WOLFVILLE, N.S. – It was a goalie's worst nightmare and every hockey fan's dream in Wolfville on Saturday night, as the Axemen won their second game of preseason play in a 8-4 victory over the visiting Concordia Stingers. The Axemen evened up their two game pre-season series against the Stingers following a close 3-2 home loss last night.
For the second night in a row, the Axemen ran into penalty troubles early, taking two before the halfway point of the fast paced first period. It was Concordia who fell into penalty trouble late in the game, finishing with 18 minutes in minors on the night.
Shortly after their second penalty, Acadia second year forward Kyle Farrell (Howie Center, N.S.) scored his first of two in the period, placing the puck between the legs of Concordia goaltender, Robin Billingham (Ottawa, Ont.), around the eleven-minute mark.
The Stingers were quick to respond, as third year forward Phillipe Hudon (Hudson, Que.) corralled the puck in the corner, following a failed clearing attempt by the Axemen, and threw the puck to the high slot, where rookie defenseman Matthieu Desautels (Alexandria, Ont.) fired a wrist shot into the top left corner of the net.
Farrell was quick to respond, as he scooped up the rebound of second year defenseman Liam Maaskant's (Linton, Ont.) point shot, and tucked the puck under Billingham's right pad.
Finishing the scoring off in the first period was second year Concordia forward Raphael Lafontaine (Gatineau, Que.), who finished off a beautiful pass from fourth year forward Julien Rainville-Avon (Candiac, Que.), going high glove on a shorthanded 2 on 1. By periods end, the shots were 10-5 for Acadia, with the game tied 2-2.
Things got chippy early in the second, setting the tone for the period, when a scrum broke out in front of the Concordia net, in the first of three Acadia penalties in the period. Following the end of the first penalty, fourth year Acadia forward Taylor Makin (Lethbridge, Alta.) rushed in on the right wing and fired a quick wrist shot at Billingham, with second year Axemen defenseman Chance Braid, (Provost, Alta.) flying in on the left to pot the rebound off of Billingham's right pad, glove side. After failing to capitalize on two more Acadia penalties, rookie Concordia forward Charles Guevremont, (Verdun, Que.) sped in behind the Axemen net and popped the puck under the left leg of Devin Williams (Saginaw, Mich.), to tie the game 3-3.
Unfortunately for Concordia, it was all Acadia from here on out, with the Axemen scoring five more on the night, including two more from Subway first star of the game, Chance Braid, for the hat trick and one each from forwards Remy Giftopoulos, (Ancaster, Ont.) and Daniel Patterson (Toronto, Ont.). Subway third star of the night, Kyle Farrell, added two assists on the night for a four-point effort.
Acadia looked strong on the power play, notching half of the goals while up a man and even scoring two of them while up two men, going four for eight on the night. Concordia, meanwhile, was unable to capitalize on the power play until late in the game, going one for nine on the night, with a late tip in power play goal from Concordia forward, and Subway second star of the night, Charles Guevermont for his second of the night.
Concordia goaltender, Robin Billingham, was chased from the net after two periods and gave up 5 goals on 20 shots. Third period replacement, Antoine Marchand (Montreal, Que.) did not do much better, allowing three more goals on seven shots. Acadia rookie Devin Williams stopped 22 of 26 shots for the win, including two breakaway attempts.
The Axemen will spend next weekend south of the border to take on Northeastern and Providence in NCAA exhibition play and then return home to open their regular season on Friday, Oct. 7 at home against the Saint Mary's Huskies. The Stingers head to the University of Vermont to take on the Catamounts on October 1st before league play against Nipissing on October 7.
Submitted by Joshua Foote, Acadia Athletics Communications Office