Hockey Axemen squeeze out 3-2 win over Northeastern

BOSTON, MA - The CIS No. 5 ranked Acadia Axemen return home from a two-game road trip south of the with a 2-0 record after concluding the exhibition excursion with a 3-2 win over the NCAA No. 16 ranked Northeastern Huskies.

Huskies Zach Aston-Reese and Kevin Roy both scored for Northeastern, but an Acadia goal midway through the third period sealed the victory for the Axemen in exhibition play on Sunday afternoon at Matthews Arena, 3-2.
 
The Huskies fought back in the final period to tie the game with 11:41 left in regulation, but Acadia fired right back with the eventual game-winning goal from Alex Beaton less than two minutes later.
 
Clay Witt (nine saves) and Derick Roy (15 saves) split time in goal for NU, which outshot Acadia 34-27 in the game. NU converted on one of its five power play opportunities in the game while holding the Axemen to an 0-of-4 showing on the man advantage.
 
NU came out and took control of the game early, outshooting the Axemen 11-7 and scoring the period's lone goal midway through the frame. Aston-Reese created Northeastern's first scoring chance of the afternoon when he broke through the Acadia defense and went in alone on Glover.

First year Axeman Stephen Woodworth raced to catch up, and hauled down Aston-Reese in the act of shooting, resulting in a penalty shot being awarded to the Huskies.  Aston-Reese took the penalty shot, beating Glover five-hole for the score.
 
Acadia had a chance to tie the game on their lone power play of the first frame when the power play unit collapsed in on Witt, but the Huskie defense stood tall in the final seconds of the minor penalty to Jake Schechter.
 
The Axemen knotted the score at one six minutes into the second period during four-on-four play following an Huskie turnover in the offensive zone. After Tyler Ferry got a stick on a Northeastern centering bid, 2014 CIS Most Valuable Player, Liam Heelis, scooped up the loose puck, went coast to coast and tossed a backhand over Witt's left shoulder to make it 1-1.
 
Both offenses hit a lull during most of the period as penalties took over the game, with a combined 17 minutes of infractions called between the two teams.
 
Acadia would take a 2-1 lead into the dressing room with less than a minute left in the period as Boston Leier redirected a shot from Matthew Pufahl at the point past Roy, who replaced Witt midway through the frame.
 
Northeastern maintained puck possession during the opening minutes of the third period in search of the game-tying goal. It wasn't until the 8:19 mark of the third when Kevin Roy found the back of the net with Northeastern on the power play. After Cockerill dished down to Saucerman at the left dot, Saucerman spotted Roy across the zone. An Axemen defender poked Saucerman's pass on its way to Roy, but the junior forward quickly settled the puck and slung it under Glover for the score.
 
Acadia struck back less than two minutes later, however, when Alex Beaton beat Derick Roy inside the right post to make it 3-2 Axemen with 10:10 left in regulation.
 
The teams traded penalties throughout the remainder of the frame, and the Huskies pulled Roy in favor of the extra skater with less than two minutes to play. NU nearly tied the game and forced overtime in the final seconds when a loose puck fell on to the stick of Kevin Roy, but his shot on the bouncing puck went just wide, allowing the Axemen to escape with the win.

Axemen captain Liam Heelis noted the great team effort and competitive teams that they met south of the border. "We faced some strong competition in two nationally ranked NCAA teams this weekend. The NCAA style of play is definitely an adjustment to what were used to in the AUS, however we stuck to our game plan as a team and played out two well structured hockey games with a short bench", said the fourth year forward. "As a team we really came together and each guy individually bought into the systems to put out an overall great team effort."

Missing from the Axemen lineup yesterday were Brett Thompson, Geoff Schemitsch, Michael Clarke and rookie Sam Fioretti. 
 
Northeastern kicks off the regular season on Saturday when the Huskies host Vermont at 7 p.m. from Matthews Arena in the Hockey East opener for both squads. The Axemen return home to Wolfville to prepare for their regular season opener at Dalhousie on Sat. October 11 in Halifax.

Recap and Photo submitted by Northeastern Huskies Sports Information