(Halifax, NS) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2009-10 men's hockey major award winners and all-star teams as chosen by the eight Atlantic conference head coaches following regular season play.

The Acadia Axemen were honoured with three selections including first team All-Star Kris Westblom. Westblom, a native of Meadow Lake, SK, posted the most playing minutes of any goaltender in the conference had a 0.896 saves percentage and had the second best win-loss record of 14-8.  The second year netminder, named to the last season's All-Rookie squad, recorded 25 saves per game average. Full Story>

(Spokane, WA) The Spokane Chiefs named the Top 25 Chiefs in 25 Years at a press conference on Friday, February 26^th in the Spokane Arena.  Sixteen of the 25 were in attendance at the event and were involved in special pre-game ceremonies on Friday night when the Chiefs hosted the Prince George Cougars at 7:30.  The ceremonies will began shortly before 7:00.

The Top 25 Chiefs in 25 Years include 13 Memorial Cup Champions, five from 1991 and eight from 2008. Three players went on to win the Stanley Cup as pros, two were NHL All-Stars and the top six scorers in Chiefs history are represented. Fifteen of the 25 players have played in the NHL, including five this season. Four players from the 2009-10 Chiefs are also represented on the team; Jared Cowen, Tyler Johnson, Jared Spurgeon and Mitch Wahl.

2009-10 is the 25th season the Chiefs are skating as a WHL franchise in Spokane after moving from Kelowna prior to the 1985-86 season. 417 players have worn a Chiefs jersey in the 25 seasons since. The list includes two goaltenders, seven defensemen and 16 forwards.

Chiefs’ fans had the opportunity to help select the top 25 Chiefs through on-line voting and balloting at the games. Other factors in selecting the top 25 Chiefs included career achievements, honors and team success.

Prior to the 2007-08 season, Chris Bruton was named captain of the Chiefs and talked then about leaving a legacy in Spokane. Little did he know that at the end of the season the team would deliver a Memorial Cup Championship and hang the organization’s second such banner in the Spokane Arena. Bruton’s biggest career goal came with the Chiefs trailing the Lethbridge Hurricanes 1-0 in the third game of the WHL Championship series. The captain scored with 2:04 remaining, sending it into overtime for Spokane’s Tyler Johnson to win it.

The Chiefs would eventually sweep the series on their way to the Memorial Cup. You won’t find his name in any of the top 25 lists for major offensive categories, but Bruton was the ultimate leader that did all the little things, getting the most out of his abilities and drawing the same effort out of his teammates. His 20-year-old season was his best offensively, setting career numbers with 26 goals, 37 assists and 63 points, finishing third on the team in scoring. Bruton appeared in 258 career WHL games, tied for 17th all-time in franchise history after he was originally an eight round selection in the 2002 WHL Bantam Draft. The Calgary native was a two time choice as the Chiefs Humanitarian of the Year and a two-time winner of the team’s Player’s Player award.

Kris Westblom stops one of 40 shots on net

(Wolfville, NS) The Saint Mary's Huskies will head home for games three and four at the Halifax Forum after evening the best of five series in game two. The CIS #8 ranked Huskies handed the CIS #4 ranked Acadia Axemen a convincing 4-1 win that included an empty net goal with just over a minute remaining in the last period.

Huskie Cody Thorton, the player of the game, scored the first of two goals thirty seconds into the second period after a scoreless first frame. Just over four minutes later Andrew Hotham extended the lead to two with the first of two powerplay goals by the Huskies.

Outshooting the Axemen 13-4 in the first period, Saint Mary's continued their barrage on second year goalie Kris Westblom who stopped 33 shots after two periods of play.

Acadia's Scott Giles scored with just over five minutes remaining in the second period on the powerplay to bring Acadia to within reach at 2-1.

The Axemen were one for seven on the man advantage, while the Huskies capitalized on their first powerplay opportunity in the third period when Coldy Thorton scored his second goal of the game at 5:27 in the final period.

With just over a minute remaining in the game, Huskie Colby Pridham scored on the open net to solidfy the win over the Axemen.

Acadia was outshot 40-26 in three periods of play. The Axemen, who have averaged 34.8 shots per game this season, fell short of their regular seaosn average against Saint Mary's in game two. The Huskies, who were 2-5 on the man advantage, had 12 shots on net during the powerplay, while Acadia had nine shots on net with seven powerplay opportunities.

The Axemen will regroup after the 4-1 loss to Saint Mary's and will head to Halifax for Monday's game three of the five game series at the Halifax Forum.

In the other semi-final series between #1 CIS ranked UNB and StFX; the X-men lead the series 2-0 after a 3-1 win over UNB. The X-men have a chance to sweep the series with a win on Tuesday night in Antigonish.

