In the first of two road game south of the border, the Boston University Terriers dropped the Axemen 4-2 after Acadia took an early 2-1 lead.
Terrier freshman Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson scored a pair of third-period goals, including a converted penalty shot, to help the NCAA No. 3 Boston University men's ice hockey break a tie and post a 4-2 exhibition victory over Acadia on Saturday afternoon at Agganis Arena.
BU opened the scoring midway through the opening period on a goal from senior Danny O'Regan but found itself down 2-1 heading into the first intermission. Axeman Remy Giftopoulos scored the Axemen's first of two first period goals.
With just under five minutes remaining, second year winger Zachery Franko scored the go-ahead goal that would give the Axemen a 2-1 lead after the first.
The Terriers got an equalizer from freshman Shane Switzer early in the second before Forsbacka Karlsson became the story of the third and the game.
The Sweden native broke the 2-2 deadlock when he converted at the goalmouth 5:10 into the third thanks to a threaded pass by sophomore A.J. Greer on a rush.
Senior goaltender Sean Maguire, who missed last season due to injury, played the second half of the game and stopped all 15 shots he faced while also assisting on Forsbacka Karlsson's first goal. Sophomore Connor LaCouvee got the start in goal and made 12 stops while allowing a pair of goals.
BU held a slim 30-29 shot advantage as Glover turned in a 26-save performance for the visitors.
In the second of two road trip games, the Axemen handed the Vermont Catamounts men's hockey team a 2-1 loss. Catamount Mario Puskarich scored the Vermont's only goal, but Acadia's Robert Steeves registered 35 saves to preserve the one-goal victory for the Axemen.
Puskarich hit the post less than a minute into the game, but Acadia struck first at 4:38 on a transition rush. Kyle Farrell fed Remy Giftopoulos with a pass along the left wing in the Vermont zone, and Giftopoulos deked left to right and snuck a backhand underneath Mike Santaguida to open the scoring.
Acadia killed off three straight UVM power plays to close the first period and retained a 1-0 lead at intermission.
Puskarich tied the game less than five minutes into the middle frame after simultaneous Acadia penalties, one of which was a five-minute major and game misconduct on Tyler Ferry. On the ensuing 5-on-3, Alexx Privitera set up Puskarich in the slot and the junior beat Steeves low blocker side with a wrist shot through traffic.
Brady Shaw nearly gave the Catamounts their first lead later in the major power play but hit the right post on a low angle shot. UVM out-shot the Axemen 15-4 in the second period and killed off three minutes of major power play time after a game misconduct was handed to Dan Senkbeil.
5:15 into the third, Michael Clarke hit Giftopoulos down the middle of the ice with a stretch pass into the Catamount zone. The forward used a similar move to his first goal and deked a backhander past Santaguida to restore the lead for Acadia.
Later in the period, Steeves robbed Yvan Pattyn at the right doorstep by stacking his pads on a first-time effort. Steeves also made a key stop on Chris Muscoby during a 4-on-3 power play late in regulation.
Santaguida finished the contest with 13 saves, while Packy Munson stopped one shot in eight minutes of action in the third period.
UVM closed the game with a 36-16 shot advantage, including a 25-9 edge in the final 40 minutes. The Catamounts were 1-for-7 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.
The Axemen open the regular season on Saturday, October 10 against the visiting StFX X-Men.
Submitted in part by Boston University and Vermont University Sports Information Offices