Axemen even series with 4-3 win over Huskies

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The CIS No. 3 ranked Acadia Axemen tied the AUS Subway Semi-Final best of five series at one with a 4-3 win over the No. 5 Saint Mary's Huskies in Wolfville.

Heading into the final minutes of the game tied at three, first year forward Remy Giftopolous (Ancaster, Ont.) became the hero of game two with Axemen's fourth and final goal.

Bradley Greene (Tilting, Ont.) struck first at 15:39 of the opening period, giving the Huskies their first of two leads.

Just over two minutes later, Brett Thompson (Sault Ste Marie, Ont.), who returned to the ice from the penalty box, was dragged down by Huskies defenseman Jamie Doornbosch (Richmond Hill, Ont.) on a breakaway, giving Thompson the coveted penalty shot.

Thompson capitalized on the assessed penalty shot, scoring his first goal of the post season and tying the game at one after one period.

Fourth year forward Matt Tipoff (Toronto, Ont.), named the Subway Second Star of the Game, gave Saint Mary's their second and final lead of the game only three minutes into the second frame.

Not until 16:06 of the second period did the Axemen tie the game at two. Boston Leier (Saskatoon, Sask.) scored tying goal on a break-away, his first of the playoffs and 8th goal of his rookie season.

Last year's CIS Player of the Year and team captain, Liam Heelis (Georgetown, Ont.), gave Acadia their first lead of the game on his first goal of the post season with just under 6 minutes remaining in the third period.

Second year Huskies defenseman Stephen Gillard (St. John's, Nfld.) tied the game for a third time just over two minutes after Heelis' goal.

Heading into the final minutes of a tied game at three, Subway First Star of the game Remy Giftopolous scored the game winner to give Acadia a 4-3 win over Saint Mary's.

Once again, Huskies goaltender Anthony Peters (Blyth, Ont.) was stellar, backstopping 39 of 43 shots on net while Acadia's Brandon Glover (Victoria, B.C.) was tested with 26 shots. Veteran forward Stephen Johnston was assessed a 2 minute hit to the head penalty along with a 10 minute misconduct following a hit on Matthew Pufhal (Saskatoon, Sask.). Acadia's Remy Giftopolous was sent to the dressing room after a 10 minute misconduct was issued for excessive celebration in front of the Huskies' bench following his winning goal.

With the best of five series tied at one, the Axemen and Huskies will square off on Sunday at the Halifax Forum for game three starting at 7pm.

Source SMU Communications