Note: For the second game in a row, the Axemen lost a player for a checking from behind penalty. Game one had David Lomas leave the game late in the second period and tonight Zack Firlotte recieved a checking from behind and game misconduct early in the second period. A depleted defensive unit survived the night without Firlotte and Beau Prokopetz who is out indefinitely with a concussion suffered in game #1. Axemen leading scorer, Chris Bruton, hopes to return from injury late in the semi-final series or if the Axemen go beyond the Semi-Finals, he hopes to return to play then. Box Score>

Subway Three Stars:
1. SMU - Cody Thorton
2. ACA - Scott Giles
3. SMU - David MacDonald

Subway First Star of the Game, Andrew Clark, escapes a Huskie forechecker as he passes the puck to a teammate

(Wolfville, NS) The CIS #4 ranked Acadia Axemen take a 1-0 lead in the best of five AUS Men's Hockey Semi-Final series against the CIS #8 ranked Saint Mary's with a 2-1 win over the Huskies in Wolfville.

After being outshot 13-5 in the first scoreless period, the Axemen jumped on the scoreboard at 12:47 in the second frame when first year Axeman winger Spencer Jezegou found the net on a slap shot from the top of the circle on the powerplay to give Acadia the 1-0 lead.

Minutes later, Acadia's Tyler Whitehead had an opportunity to give the Axemen a 2-0 lead on a solo effort with a defenseman in tight pursuit but Huskie netminder Neil Conway gloved the backhand move to hold off Acadia's offensivee effort.

While the Huskies once again outshot Acadia 13-12 in the second period, the Axemen seem to shake off the 11 day rust as a result of a semi-final bye, playing a much better second period by offering several chances to score.

Rookie forward Andrew Clark opened the lead to two goals at the fourteen minute mark of the third period on a great effort in escaping defenseman Colby Pridham's check and scoring on a backhand move on Huskie goalie Neil Conway.

Saint Mary's finally scored just over two minutes later after Acadia's second goal, when Marc Rancourt took advantage of a Kris Westblom rebound to pull the Huskies to within one goal with just over three minutes remaining in the final period.

Pulling their goaltender for the man-advantage with just over a minute remaining in the game, Saint Mary's fell short in forcing the game into overtime.

The Huskies were 0-4 on the powerplay and only had one recorded shot on net on all four man-advantages. Acadia's Kris Westblom stopped 35 shots while Huskie Neil Conway was tested 26 times, allowing 2 goals.

The Huskies will return to Acadia Arena this Friday for game two of the best of five semi-final series. The second AUS semi-final series between StFX and UNB begins this Thursday, February 25 in Fredericton at the UNB Aiken Centre.   Box Score>

Subway Three Stars:
1. ACA - Andrew Clark
2. SMU - Marc Rancourt
3. ACA - Kris Westblom

(Wolfville, NS) The Acadia Hockey Axemen will begin their road to an AUS Championship against the CIS #8 CIS ranked Saint Mary's Huskies. The Huskies swept their quarterfinal best of three game series against Moncton this past weekend. The CIs #4 ranked Axemen will square off against Saint Mary's beginning at Acadia on Wednesday night starting at 7:30pm followed by Game #2 at Acadia on Friday Feb. 26 beginning at 7:00pm.

The Axemen completed the season with a 19-6-3 record and semi-final bye, while the Huskies finished five points out of second place with a 16-8-4 record. The four game regular season series between Acadia and the Huskies resulted in a 3-1 advantage for the Axemen with their only loss to Saint Mary's dating back to Wednesday, October 21 - week two in the regular season where the Huskies handed Acadia one of their worst losses of 7-3. Acadia grabbed 4-3, 5-4 OT and 4-1 wins this season against Saint Mary's.

Semifinal Series #2 (Best 3-of-5): Acadia (2) vs. Saint Mary’s (3)
Game 1: Wed., Feb. 24th – Saint Mary’s at Acadia, 7:30pm
Game 2: Fri., Feb. 26th – Saint Mary’s at Acadia, 7:00pm
Game 3: Mon., Mar. 1st – Acadia at Saint Mary’s, 7:00pm
Game 4: Wed., Mar. 3rd – Acadia at Saint Mary’s, 7:00pm*
Game 5: Fri. Mar. 5th – Saint Mary’s at Acadia, 7:00pm*
(*if necessary)

Adam McIllwraith scores his first goal of the season against Dal's Bobby Nadeau (Photo courtesy of Gaz Manning)

(Wolfville, NS) The Acadia Axemen hockey team made one step closer to holding onto second place and a first round playoff bye, but it didn't come easy and it didn't look pretty. The Axemen prevailed with a 4-3 overtime win against the feisty Tigers, but only two weeks ago, Acadia lost to the Tigers in a 4-3 overtime loss that closely resembled tonight's game.

The Tigers silenced a mid-week crowd of just over 1200 with an early goal by Trevor MacKenzie to take a first period 1-0 lead. First year Axemen Spencer Jezegou scored his ninth goal of the season to tie the game at 2:34 of the second period.

Acadia scored two more unanswered goals in the second period including Adam McIllwraith's first goal of the season. Philippe Bertrand followed at 12:20 to give Acadia a 3-1 lead after two frames.

Only just over one minute into the third period, Patrick Sweeney scored to bring the Tigers to within one goal. Dalhousie's Francois Gauthier scored a short handed goal at 5:56 to tie the game at three with just under 15 minutes remaining in the period.

Outshooting the Tigers 13-8 in the second and continuing the trend in the third with a 10-7 shots on net advantage, the game was forced into overtime.

