Axemen outlast Dal, notch third win

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

The Acadia Axemen continue to reap results for hustle and a solid work ethic.

In a contest that was at times entertaining and alternately a bit sloppy (one fan described it as ‘pond hockey’), the Axemen overcame a brief third period deficit with three late goals to hold off the Dalhousie Tigers 6-4 Wednesday in Wolfville.

The win improved Acadia’s record to three wins, one loss and one overtime loss entering a pair of road games this weekend in New Brunswick.

Acadia held the lead three separate times through the course of the game Wednesday, but twice let Dal, which managed just 17 shots to Acadia’s 52, even the score in a game where the lead changed hands three times.

Dal opened the scoring on Patrick Sweeney’s goal at 10:31 of the first period, a bit of an aberration in a period in which Acadia ended up with a 16-4 edge in shots.

The Axemen tied the score on Chris Bruton’s first of two goals on the power play at 12:20, and took a 2-1 lead on Tyler Whitehead’s first of two goals at 14:18.

The last 3:39 of the first period was tacked on to the second frame when a panel of glass at the north end of the arena worked loose and required repair, leading to a delay in the action of approximately a half-hour.

Despite good pressure from Acadia, the score remained 2-1 until 11:58 of the second period when Sean Thompson tied it for the Tigers. Again, the tie was short-lived as Bruton made it 3-2 Acadia less than a minute later at 12:47, again on the power play.

Bounced back in rapid fashion

Acadia continued to press the Tigers in their end, but any really good scoring chances they had were turned aside by Dal goalie Josh Disher, who turned in a solid performance and was rewarded afterward with the game’s second star.

In the third period, Dal tied the score 3-3 when Port Williams native Ryan Jenner scored at 4:30. Sweeney then gave the Tigers their second lead of the evening at 7:09.

Acadia, which outshot their guests 19-6 in the second period and 17-7 in the third, again bounced back in relatively rapid fashion. Zack McMillan tied the score at four at 7:53, 44 seconds after Sweeney’s marker.

The score remained 4-4, with overtime looming, until Jonathan Laberge converted a Philippe Bertrand set-up for the eventual winner, his sixth goal of the season, at 16:49. Whitehead added an empty-net marker, his second tally of the game, at 19:32 to round out the scoring.

Showed some character

On Saturday, Oct. 25 in Wolfville, the Axemen showed some character in coming back from a 3-1 second period deficit to earn a point, only to lose to UNB in overtime.

Dustin Friesen’s goal at 3:56 of the extra session broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Varsity Reds their second win of the season. Acadia lost its second straight after opening the season with a pair of wins, but did pick up a point for the tie in regulation time.

David Lomas opened the scoring for the Axemen at 7:16 of the opening period and it stayed 1-0 until Lachlan MacIntosh got UNB on the board at 10:10.

The V-Reds made it 2-1 with a power play goal by Kevin Henderson 31 seconds into the second period, and took a 3-1 lead on a Kyle Bailey even-strength goal at 6:11.

The Axemen struck back a minute later with a power play goal by Laberge, his fifth goal in four regular season games. The score remained 3-2 until the final seconds of the period when Blair Jarrett scored at 19:57, also on the power play.

The third period saw both teams cautious in their approach, with the result there was no further scoring, meaning overtime. While Acadia had its chances in the four-on-four session, UNB prevailed.

Acadia had a 13-6 edge in shots in the first period, but the remainder of the game was advantage UNB, which ended up outshooting the Axemen 37-26. Acadia was 2-4 on the power play to 1-7 for the V-Reds.

The Axemen are in Moncton Saturday evening and at St. Thomas Sunday afternoon, and return home next weekend to face the same two teams: Moncton Friday and St. Thomas Saturday.