WOLFVILLE, N.S. – It was a cold Saturday night in Wolfville, but the Acadia Axemen (7-13-1) were hot, coming off a close 3-2 overtime shootout loss to the No. 1 ranked UNB last night, as they beat the Moncton Aigles Bleus (5-15-2) by a score of 6-3.
Subway First Star of the Game Johnny Corneil accounted for half of the Axemen's goals on the night, as he potted a natural hat trick in the second period.
"It was a full team effort tonight. We have been preparing for this weekend and a tough loss last night against UNB, but we were so ready to come in tonight and we didn't let up. We wanted to win," said Corneil after the game.
When asked whether he has ever scored a natural hat trick, Corneil replied "I don't think I have. I think I have only had one hat trick since junior started."
Nick Deakin-Poot grabbed two assists and third star of the night honours for the Axemen.
It was an even-handed first period, with both teams firing 12 shots on net.
Moncton put up the first goal of the game when the second star of the night Denis Toner threw a shot on net from the face-off circle that fooled the Axemen goaltender Max Paddock.
Acadia came back with a pair of goals in the first from Keegan Stevenson and Merrick Rippon.
Stevenson took a pass from Jack Flaman, deked to his backhand, and slid the puck into the open net.
Rippon gave his team the lead with 6:03 remaining in the frame, jamming the puck in on a mad scramble in front of the Moncton net.
The second period saw an offensive onslaught from the Axemen, as they peppered 16 shots on net with 3 goals to show for their work.
Johnny Corneil netted a natural hat trick for Acadia in the frame with one coming on a backhand in tight, the second coming on a wrist shot in front from a feed by Nick Deakin-Poot who was working behind the Moncton net, and the final coming on a slapshot from the point.
Corneil's were the only three goals of the period.
Moncton mounted an unsuccessful comeback in the third, scoring two from Olivier-Luc Hache and Vincent Deslauriers.
Hache scored on a soft wrist shot in front, while Deslauriers ripped a wrister into the top right corner of the net before getting dropped by an Axemen defender that led to a minor fight.
Stevenson iced the game for Acadia – his second of the night - after coming in on the left side of the offensive zone before wiring a shot into the top left corner to make it 6-3.
Paddock stopped 32 of 35 shots on the night, while his Aigles Bleus counterpart Etienne Montpetit turned aside 30 of 36 shots.
Acadia returns to play Wednesday, Mar. 2 at Saint Mary's before coming home to wrap up their regular season against UPEI next Saturday. Moncton will host Dalhousie and StFX next Friday and Saturday night, respectively. Puck drop for both all games at 7 pm.
Provided by Josh Foote, Acadia Athletics Communications