At 6:43 of the extra period, Acadia's Andrew Clark patiently skated around a Tiger defender and held onto the puck until the last possible minute to put it overtop of a sprawled-out netminder Bobby Nadeau to give Acadia the win.

Nadeau, who stopped 38 shots was named the second Subway Star of the Game while Axeman Andrew Clark was given top honours.

Ahead of the third place Saint Mary's Huskies by six points, the Axemen will have to match the Huskies' performance against Moncton and St. Thomas over the next two weekends as both teams will wrap up the regular season against the Tommies and Aigles Bleus in four games - two at home and two on the road in New Brunswick.

Acadia will visit St. Thomas (7-15-2) this Friday night while the Huskies (12-8-4) head to Moncton (8-15-2). Both teams will switch opponents for the Saturday night game, while the Tigers (8-12-4) remain home to take on the red hot UPEI Panthers (11-11-2) at home on Friday and then the undefeated UNB Varsity Reds on Saturday.  Box Score>

Note: The end of the game ended with both team benches meeting at centre ice. Words between coaching staffs highlighted the centre ice scuffle. Second year forward Chris Bruton, who has 11 goals this season, left the ice and never returned.

Subway Players of the Game:
1. ACA - Andrew Clark
2. DAL - Bobby Nadeau
3. ACA - Spencer Jezegou

Huskies, including Mike Danton, surround Player of the Game Kris Westblom looking for a loose puck Photo courtesy of Nick Pearce

(Halifax, NS) The CIS No. 4 ranked Acadia Axemen skated past the No. 7 ranked Saint Mary's Huskies in front of an AUS season-high crowd of 3,723 fans at the Halifax Forum Wednesday night and became the second AUS team to officially secure a berth in the postseason.

With the win, Acadia improves their record to 15-4-2 and also increased their lead over Saint Mary's to four points in the battle for second place in the AUS standings.

Midway through the final frame, with Saint Mary's trailing by three goals, former NHL'er Mike Danton (Brampton, ON) brought the crowd to their feet when he scored the lone goal for the Huskies, who dropped to 12-6-4 with the loss.

After a scoreless opening frame in which Saint Mary's outshot the Axemen by a 10-7 margin, Acadia's Spencer Jezegou (Oshawa, ON) opened the scoring at 2:41 of the second period on the power play with his eighth goal of the season. James Klie (Harrow, ON) then made it 2-0 at 4:49 when Alex MacDonald found Klie in the slot from behind the SMU net for his second goal of the year. The Axemen took a 2-0 lead into the second intermission despite being outshot 12-10 in the period.

First year Axeman Andrew Clark (Brandon, MB) scored his eighth of the season at 3:03 of the third period to put Acadia ahead 3-0.

Danton got the only goal for Saint Mary's after knocking a Cam Fergus (Brantford, ON) pass out of the air and into the net at 10:21 of the third to make it 3-1.

The Huskies pulled first year goalie Neil Conway (Concord, OH) in the final minute, but David Lomas (Burlington, ON) sealed the victory with an empty netter late to make it 4-1 for Acadia.

Axemen goalie Kristopher Westblom (Meadow Lake, SK) was named the Subway Player of the Game as he stopped 36-of-37 shots and picked up his 12th win of the season. SMU's Conway stopped 24-of-27 shots in the loss.

Saint Mary's outshot Acadia 37-28. The Huskies were 0-for-7 on the power play while Acadia went for 1-for-7 with the man advantage. Box Score>

Notes: The CIS No. 1 ranked UNB Varsity Reds have now secured a first round bye to the semifinal round of the AUS playoffs with the loss by the Huskies...Danton took Kyle Doucet's place on the wing of the Saint Mary's second line and recorded three shots on goal...Doucet is out of the SMU lineup with a broken thumb...The Axemen and Huskies will each play at UNB and at UPEI this coming weekend. UNB's Aitken Centre is already reported to be sold out for the Acadia visit Saturday evening, with a strong turnout also expected for the Saint Mary's game Friday evening.

Spencer Jesegou strips puck from X-Man to save Westblom shutout late in the third period

(Wolfville, NS) The Acadia Axemen hockey team got back on their feet after losing 4-3 in overtime on Friday against the Dalhousie Tigers in Halifax, despite outshooting the Tigers 46-31 and leading 3-1 in the third period.

Tonight, an Acadia-dominated game with netminder Kris Westblom grabbing his first shutout of the 2009-10 regular season, marked the Axemen's first game this year with no goals against.

Outshooting the X-Men 49-17, Acadia's Andrew Clark opened up the game with a first period goal to give Acadia a 1-0 lead after an 18-4 shots on net advantage.

Rookie Spencer Jezegou scored his seventh goal of the season at 8:06 of the second frame. Teammate Ryan Graham added a second goal of the second period two minutes later; his seventh of the season, to give Acadia a commanding 3-0 lead.

Graham added his second goal of the game early in the final minute of the game to give Acadia their fourth win against the X-Men this season, sweeping a four game regular season series with a convincing 4-0 win.

The Axemen were 0-4 on the power play, landing 13 shots on net while StFX fell short on the man advantage, offering only 5 shots on four power play opportunities.

