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.

Read more »

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:

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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 »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Axemen Quest for the University Cup Starts Thursday Night

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The Acadia Axemen will open their quest for the University Cup on Thursday night in Saskatoon as they face the University of Windsor Lancers at 10pm Atlantic time at the Credit Union Centre. You can watch Thursday’s game live online at http://www.cis-sic.tv/

You can also listen to Len Hawley’s call of the game on AVR Radio in the Annapolis Valley, 97.7FM, or online at avrnetwork.com

The AUS Hockey Champion Axemen are in search of their first CIS National Championship since 1996, while Windsor is looking to claim their first National crown for Men’s hockey.

Windsor is coming off a hard fought 3-2 Queen’s Cup win over the OUA East division-winners McGill Redman this past Saturday night; it was a one game, winner take all game, to crown the OUA champion, and was the first time in 16 years that the Lancers took the Queen’s Cup, led by an incredible 50-save performance by their goaltender and player of the game Parker Van Buskirk.

The path for Windsor to the University Cup in Saskatoon began with the Lancers knocking off the Toronto Varsity Blues 2 games to 0, then taking the Western Mustangs 2 games to 1, and in the OUA West Finals, they defeated the Lakehead Thunderwolves 2 games to 0. As mentioned, in the 1 game Queen’s Cup OUA Championship, they defeated McGill 3-2.

The Axemen meanwhile, have had some time to regroup, heal some bumps and bruises, and prepare for the CIS Championship tournament. They defeated the Saint Mary’s Huskies in Game 4 of their best of 5 series last Monday, March 10th to win the AUS Championship series 3 games to 1.

Acadia had a first round bye in the AUS and defeated the Moncton Aigles Bleus 3 games to 1 in the best of 5 Semi-finals.

Acadia posted a 21-7 record this regular season, and were no strangers to winning on the road with an 11-3 road record. They are led by the power line of Liam Heelis (24 goals, 42 pts), Mike Cazzola (31 assists, 42 pts) and Brett Thompson (33 pts), with AUS First Team All-Stars Chris Owens on defence (31 pts) and Evan Mosher in goal (23 games, 17-5 record 2.21 GAA, .919 Save %).Read more »

Posted on Posted in Team Stories

Acadia’s Heelis named player of the year

Liam Heelis, a third-year forward from Acadia University, was named the CIS player of the year in men’s hockey, Wednesday night. CIS Photo
Liam Heelis, a third-year forward from Acadia University, was named the CIS player of the year in men’s hockey, Wednesday night. CIS Photo
Story courtesy of Sportsnet.ca March 19, 2014, 9:16 PM

SASKATOON – Liam Heelis, a third-year forward from Acadia University, was named the CIS player of the year in men’s hockey, Wednesday night.

The Georgetown, Ont., native became the second Axemen player in three seasons and the fourth in program history to claim the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy. He follows in the footsteps of forwards Andrew Clark (2012), Kevin Baker (2006) and Duane Dennis (1994).

Other winners announced during the SaskTel All-Canadian Presentation at TCU Place in Saskatoon were McGill rearguard Ryan McKiernan, who was named CIS defenceman of the year; Calgary netminder Jacob DeSerres, selected as the country’s best goaltender; Queen’s goalie Kevin Bailie, who received the Clare Drake Award as rookie of the year; UNB forward Chris Culligan, who claimed the R.W. Pugh Award as the nation’s most sportsmanlike player; Queen’s head coach Brett Gibson, who captured the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award; and Alberta defenceman Ben Lindemulder, who merited the Dr. Randy Gregg Award recognizing his excellence in hockey, academics and community involvement.

The PotashCorp University Cup presented by Co-op gets under way on Thursday at the Credit Union Centre and culminates Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Local Time (3:30 p.m. Eastern) with the gold-medal final, live on Sportsnet.

SENATOR JOSEPH A. SULLIVAN TROPHY (player of the year): Liam Heelis, Acadia

Heelis is the third straight AUS player – and sixth in the past seven years – to win the Sullivan Trophy. Saint Mary’s forward Lucas Bloodoff was the recipient last season.

The six-foot-one, 195-pound sniper exploded in his third university season as he won the AUS scoring title with 42 points, including a CIS-leading 24 goals, in only 26 league games, a significant improvement from his 10-12-22 mark as a sophomore a year ago. A terrific special teams player, he tied for the CIS lead with four short-handed markers and was second in the Atlantic conference with seven power play goals. He also potted three game-winners and ranked second in the Maritimes with 117 shots.

Thanks in large part to his stellar play, the Axemen took second place in the ultra-competitive AUS conference with a 21-4-3 record and were ranked in the top five nationally for most of the season.

A former OHL player with Owen Sound and Peterborough, Heelis has now accumulated 86 career points in 81 regular season games with the Axemen. Last December, the arts major played an integral part as a team of AUS standouts claimed gold for Canada at the FISU Winter Universiade in Trentino, Italy.

“We are extremely proud of Liam’s accomplishments, not only on the ice this year, but as a leader in the community at Acadia,” said Axemen head coach Darren Burns. “His determination, leadership and commitment as a person showed every day in practice and in games, enabling him to be a very dominant player for our team this year. I would be hard pressed to say that I have witnessed a player improve as much as Liam has in the AUS. His outstanding season was no doubt instrumental in our team’s success.”

The other finalists for the Sullivan Trophy were forwards Zach Harnden of Western and Derek Hulak of Saskatchewan.Read more »