FREDERICTON, N.B. - The St. Thomas Tommies fell 3-2 to the CIS No. 1 ranked Acadia Axemen in AUS men's hockey action Friday night at the Grant-Harvey Centre in front of 583 spectators. The win extends the Axemen's winning streak to nine. Acadia's record for most wins in a row is 17 from the 1992-93 season when Acadia posted a 22-2-2 record.
After having lost 7-2 to the Axemen last weekend, Tommies head coach Kyle McAllister was happy with the way his team battled.
"That was an all-around good effort by everybody. They executed everything we worked on all week, they did everything we asked them to do, and that's how we strive to get them to play every night," he said. "Not the outcome you want, and we've had a few of those, but at the same time that's arguably the best team in the country and we played with them that game."
Acadia opened the scoring 2:20 into the first when Boston Leier finished bar down over STU netminder Tyson Teichmann. The Tommies responded five minutes later with JC Campapna profiting off a Geoff Schemitsch tripping penalty to tie the game, 1-1.
Both teams generated quality chances throughout the frame, but neither could find the go-ahead goal. Shots in the first favoured the Axemen, 10-9.
The Axemen came out firing in the second, but Teichmann made a highlight reel stick save to keep the score knotted at one goal apiece. It didn't last, though, as Chance Baird eventually converted on the power play to give the Axemen a 2-1 advantage.
Connor Sanvido had a glorious chance late in the frame, but backhanded the puck wide. Both teams generated ten shots in the period.
The Axemen added a second power play goal in the third, when Schemitsch buried a rebound that Teichmann wasn't able to cover. The Tommies responded with 1:26 to go when MacLeod finished a rebound off a shot from Spencer MacDonald, cutting the Acadia's lead to 3-2.
Down one with a minute to go, the Tommies swarmed the Axemen net but weren't able to find the equalizer.
Acadia's Brett Thompson was named Subway AUS Player of the Game, while Campagna and Teichmann were named the game's second and third stars, respectively.
The Tommies are back in action tomorrow night when they host the St. Mary's University Huskies, while the Axemen head to Moncton for an early 4pm game because of ensuing weather conditions.