The Axemen (14-5-1) will have a quick turn around with their fourth and final game this Wednesday against the Saint Mary's Huskies (11-5-4) in Halifax, while the StFX X-Men (9-10-3) will have a week to rest as they host the last place Moncton Aigles Bleus (5-14-1) in Antigonish. Box Score> 

Subway Three Stars:
1. ACA - Spencer Jezegou
2. StFX - Bryan Gillis
3. ACA - Ryan Graham

First year forward Andrew Clark is checked from behind in front of the UNB net as puck remains untouched in front of UNB goaltender

(Wolfville, NS) Giving up a 48 to 21 shots on net, in favour of the Acadia Axemen, the undefeated UNB Varsity Reds dodged a bullet in Wolfville to improve to 19-0. The Axemen, who drop to 13-4-1, will hold onto second place in the AUS Hockey Conference - three points ahead of Saint Mary's.

In a scoreless first period, with Acadia holding a 14-8 shots on net advantage, it was not until nearly eight minutes into the second frame when the Varsity Reds scored on the UNB power play. V-Red Chris Culligan one-timed a pass from Jonathan Harty to give UNB a 1-0 lead.

Six minutes later, John Scott Dickson scored on a Luke Gallant redirected pass to extend the UNB lead to two.

The Axemen finally capitalized on one of several chances, including a third period penalty shot awarded to Tyler Whitehead. Second year Axemen points leader, Jonathan Laberge, scored his tenth goal of the regular season at 13:41 to close the gap to one goal.

With a checking penalty issued to Ben Wright at 17:33 of the third period, Acadia was unable to tie the game with the man advantage in the closing period.

Head Coach Darren Burns had nothing but praise for his team's effort against the CIS #1 ranked V-Reds. "Our team played well and I am not sure what more can be said. We struggled a bit at times around our net but this team (UNB) is suppose to be the best team in the country. I couldn't ask for more from our players."

The physical and fast paced game was well appreciated by the near capacity crowd of 1978. Tonight's loss is one of only two home game losses for the Axemen this season. The other loss was recorded on October 23rd when the Varsity Reds walked away with a 3-2 win on a power play goal in the closing seconds of the third and final period.

The Axemen will have six days to rest and prepare for Friday's game in Halifax against Dalhousie - the last of the four game regular season series and then return home on Saturday to face the StFX X-Men. UNB, who have clinched a playoff berth with their 19-0 record, will hit the road next weekend to face Moncton and StFX.

The Axemen will face UNB for the last time this season in Fredericton on Saturday, January 30th.  Box Score> 

Subway Three Stars:
1. UNB - Travis Fullerton
2. ACA - Jonathan Laberge
3. UNB - Chris Culligan

Seconds before the UPEI shot from the point beats Kris Westblom for Panther's only goal

(Wolfville, NS) Kris Westblom's 33 saves helped the CIS #4 ranked Acadia Axemen squeeze past the improved UPEI Panthers 2-1 in front of 1678 fans who helped the Acadia Minor Hockey Association celebrate AMHA Night in Wolfville.

With over 250 Minor hockey players backing the Axemen at every turn of the game, Acadia's Spencer Jezegou capture the eventual game winning goal with 1:54 remaining in the game on the power play.

Fans rose to their feet in the closing minutes as the Panthers emptied the net on the power play with 44 seconds remaing in the game for a six on four two man advantage. The eventual clearing of the puck out of the Axemen end in the closing seconds solidified the Axeman 2-1 win.

Panther Dylan Quaile opened the game scoring at 8:42 of the first period on a screened shot from the point that took the top corner on a surprised Westblom.

Outshooting the Panthers 35-18 in the first two periods, UPEI's Jhase Sniderman made 42 saves over three frames of play in the losing effort. Acadia's Ryan Graham was awarded Acadia's first goal in the closing minutes of the second period.

The Axemen, who improve to 13-3-1, face the CIS #1 ranked and undefeated UNB Varsity Reds tomorrow night in Wolfville, while the Panthers, who drop to 7-9-2, head to Saint Mary's to battle against the Saint Mary's Huskies. Box Score>

The UNB @ Acadia game on Sat. Jan. 16 will be Televised by EastLink and webcasted at http://www.eastlink.ca/eltv/ELTV_WebCasting/

Subway Three Stars:
1. ACA - Spencer Jezegou
2. UPEI - Jhase Sniderman
3. ACA - Kris Westblom

(Wolfville, NS) Despite losing an overtime game against StFX that followed a hard fought overtime win against the CIS #7 ranked Saint Mary's Huskies, the Hockey Axemen retain their #4 ranking in this week's Top Ten Tuesday. Acadia's winning streak ended at 10 with an OT loss to StFX, but they have still not lost a game in regulation time since an October 30 loss to UNB. UNB will visit Acadia this Saturday, following Friday's game against the UPEI Panthers.

In Acadia's overtime loss to StFX this past Saturday night, forward Jonathan Laberge, who scored three goals against the Saint Mary's Huskies in Friday night's OT win, added another goal to his season total giving him nine goals and 12 assists in 15 games. Teammates Chris Bruton and Philippe Bertrand are tied with Laberge with 21 points. Bruton leads the team with 10 goals.

