Axemen win streak snapped by X-Men

ANTIGONISH, NS - The Acadia Axemen battled hard in a closely contested game but ultimately fell 2-1 to the STFX X-Men on Saturday night at the Charles V Keating Centre. Acadia netminder Thomas Couture (Levis, QC) put in a stellar performance, stopping 47 shots and earning second star of the game honors, while Brendan Mairs (London, ON) opened the scoring for the Axemen in the first period.

Coming off a decisive 8-3 win the last time the Axemen visited Antigonish, Acadia entered the game with confidence. Nine minutes into the first period, Marc Boudreau (Toronto, ON) connected with a long stretch pass from Connor Shorthall (St. John's, NL) and found Mairs in the high slot, who buried it for the opening goal. Despite being outshot 16-11 in the first, Couture held strong to keep the Axemen ahead after 20 minutes.

STFX came out determined in the second period, and after a series of chances, they managed to find the equalizer with under five minutes left in the frame. Conner Roberts (Owen Sound, ON) sent a pass to Ethan Burroughs (Georgetown, ON) on a breakaway, and after his initial shot, Burroughs tucked in the rebound. At the end of the second, STFX led in shots 32-18.

Acadia had a chance to regain the lead with a powerplay six minutes into the third period, but STFX goalie Lucas Pfeil (Owen Sound, ON) held his ground. With just 3:30 remaining, STFX's Ben Mercer (Halifax, NS) netted the game-winner on a pass from behind the Acadia net, making it 2-1.

The Axemen will regroup and prepare to defend home ice when they host the Moncton Aigles Bleus on Friday, November 8, at 7 p.m.