WOLFVILLE, N.S. -The CIS No. 5 ranked Acadia Axemen extended their winning streak to five with a convincing 6-2 win over the Dalhousie Tigers on Irving Oil Limited Acadia Minor Hockey Night in Wolfville.
At near capacity at the Andrew H. McCain Arena, the Axemen were looking to finish the year at home on a good note, and they did just that with a convincing 5-1 victory.
The Axemen opened the doors to five goals early after only a minute expiring on the play clock. Geoff Schemitsch scored his first goal of the regular season on the Acadia man-advantage. The play started after Brett Thompson won the draw to Mike Cazzola, who passed it over Schemitsch who then took a slap shot that squeaked in between the legs of Dalhousie netminder Wendell Vye.
It didn't take the Tigers long to respond, scoring only 2 minutes and 38 seconds later, on a nifty deke by Alex Cote. Unfortunately for Dalhousie this was their only goal of the game. Mike Evelyn added an assist on the play.
Tyler Ferry broke the deadlock at 4:39 in the first to give Acadia a lead that would not be relinquished. Tyler Ferry was the recipient of a beautiful give and go with Mike Cazzola, giving Ferry a wide open net, netting his first goal of the season. Alex Beaton added an assist on the play.
At the 7:44 mark of the opening frame, Thompson scored his first of three on the night. After Thompson missed on a "grade A" opportunity, the rebound bounced right back out to his linemate Cazzola, who passed it right back to Thompson, who wristed a shot to the blocker side of Vye. This assist gave Cazzola his third of the game.
Thompson made it two goals on the night putting in his own rebound on the man-advantage. After controlling the puck for almost the entire powerplay, Thompson took a shot from the bottom of the circle that rang off the post, flew right back to his stick enabling him to bank-in the rebound over a sprawling Vye. Third Star of the game Geoff Schemitsch and rookie defenseman Matthew Pufahl added assists on the goal.
The second period started with a flurry of chances for the Tigers, who looked like a completely re-energized team after a lack luster first frame; however, they were unable to beat second year goaltender Brandon Glover, who stood tall when called upon.
Thompson posted a natural hat trick midway through the final period. With linemate Cazzola doing most of the work by deking a Tiger defenseman and sliding a pass into the feet of Thompson, who was able to quickly get the puck to his stick and in the back of the net. Beaton added the second assist on the goal.
As expected Brett Thompson was given the Subway First Star of the Game on his 4-point night.
Outshooting the Tigers 42-22, Glover was able to stop 21 shots, while Vye posted 37 saves and received the second Star of the Game honours.
Acadia's next home game is in 2015 when they play host to the CIS No. ranked SMU Huskies on Friday, January 9. This will be a crucial matchup some playoff season when Acadia looks for home ice advantage. The Huskies and Axemen round off the first half of the season with the last game before the Holiday Break in Halifax this Friday night.
Game Note: Scott Trask left the game after a he was given a kneeing call on a controversial play, getting 5 minutes and a game misconduct, leaving both the fans and players confused.
Submitted by Mitchell Racine, Acadia Sports Information Office