In Acadia's overtime loss to the X-Men, Acadia jumped into a 1-0 lead in the first period, following a 20-2 shots on net advantage. Acadia stretched the lead to 2-0 after two periods. All three StFX goals, including the overtime winner, came from Phil Mangan.

Saturday's game against CIS #1 ranked and undefeated UNB will be broadcasted on EastLink TV and webcasted at http://www.eastlink.ca/eltv/ELTV_WebCasting/ beginning at 7pm on Saturday, Jan. 16.

Second year Forward Jonathan Laberge scores three goals including OT winner

(Wolfville, NS) Acadia's Jonathan Laberge helped the CIS #4 ranked Axemen maintain their now 10 game winning streak with a 5-4 overtime victory against the CIS #8 ranked Saint Mary's Huskies. Laberge, a second year forward from Ste-foy, QC who was named the AUS Hockey Conference Rookie of the Year last season, netted three goals including the game winner in overtime.

The Huskies, who came into the game with a game in hand and one point behind the second place Axemen in the ever-competitive AUS hockey conference, needed the win to begin their "jockeying" for second place in the tight AUS standings race.

With a 10-6 shots on net advantage after one period, Saint Mary's Marc Rancourt scored the opening goal of the game with only 3;35 expired on the clock. The Huskies followed less than six minutes later with their second goal by Scott Brophy.

At 14:30, Acadia's David Lomas scored his seventh goal of the season on the power play to bring the Axemen to within one. Huskie Scott Brophy scored his second goal with just over a minute remaining in the period to give Saint Mary's a commanding 3-1 lead after only one period of play.

Sloppy defensive play in Acadia's own end contributed to the first period Huskie lead, but a stronger second period was evident with the Axemen scoring the two goals in the second period.

Laberge's hat trick began with his first of two power play goals at 4:58 of the second period on the power play. Laberge scored his second goal of the evening nearly six minutes later to tie the game at three.

Twenty one seconds after Laberge's second goal, third year forward Cody Thorton nudged the Huskies' into a one point lead, capitalizing on an Axemen defensive blunder that ended the second period scoring.

Acadia's Ryan Graham scored his fourth goal of the season with less than fourteen minutes remaining in the final frame to tie the game for a second time.

With a man advantage in a four on three scenario in the overtime period, Acadia's Jonathan Laberge captured the hearts of Acadia fans with the overtime winning goal to give Acadia their tenth win in a row, last losing to the undefeated UNB Varsity Reds in Fredericton on October 30th.

Outshot 32-23 by Saint Mary's, Acadia's Head Coach Darren Burns was humble over the win. "Obviously against such a strong team like Saint Mary's, this is a great positive win for us. It was a very hard fought game and our team got better during the course of the game. I was impressed by our poise and ability to shake off some rough spots and regroup".

Second year goaltender Kris Westblom made 28 saves including a game high of 12 in the second period, while first year Huskie netminder Neil Conway was tested throughout the game including four shots in the eight minutes of overtime.

The Axemen, who have faced Saint Mary's three times this season, have a 2-1 series advantage with two overtime wins against the Huskies. Acadia's last loss to Saint Mary's was on October 21 in Halifax.

Improving to 12-3, Acadia will hit the road on Saturday to face the StFX X-men in Antigonish. StFX will hope to rebound from a 5-2 loss to the 4-8-3 Dalhousie Tigers, while Saint Mary's travels across town to take on the Tigers in Halifax. Box Score>

Subway Three Stars:
1. Jonathan Laberge - ACA
2. Scott Brophy - SMU
3. Philippe Bertrand - ACA

David Lomas falls on Huskies'  goaltender Brandon Verge trying to reach for the puck

(Wolfville, NS) Chris Bruton's hat-trick helped the CIS #7 ranked Axemen knock off the #8 Saint Mary's Huskies. Following an early regular season 7-3 loss to the Huskies in late early October, Acadia redeemed themselves with a 4-3 overtime win in front of a supportive crowd of 1359.

Bruton, named the Subway Player of the Game, scored the first two goals of the game in the first frame to give Acadia a 2-0 lead after twelve minutes of play. Bruton's first goal came only 10 seconds into the first period when the opening face off travelled into the deep corner of the Huskie end. Philippe Bertrand shoveled the puck to the slot and Bruton wasted no time firing the puck in the net.

Bruton's second goal came on the man advantage at 12:41, but was followed less than four minutes later by Saint Mary's first goal of the night on an unassisted Ryan Rorabeck goal.

Nine minutes into the second period, Huskie Cody Thorton scored on the power-play to tie the game at two a piece. Less than two minutes later, Scott Brophy scored Saint Mary's game leading goal to give the Huskies at 3-2 advantage.

Acadia's tying goal came in the third period when third year forward Zack McMillan scored his long awaited first goal of the season at the half way point of the final frame. McMillan's shot from the slot passed by a screened Huskie goaltender Brandon Verge.

