Huskies defeat Axemen 4-1 for second straight win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Mary's (17-9-0, 17-9-0) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
|
Acadia (8-15-2, 8-15-2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
WOLFVILLE, NS - The U SPORTS #10 ranked Saint Mary's Huskies won their second straight game, defeating the Acadia Axemen 4-1 on Wednesday night in Wolfville, N.S.
The Huskies seemed a step ahead of the Axemen all night.
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.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) January 25, 2023
Sam King scores a buzzer-beating powerplay goal off a beauty passing play to give @SMUMensHockey a 1-0 lead!
��S. King (6)
��C. Dafonseca
��L. Van Loon pic.twitter.com/uj0S1ZVblj
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.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) January 26, 2023
Liam Van Loon snipes the bottle to give @SMUMensHockey a 2-1 lead in the second period.
��L. Van Loon (2)
��N. Dunkley
��S. King pic.twitter.com/xMf3KQ48nE
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.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) January 26, 2023
Another late period goal for the Huskies, as Charlie Dafonseca scores with just 18 seconds remaining in the second to put @SMUMensHockey in front 3-1.
��C. Dafonseca (8)
��N. Dunkley
��J. Bellamy pic.twitter.com/ifWajOAOso
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.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) January 26, 2023
Beautiful passing on the powerplay leads to a snipe from Jaxon Bellamy to put @SMUMensHockey up 4-1.
��J. Bellamy (7)
��C. Ralph
��D. Busby pic.twitter.com/FhUh0Ge3Ph
The Huskies played tight defence to keep Acadia from starting a comeback. Axemen goaltender 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.
Huskies forward Nathan Dunkley (Campbellford, Ont.) was named Subway Player of the Game with two assists, and has now recorded five points (one goal, four assists) in the last two games.
The Huskies second straight win improved their record to 16-9-0 on the season. They'll continue their road trip, heading to Charlottetown, P.E.I. to take on the UPEI Panthers on Friday night at the Eastlink Centre, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Axemen loss dropped their record to 8-14-2-1 on the season. They'll also be on the road to P.E.I. this weekend, taking on the Panthers on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Recap courtesy: Acadia Athletics
Photos courtesy: Peter Oleskevich / Acadia Athletics
