Axemen end five game home stand with loss to Huskies

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Acadia Axemen (8-15-1-1) ended their five-game home run on a sour note, as they lost 4-1 to the Saint Mary's Huskies (17-9-0-0).

The Huskies seemed a step ahead of the Axemen all night.

Subway First Star of the Night Nathan Dunkley (Campbellford, Ont.) had a pair of assists for the Huskies.

Both teams had their chances in the opening period. It was not until the last second of the first frame that the first goal was scored.

Saint Mary's forward Sam King (Hampton, N.B.) put his team on the board thanks to a power-play marker with 0.5 seconds left on the clock.

King took a pass in front of the net and put the puck into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0.

At the end of the first period, Saint Mary's held an 11-5 lead in shots.

Acadia quickly responded in the second period with a goal in the opening minute.

The second star of the night Corson Hopwo (Duncan, B.C.) came out in the front of the Saint Mary's net and attempted to throw a pass across in front of the crease, but it deflected off a Huskies leg and into the net.

The teams traded chances throughout the period but remained gridlocked at one.

Saint Mary's replied late in the third period with an even-strength marker shortly after a failed power-play attempt.

Liam Van Loon (London, Ont.) took a pass while parked in the left face-off circle and fired a quick shot past Acadia 's Conor McCollum (Pickering, Ont.) to restore the lead for the Huskies.

Another late-period goal for the Huskies, as they added their third goal with 18 seconds remaining to play in the second.

Charlie Dafonseca (Thornhill, Ont.) redirected a shot from the third star of the night Jaxon Bellamy (Hampton, Ont.) to make it 3-1 for Saint Mary's.

Heading into the third period, the Huskies held a 23-14 lead in shots. 

Acadia ran into penalty trouble in the third, costing them a goal.

Jaxon Bellamy scored a power-play marker for Saint Mary's near the midway point of the third. Bellamy lifted a high shot from the point that fooled McCollum to make it 4-1.

The Huskies played tight defence to keep Acadia from starting a comeback.

Conor McCollum turned aside 32 of 36 shots on the night, while his Saint Mary's counterpart Jeremy Helvig (Kingston, Ont.) stopped 19 of 20 shots.

The Axemen return to play on Sat. January 28 at UPEI, which marks the start of a three-game road trip, the Huskies will head to UPEI on Friday night. Acadia's next and last regular season home game is Friday, February 10 against the Dalhousie Tigers.

Provided by Joshua Foote, Acadia Athletics Communications Office