Just over five minutes into the overtime period, Chris Bruton scored his third goal of the night and tenth goal of the season to give Acadia their eighth win in a row, improving to 10-3-0. The win also moved Acadia into a three point lead over Saint Mary's in the AUS Standings and second place - four points behind the undefeated UNB Varsity Reds.

Saint Mary's player of the game, netminder Brandon Verge, stopped 26 shots in 65 minutes of time between the post. Shots on goal were dead even at 30, while Acadia was two for five on the power-play.

Acadia will travel to StFX to take on the X-Men tomorrow night and conclude the first half of the regular season, while Saint Mary's will return home to host the Dalhousie Tigers who picked up their third win of the season against StFX. Box Score>

Subway Three Stars:
1. ACA - Chris Bruton
2. SMU - Brandon Verge
3. ACA - Philippe Bertrand

(Wolfville, NS) The Axemen hockey team returned home after a road trip down Highway 101 to Halifax to take on the feisty Dalhousie Tigers. The Axemen defeated Dalhousie at home earlier in the week and was matched up against the Tigers in Dal's Memorial Arena - a much smaller ice surface that the Axemen's Home rink. The Axemen leading 3-1 in the closing minutes of the third period, the Tigers added a goal on a 6-3 man advantage (Tigers pulled their netminder) to the close the gap to 3-2.

The Axemen prevailed with a 3-2 win, moving into second place in the AUS hockey conference standings and moving up to #7 in the CIS Top Ten with a 9-3-0 record and a seven game winning streak that started with a 6-5 OT win over UPEI in Charlottetown on Oct 31st.  The Axemen conclude the first half of the regular season as they host Saint Mary's this Friday and head to Antigonish to take on the red hot StFX X-men on Saturday. Listen to the AVR Broadcast of both games this weekend. See link above.

Players of the Game:
ACA - Ryan Graham
DAL - Devrin Stonehouse

Scoring Recap vs Dalhousie - Friday, November 21.

1st 04:12 ACA EV - Ryan Graham, Assists - Spencer Jezegou, Zack McMillan
2nd 08:11 ACA PP - Jonathan Laberge, Assists - Philippe Bertrand, Scott Tregunna
2nd 14:05 DAL EV - Daniel Bartek, Assists - Devrin Stonehouse, Jeff Macgregor
3rd 13:52 ACA EV Ryan Graham, Assists - Zack McMillan, Spencer Jezegou
3rd 19:22 DAL EX Kenzie Sheppard, Assists - Devrin Stonehouse, Benoit Gervais

Subway First Star David Lomas stands in front of net moments before his goal in the first period

Subway Three Stars:
1. ACA - David Lomas
2. DAL - Ronald Kelly
3. ACA - Zack Firlotte

Former Head Coach Tom Coolen drops the puck for the ceremonial faceoff.

(Wolfville, NS) All those in attendance including 2009 Hockey Honour Roll Inductees Tom Coolen, Chris Churchill, Jamie Dubberley and Darcy Deleeuw were happy with the Axemen's 5-1 win over the St. Thomas Tommies. The win closes a weekend sweep of Moncton and St. Thomas and improves Acadia to 7-3 while the Tommies drop to 3-7.

For the second night in a row, Acadia's power play was somewhat effective in scoring two of Acadia's five goals.

The Subway First Star of the game, Chris Bruton, opened up the first period with two goals - the first on a power play at 13:08. With just over a minute remaining in the opening frame, Bruton scored his seventh goal of the season and second of the night.

Outshooting the Tommies 16-8 in the first period, Acadia continued to apply the pressure and picked up their third goal of the game at 5:14 of the second period. A feed from the corner near the side of the net from Ryan Graham to Andrew Clark in the slot gave Acadia a 3-1 lead.

David Lomas scored his fourth goal of the season off of a shot from the point by Nathan Welton. A scramble ensued and Lomas came away with the puck to put it past Ben MacFarlane for Acadia's back breaking fourth goal on the powerplay.

David Lomas scores in the second period to give Acadia a 4-0 lead (photo by Gary Manning)

Acadia's Scott Treguna netted the final goal of the night for the Axemen in the closing minute of the second period.

The Tommies changed goalies in the third period with Maxim Chamberland capturing the goose egg, holding back the Axemen to no goals in the third after stopping 10 shots. St. Thomas grabbed their first and only goal of the night at 16:46 of the third period on the power play following holding penalty.

The Axemen will prepare for a rescheduled game this Wednesday night (Nov. 18) against the Dalhousie Tigers at home and then face the Tigers again on Friday night in Halifax. The last home game before the Christmas Holidays is scheduled at home on Friday, November 27 against the Saint Mary's Huskies. Box Score>

Subway Three Stars:
1. ACA - Ryan Graham
2. STU - Andrew Andricopoul
3. ACA - Chris Bruton

Chris Bruton leads the Axemen in scoring this season

(Wolfville, NS) Jonathan Laberge's goal 25 seconds into the third period solidified the Axemen's eventual 4-1 win over the Moncton Aigles Bleus, improving Acadia to a 6-3 record and third place in the AUS hockey conference.

The Axemen scored three of four goals on the power play including Acadia's second goal and the game winner at 7:38 of the second period when defenseman Nathan Welton landed his second goal of the regular season.

