Axemen thump Dal 7-1 in Canning, improve to 4-1

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

The Acadia hockey Axemen are off to a great start to begin the 2008-2009 season.

The Axemen, who play their home opener next Friday evening against the Saint Mary’s Huskies, improved their pre-season record to four wins and a loss with a decisive 7-1 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers Friday evening at the Glooscap Arena in Canning.

Veterans David Lomas and Blair Jarrett each had two goals for the Axemen, who jumped out to a 5-0 first period lead and cruised to the win, with all the scoring coming in the first two periods.

The game was scoreless until Lomas got the Axemen on the board at 11:02 of the first period. Then Acadia scored four goals in just over five minutes for a commanding lead.

Paul McFarland made it 2-0 at 13:57, Jarrett increased the lead to 3-0 at 15:32, Tyler Whitehead made it 4-0 at 17:00 and Ryan Graham’s fifth goal of the pre-season gave the Axemen a five-goal advantage at 19:19.

Kyle Raftis got Dal on the board at the eight-minute mark of the second period, but the Tigers didn’t keep the momentum for long. Lomas’s second goal of the game at 10:00 made it 6-1 and Jarrett’s second at the 14-minute mark put the Axemen up by six goals.



Played a complete game: Burns

“I thought we played very well,” head coach Darren Burns said Saturday morning, “though it’s all relative. We were playing a young team with a lot of new faces, but we played a complete game and we were a lot better than the first time we played them.”

Burns agreed that so far Acadia appears better offensively this season than in 2007-2008, “with more guys throughout the line-up who can score.”

At the same time, “I’m happier with the one (goal against) than the seven (goals for). Our defense and goaltending is still quite young, and hopefully can only continue to improve.

“Of the games we’ve played, the two against St. F.X. (a 2-1 shootout loss and a 6-4 win) are probably the best yardstick for me so far of where we are.”

The game was special for the Axemen in a number of ways. It was the first Acadia game ever played at the Glooscap Arena, and was a fundraiser for the ongoing renovations at the arena and also for the Acadia Minor Hockey Association.



“Valley supports us big-time”

“We’re a Valley team, and the Valley supports us big-time, all the time,” Burns said last week. “This is a chance for us to give something back, and maybe provide an opportunity for people who might not otherwise get to see us play.”

Canning, he said, “has always been very good to us.” Just last week, the Axemen held a third annual hockey school at the Glooscap Arena. “(Arena manager) Joe Keddy does a great job, and it’s wonderful for us to be able to help him out.”

Similarly, “a really great relationship” has developed between the Axemen and Acadia Minor Hockey. “As a team, we rely heavily on the people of the Valley,” Burns said. “It’s important, both for us and for them, for that relationship to run both ways.”

The Axemen were scheduled to finish off their pre-season schedule Saturday evening in Sussex, N.B. against the St. Thomas Tommies then hit the ice this week to prepare for their home opener Friday.

Burns acknowledged the Huskies “are arguably one of the top two or three teams in the country. We’ll need to be at our best, and our leaders will need to be leaders.”