the winner at the 17:58 mark of the third, en route to a 3-2 win.  The loss effectively ended the Axemen season.

Watch video highlights of the game:

Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Down but not out; a win & some help needed

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The Axemen will need a little help if they want to take home this year’s University Cup, but first they must take care of business themselves.  In a season deciding game for the Acadia Axemen, the Atlantic University Sport representative at the CIS University Cup will face the host team, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

Acadia dropped a 4-2 decision to the Windsor Lancers on Thursday night, which now means they need to beat the host team Friday night, and then look for the Huskies to knock off the Lancers on Saturday evening. With all the teams at this tournament being so close competitively, this is by no means a long shot. If the three teams in the Axemen’s pool are tied with 1 and 1 records, the team to advance to Sunday’s University Cup final will be chosen by the tie-breaker of goals for and goals against differential. This is why you may have noticed that the Axemen did not pull their goalie, Evan Mosher, in the final minute of play in the 4-2 loss to Windsor.

The Axemen had two defencemen leave Thursday’s games with injuries; both Colin Archer and Cullen Morin left the game and did not return. There is no update available at this time on their statuses for Friday’s game. With fellow blue liner Geoffrey Schemitsch also out with injury, the Axemen will need to play a tight defensive game as a team.

The host Huskies, meanwhile, look to shake the rust off after a long layoff since losing their quarterfinal playoff round 2 games to 1 to UBC back on February 23rd. U of S enjoyed a successful regular season under long-time head coach Dave Adolph, going 17-11 on the season, including an impressive 11 win to only 3 loss record on home ice. The Huskies, who also hosted last year’s University Cup, are trying to improve on a 0-2 finish, leaving them third in their pool in 2013. The only National Championship came in 1983 for U of S Men’s Hockey, coach Dave Adolph was co-captain on the team.Read more »

Posted on Posted in Game Recaps

Acadia falls 4-2 to Windsor

Game Turning Point: Axemen goal waved off by referee and assessed a goalie interference penalty on the play.
Game Turning Point: Axemen goal waved off by referee and Acadia’s Dylan Anderson assessed a goalie interference penalty on the play.

Something funny happened to the Acadia Axemen in Saskatchewan as they began their quest for the 2014 University Cup title.  The problem was, no one was laughing on the Acadia side.

The Axemen began the hunt ranked #2 in Canada in CIS against the University of Windsor.  The Lancers were ranked #3.  The Axemen dominated the Lancers in the first period, but were only able to solve Windsor netminder Parker Van Buskirk once, as Mike Cazzola pounced on his own rebound and buried it only 1:19 in.  The Axemen outshot the Lancers 10-4 in that opening frame, only to see Van Buskirk slam the door shut.  He held his team in until they could score the equalizer, an effort by Windsor’s Richard Cameron that ended up in the Acadia net.

Acadia started the second period with a bang, as Cazzola found CIS MVP Liam Heelis in the slot with a perfect pass.  Heelis made no mistake, snapping the puck by a helpless Van Buskirk and giving the Axemen a 2-1 lead 1:43 in.  But that turned out to be all they could muster.  The Lancers frustrated the Axemen into several ill-timed penalties.  One could argue not all the calls were warranted, but in the end, they were called, and Acadia didn’t respond well.  The Lancers tied the game at 12:43 on a power play goal by Drew Palmer.

The Axemen seemed to fade as the game wore on, and the Lancers took complete advantage of their lack of urgency, swarming Acadia netminder Evan Mosher, who didn’t have one of his better games.  They outshot the Axemen 24-17 in the final two periods, including a 10-4 shot advantage in the third.  In the end, a power play goal by Kenny Bradford and an even strength goal by Mike Christou sealed Acadia’s fate in the third period.

See the video highlights here:

Read more »