Outshooting the Aigles Bleus 32-24, Acadia gained the most momentum in the third and final period, outscoring Moncton 2-0 and adding 10 to 7 shots on net advantage.

Captain Paul McFarland scored with 25 seconds remaining in the first period to give Acadia a 1-0 lead. Welton's goal pushed Acadia ahead by two but Moncton's second period goal by Mathieu Betournay at 15:34 in the second period gave Moncton some hope of closing the gap. Laberge's fourth goal of the season washed away any hope for Moncton to grab a win.

Moncton's Kevin Lachance was named the second star of the game for his roll in stoping 28 shots and keeping Moncton's hopes alive. Chris Bruton, who leads the Axemen with 11 points in 8 games, was named the Top star of the game. Centerman Philippe Bertrand grabbed the final third star for his two assists on the last two goals of the night.

Acadia will play their second game of the weekend tomorrow night against the St. Thomas Tommies while Moncton travels to Halifax to take on the CIS #5 ranked Saint Mary's Huskies. Box Score>

Subway Three Stars:
ACA - Chris Bruton
UdeM - Kevin Lachance
ACA - Philippe Bertrand

Acadia's Player of the game Michael Chiasson looks for puck with heavy traffic in the crease

(Wolfville, NS) The CIS #1 UNB Varsity Reds slipped past the Acadia Axemen with a 3-2 win to hold onto their undefeated 3-0 start to the AUS regular season.

UNB's Luke Gallant, on the two man advantage with a minute and forty one seconds remaining in the game, deflected a shot from Chris Culligan from the blueline, past a screened Michael Chiasson for the game winning goal.

The Axemen, who trailed 2-0 after one period on goals by John Scott Dickson and Jonathan Harty, opened up the second period with a goal by rookie forward Andrew Clark at 2:42 to squeeze the UNB lead to one. Acadia outshot UNB 13-3 in the second period and edged the V-Reds 23-21 after two periods of play.

The tying goal came at 7:47 in the third on a pass through the slot from Beau Prokopetz to Spencer Jezegou for his third goal of the season.

Acadia was unable to capitalize on six power play opportunities while the Varsity Reds hung their hat on two goals on the man-advantage. UNB was two for seven, with Dickson's goal in the first period on the man advantage.

UNB's Travis Fullerton, named the first of three Subway Players of the Game, stopped 28 shots while Acadia's Michael Chiasson repelled 26 including 16 in the first period.

The Axemen will try to regroup after two losses this week including Wednesday's loss to CIS #5 Saint Mary's and tonight's close loss to the CIS #1 UNB Varsity Reds. UNB travels to Halifax to take on the undefeated Saint Mary's Huskies. Acadia hosts the 2-1 UPEI Panthers.

Note: This weekend marks the first annual Acadia Axemen Family Weekend where members of the team host their parents, close friends and family for the two game weekend. Also, Axemen Daniel MacKinnon has spear headed the Pink on Ice weekend with the Axemen wearing pink jerseys for the warmup of each home game. Jerseys are being sold through a silent auction to raise money for Breast Cancer research. Box Score>

Subway Three Stars:
UNB - Travis Fullerton
ACA - Michael Chiasson
UNB - Luke Gallant

Philippe Bertrand scores his second of two goals

(Wolfville, NS) The Axemen got their 2009-10 regular season and homecoming weekend off to an exciting start, defeating the visiting StFX X-Men by a score of 4-3 in overtime.

Acadia’s Philippe Bertrand (Cap-Sante, QC) was named the Subway Player of the game for his two goal, one assist performance, including a perfect pass to 2008-09 AUS Rookie of the Year Jonathan Laberge (Ste-fot, QC) for the game winner 7:09 into the overtime session.

Bertand opened the scoring at 8:23 in the first period after capitalizing on a breakaway following a StFX turnover at their own blueline to give the Axemen a 1-0 lead midway through the opening frame.

Acadia failed to score on the only power play awarded in the first period, and outshot StFX 16-9 but couldn’t beat StFX second year goalie Joseph Perricone (San Juan Capistrano, CA) and went into the intermission ahead 1-0.

The Axemen extended the lead to two with their second goal of the night by first year forward Andrew Clark (Brandon, MB) who scored at 6:33 with the man advantage. X-man Brett Morrison (Howie Centre, NS) netted the only goal by StFX in the second period to bring them to within one goal.

With less than two minutes remaining in the second period, Bertrand scored his second goal of the night on a careless rebound offered by Perricone.

A third period offered two X-men catch-up goals that tied the game at three. Bryce Swan (Alder Point, NS) scored the first of two third period goals while Chris Hulit (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) tied the game with less than four minutes remaining in the final frame on the powerplay.

In the 4-on-4 sudden death overtime period, the Axemen outshot StFX 8-4. StFX’s Joseph Perricone was named the game’s second star for his 48-save performance and Laberge was chosen the third star.

Elsewhere around the conference it was UNB 10, UPEI 0; St. Thomas 4, Moncton 2 and the Saint Mary’s Huskies defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 3-2 in overtime.

