Ice X-Men lose close game to CIS No. 6 Axemen

WOLFVILLE, NS - Despite a heavy list of injuries, the hockey Axemen pulled out a 4-3 win against the StFX X-Men, taking a 2-1 lead in the season series against the X-Men. With another win under their belt, Acadia has extended their winning streak to three and improve to a record of 14-6-1 in the AUS standings, while the X-Men slip to 6-11-3 and only one point ahead of Dalhousie in sixth place.
 
Three of the four goals scored by the Acadia came on the power play, which has proved to be one of the Axemen’s strong points this season as they sit third in the conference in power play goals with 23 in 20 games. The first period saw two of the three Axemen power play goals with the first goal coming in the early minutes of the game.

Veteran forward Jonathan Laberge continued his hot streak by netting the opening goal, his seventh of the season. The X-Men, however, responded at the 7:50 mark to tie the game at one. The StFX goal came from sophomore forward Scott Brannon, who one timed a pass from teammate Jason Bast that saw the puck go through Axeman Goalie Evan Mosher’s pads.
 
Wolfville native K.C. Brown, who has seen plenty of playing time due to the team's rash of injuries, netted his second goal of season late in the first frame. Teammate Liam Heelis scored on the powerplay with just over two minutes remaining in the period to give Acadia a 3-1 lead heading into the intermission. The shots on goal for the period were 17-10 in favour of the Axemen.
 
StFX rebounded back in the second period with two quick goals in the opening four minutes. X-Men Spencer McAvoy scored on the power play to cut Acadia’s lead to one, while Scott Brannon scored his second goal of the night to tie the game at three only 4:44 into the period.

After coming back from a two-goal deficit, the StFX began to build more momentum, as they fought to get their first lead of the night. With strong play from first year goaltender Evan Mosher, Acadia was able to weather out the storm tied at three after two periods. The X-Men were able to grab a 10-8 shots on goal advantage.
 
The Axemen power play unit capitalized on a late third period penalty to StFX's Bryce Swan on a 10 minute misconduct and two minute hit to the head on Acadia's Joe Gaynor by the StFX bench. Axeman defenseman Michael Ward banged home a rebound off X-Men goalie Joseph Perricone for the eventual game winner, with the original shot coming from Laberge.

With a 37-28 shots on goal Acadia advantage, Evan Mosher's win-loss record improves to 10-6 while Perricone drops to a 4-11 record thus far.

The X-Men and Acadia return to the ice this Sunday at the StFX Keating Centre to complete their season series and weekend back-to-back matchup. Game time in Antigonish is 4:00 pm.

Submitted by Graeme Heaven, Acadia Sports Information