Tigers score five unanswered to top Axemen

HALIFAX - The Dalhousie Tigers beat the Acadia Axemen 5-3 Friday night at the Halifax Forum. 

After going down 3-0 in the first period, the Tigers rallied back off the efforts of Robbie Forbes (Oakville, NS) who made 55 saves and took home player of the game. 

23 seconds into the game, Acadia went onto the power play, but despite a Brady Burns (Port WIlliams, NS) shot that made it through traffic, which Forbes managed to get enough of his stick on it, the Axemen were kept at bay on the man advantage. 

After Dalhousie kept Acadia in their own end for a shift, the Axemen went on a full team break, and Hudson Wilson (Toronto, ON) put his second goal of the season past Forbes for the first of the game. 

A minute later an Acadia defenceman chipped the puck off of the glass, and Cole Nagy (Saskatoon, SK) beat the defenceman to the puck, went on a two on one with Ethan Ernst, and found Ernst who buried the goal. 

Dalhousie went on the power play, but after being left off the scoreboard for two minutes, 34 went on a breakaway, and made a heads up play to leave it in front of the crease for 23 who knocked it past Forbes. 

The Tigers gained momentum after Evan MacKinnon (Beaverbank, NS) hung onto the puck on a two on one, outwaited the Acadia defenceman and fed Derek Gentile (Sydney, NS) who sniped bardown. 

Dalhousie cut the lead to one heading into the second period after Drew Johnston (Saint John, NB) forced the defenceman to turn the puck over to Joseph Serpa (Cambridge, ON) whose shot bounced off the pad of Thomas Couture (Lévis, QC) to Shaun Miller (Enfield, NS), who put it into the back of the net.  

The Tigers wasted no time out of the new period tying things up. 

Dalhousie held a power play early in the new period, and less than a minute into the period, Jarett Baker's (Black Rock, NS) shot from the point was tipped by Serpa, and ended up in the net. 

30 seconds later, before the announcer could make the crowd aware of the prior goal, the Tigers took the lead, when Barret Kirwin (Barrie, ON) sniped a shot from the top of the right hand circle past Couture far side. 

Acadia almost scored the equalizer, when Zack Jones (North Falmouth, Maine) shook Jackson Van de Leest (Kelowna, BC), drove into the crease,  but was taken down by the DAL defenders. 

Once the period finished, Dalhousie was headed into the last period up 4-3. 

Both teams worked themselves into the new period, and Acadia had a good chance when Tyler Deline's (Peterberough, ON) point shot sprung out to an Acadian forward, but he shot it through the crease. 

With six minutes left in the game Acadia went on the power play, and despite seven shots on the man advantage, Dalhousie kept the puck out of their net. 

Out of the power play Acadia pulled their goalie, but they were not able to find the equalizer, as Serpa scored his second of the night to end the game 5-3. 

The Axemen will travel back home tomorrow to welcome STFX to Wolfville, and Dalhousie will cross Robie St. to take on Saint Mary's.