The Axemen (1-0-0) have the rest of the weekend off as their next game will come Wednesday night (Oct. 21st) in Halifax when they face the defending AUS champion Saint Mary’s Huskies at 7pm. The X-Men will return home to the face the Dalhousie Tigers Saturday night at the Millennium Centre in Antigonish.

Notes: Prior to the game, Acadia honoured their 1995-96 CIAU gold-medal winning men’s hockey squad at center ice. Box Score>

Subway Three Stars:
ACA - Philippe Bertrand
StFX - Joseph Perricone
ACA - Jonathan Laberge

Colby Pridham's break away goal opens up the third period

(Wolfville, NS) The Saint Mary's Huskies captured the 2009 Don Wells Memorial Tournament championship on four unanswered goals in the third period . Huskie Colby Pridham opened the third period on a breakaway goal while short handed. Up until the third period, the Axemen were able to keep 2008-09 AUS Scoring Champion Marc Rancourt off the scoreboard, but Rancourt added two of the four goal third period to solidify the win.

By the nine minute mark of the first period, Acadia grabbed a 3-1 lead with goals from first year Axemen Andrew Clark, Doug Clarkson and the lone Huskie goal by Shawn O'Donnell. Captain Paul McFarland added a goal before the Huskies bounced back late in the first period with two goals by Ryan Rorabeck and Justin Munden to tie the game at three. Fourty seconds after Munden's goal, rookie forward Doug Clarkson gave the lead back to Acadia, ending the first period with a 4-3 score.

Goals by Acadia's Philippe Bertrand and Ryan Graham, along with three goals by Saint Mary's Ryan Doucet, Brad Smith and Pridham's second goal tied the game at six after two periods of play.

A Huskie 4-0 final period performance allowed Saint Mary's to take home their second Don Wells Tournament Championship. The Axemen will prepare to head south of the border for exhibition games against UNB and UMass-Lowell and return home for the AUS Season Opener scheduled for Friday, October 16 against the StFX X-Men. Saint Mary's host the Dalhousie Tigers this Wednesday night in Halifax.

Andrew Clark

Spencer Jezegou

Graham Bona

(Wolfville, NS) Acadia University and the Acadia Axemen hockey team are pleased to announce the commitment of three Major Junior graduates; one from the Western Hockey League Brandon Wheat Kings and two from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League including Acadie-Bathurst Titans and the Halifax Mooseheads.

The Axemen hope to top off their young roster with three impressive additions this season. While defensemen are on the top of Burns' recruiting list, a scorer or two to complement last year's top "goal-getters" including Jonathan Laberge (32 pts.), Philippe Bertrand (30 pts.), Chris Bruton (29 pts.) and Ryan Graham (26 pts.) is a welcome addition.

Brandon Wheat Kings' Andrew Clark, a dangerous offensive player who sees the ice well and has a great hockey sense, is a proven consistent scorer who capped off his junior career with a 40 goal season.

"Andrew will be a great addition for our team this year. His ability to score will bring much needed offence to our line up. He has shown the ability to score in the regular season and in the playoffs as well. He should have an easy transition to the university game and will add a new dimension to our power play", comments Burns.

Acadie-Bathurst's Spencer Jezegou is the second top addition to the 2009-2010 lineup. "Spencer will help with big body presence up front. He is a very hard worker who has very good poise and no doubt will help bring some offence to our team. A quiet leader who does not get outworked for the puck, Spencer will be a strong asset on the powerplay this year", comments Burns.

Jezegou is considered a solid power forward who is very strong on the boards and has a knack for the net. His poise with the puck made him a consistent threat with Acadie-Bathurst last season.

Former captain of the Halifax Mooseheads, Graham Bona, has committed to arriving on the Acadia campus this fall. Bona, defenseman for Halifax, is a strong skater and will provide muscle to the Axemen lineup.
Axemen head coach Darren Burns hopes Bona will add depth to his defensive core. Bona is the third past Moosehead captain to suit up for Acadia in the last five seasons. Former Axemen and Mooseheads Robbie Sutherland and Brandon Benedict both captained Acadia under Head Coach Darren Burns’ leadership.

"Graham is a great character kid who did a great job as Captain of a young Mooseheads Hockey Club. I feel he will do better than many expect at the university level because of his toughness in the corners and his strong size, skating ability and desire to succeed", adds Burns. Burns concludes, "In terms of numbers, it has not been a large recruiting year. We only wanted to bring in players who we felt could give us grit and scoring ability. These three players will be a huge boost for our program and there is no doubt that we are putting great emphasis on many of our returning players elevating their games and growing into their own. Our exhibition schedule is a very competitive one and it will give us an excellent prepatory period to be ready for league play".

The Axemen open up the hockey exhibition season on the road in Port Hood, NS as they take on the St. F.X. X-Men on Friday September 18 and then return home for the Don Wells Memorial Hockey Tournament on the weekend of September 26-27. The Axemen will then head south of the border to take on the NCAA's University of New Hampshire on Saturday October 3 and UMass-Lowell on Sunday October 4. Before the regular season begins on Friday, October 16, the Axemen host the Universite de Trois Riviere Patriots for two games starting on Friday, October 9 followed by a second on Saturday October 10.

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