Moncton ends Axemen season with series sweep

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

It’s wait until next year for the Acadia hockey Axemen after dropping their best-of-three AUHC quarter-final series to the Moncton Aigles Bleus in two straight games.

After opening the series with a 5-0 win on home ice last Wednesday, Moncton eliminated Acadia with a 7-2 win Friday in Wolfville that was closer than the score would suggest.

The young Axemen, who turned a lot of heads with a second-half run that earned them a playoff berth despite a 1-9 start to the season, fell victim to an Aigles Bleus squad that had more experience and took greater advantage of when they had the puck.

Acadia outshot Moncton 35-23 Friday, but the Aigles Bleus opened the scoring after just 14 seconds and never trailed. It was 2-1 Moncton after one period and 3-1 after 24 seconds of the second.

Mathieu Berube had a pair of goals and Pierre-Luc Laprise added a goal and two assists for Moncton, which had a 5-1 lead at one point in the second period after scoring three goals on seven shots, none of which could be blamed on Axemen goalie Lanny Ramage.

Meanwhile, the Axemen had lots of shots at Eric Lafrance, but Moncton did a good job of preventing second shots and limiting Acadia’s really good chances.

David Lomas, on a first-period power play, and Brad Horan had the Axemen goals, both of which were the result of hard work.

Special team tallies the difference

On Wednesday, Moncton scored twice on the power play and once shorthanded to take an early advantage in the series. It was 1-0 Aigles Bleus after one period, but a shorthanded goal by Mathieu Betournay at 4:17 of the second opened the floodgates as Moncton scored four times in the middle frame.

Betournay ended up with a pair of goals, with Nicolas Robillard, Charles Bergeron and Laprise adding singles. Lafrance stopped 28 Acadia shots for the shutout.

Mike Chaisson replaced Ramage in the Acadia crease after Moncton’s fifth goal and he and his teammates held the Aigles Bleus off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

As was the case Friday, Ramage couldn’t really be faulted for any of the goals, the result simply being a case of Moncton’s edge in overall experience and ability to make the best of their chances.

Despite the loss, the Axemen can take heart from a season in which they were surprisingly competitive, especially since Christmas, given the make-up of their roster.

A number of young veterans like Blair Jarrett, David Lomas, Scott Giles and captain Paul McFarland stepped up their play in the second half and first-year players such as Philippe Bertrand, Tyler Whitehead, Nathan Welton, Derek Lewis and Zack Firlotte had solid rookie seasons, providing more than a little optimism for the future.

Moreover, all of Acadia’s young players showed the team play, character, work ethic and refusal to quit that head coach Darren Burns anticipated when he recruited them.

Friday’s loss marked the end of the Acadia careers of Ramage and Joel Isenor, 2007 graduates who completed their fifth and final year of eligibility, and Brad Horan, Dale Good and Pierre Mitsou, all of whom are scheduled to graduate in this spring.