WOLFVILLE, N.S. - After clinching a bye into the semi-finals one night ago, Acadia had to keep focused as they were set to face against the banged up and last place Dalhousie Tigers. Tonight's game was the start of a three game home stand for the Axemen, who host the Moncton Aigles Bleus and UNB Varsity Reds next weekend. Trailing the Varsity Reds by only two points in the standings, Acadia looked to get every point possible, beginning tonight, in there bid to win the AUS regular season title.
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A rare start for first year netminder Brandon Glover, playing the role as back up position to league leading goalie Evan Mosher for a majority of the year. Glover finished with 17 saves in his fifth start of the season.
Acadia dominated right from the get go, winning in a convincing fashion, scoring 6 times with goals from five different players including, Michael Clarke, Taylor Makin, Travis Gibbons, Liam Heelis, and two from the Subway First Star of the Game, Mike Cazzola.
Acadia opened the scoring, lighting the lamp three times in the first frame. Mike Cazzola slapped one home to give the Axemen a one-goal lead early in the period. Brett Thompson, with a great heads up play, slid one across to linemate Cazzola, who finished the play by putting the puck in the back of the net.
Alex Beaton scored the games second goal by out-waiting Tigers defenseman and sliding a pass over to Michael Clarke who turned to find the puck at his feet and slapped one through the legs of Bobby Nadeau to give Acadia a 2-0 lead.
Rookie forward Taylor Makin scored his second of the season on a strong individual effort, taking the initial shot and putting his own rebound home.
Dalhousie broke Glover's shutout bid at 11:01 into the second period, after a heads up pass from Myles McGirty. Francois Gauthier was able to beat the stretched out netminder for the Tigers single goal of the night.
After missing a glorious chance on a 2-on-1 break, Acadia continued to apply pressure and after many opportunities on an open net, Travis Gibbons notched his second of the season, giving the Axemen a commanding 4-1 advantage.
Bobby Nadeau made 42 saves and was the reason the Tigers trailed only 4-1 after being outshot 32-12 in the first two periods. Nadeau's performance earned him the games second star award.
Mike Cazzola scored his second of the night by pouncing on a juicy rebound, putting Acadia up by four in the third. Liam Heelis scored his 24th goal of the season on the powerplay on a deflected shot off of a Tiger defenseman to seal the 6-1 win. Linemate Brett Thompson had three assists including two in the third, 6 shots, and was a +2 rating, earning him the games second star.
Axemen captain Liam Heelis reflected on the win and his team's performance. "As a team, we are going to continue our work one day at a time as we have all season. We are are looking forward to the playoffs but we have work ahead before playoffs take place", noting that this coming weekend's games against Moncton and UNB will be a test of what is to coming in the playoffs. "The two teams we face this (coming) weekend are most certainly going to be in the playoffs and in this league everyone is a contender. These are strong teams and we are going to play them hard and simple like we have all season".
Heading into the home stretch, Heelis is confident in what has made their season successful so far will carry them well into the post season. "Work ethic and a strong team game are what our team strives for. We as a group understand that for our to be successful on any given night, we need to play for each other and put forward our best effort every shift".
The Axemen's next home game is on Friday February 14 at 7:00pm as they take host to the third place Moncton Aigles Bleus followed by the regular season ending match against the UNB Varsity Reds. Acadia trails Moncton 2-1 in the regular season series but is up 2-1 versus the Varsity Reds.
Submitted by Mitchell Racine - Acadia Sports Information