Johnson scores OT winner as Huskies defeat Axemen 3-2

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Saint Mary's forward Bradey Johnson (Lindsay, Ont.) scored the overtime winner with 1:58 remaining as the U SPORTS #6 ranked Huskies improved to 5-1-0 on the season with a 3-2 win over the Acadia Axemen on Wednesday night in Wolfville, N.S.

The Huskies came back from trailing 2-1 late in the third period, with forward Andrew Coxhead (Bedford, N.S.) scoring a powerplay goal with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, before Johnson won it in overtime.

There was a kerfuffle in front of the Saint Mary's net near the beginning of the period that set the tone for a rough first period.

Neither team was able to open the scoring in the first period. Saint Mary's had the best chance of the period when Jacob Durham (Port Perry, Ont.) missed a wide-open net on a cross-crease pass in the final minutes of the first.

Acadia came close to putting one on the board in the final minute of the first when Keegan Stevenson (Aweres Township, Ont.) got a partial break and lifted a backhand shot at the net.

At the end of the first period, Saint Mary's held a 12-7 lead in shots.

Saint Mary's put one past Acadia's goalie Zachary Paputsakis (Rockland, Ont.)  with 4:44 left in the frame on a point shot from Jaxon Bellamy (Hampton, N.B).

Adam McMaster (Beamsville, N.S.) wired a shot on a pass from Nick Deakin-Poot (Georgetown, Ont.) to tie the game, which is where the score stood heading into the final frame.

At the end of the second, the shots were 21-18 for Acadia.

Acadia took their first lead of the game in the final period on a goal from the team's leading scorer, Liam Kidney (Enfield, N.S.). Kidney picked up a rebound in front of the net and slid it past Huskies netminder Matt Welsh (Halifax, N.S.) to make it 2-1.

A late penalty in the final minutes of the third by Acadia gave Andrew Coxhead the opportunity to wire a top-shelf wrist shot into the top right corner to tie the game with 4:37 remaining, sending the game into overtime.

With just under two minutes remaining in the sudden death overtime, Johnson picked up the puck in his own end and patiently skated up ice, faking out one defender before snapping a wrist shot past Paputsakis to send the Acadia crowd home in disappointment.

 Johnson was named Subway First Star of the Game. Through the Huskies first six games of the season, the second year forward leads the AUS in goals with seven, and is tied for second in points with 10.

Acadia goalie and second star of the night Zachary Paputsakis turned aside 28 of 31 shots on the night in a stellar performance. Saint Mary's goalie and third star of the night Matt Welsh (Halifax, N.S.) stopped 28 of 30 shots.

The Axemen's third straight loss dropped their record to 2-3-1 on the season. Acadia will return to the ice on Saturday, Oct. 29 against the UPEI Panthers before returning for a home game on Friday, Nov. 4 against the Dalhousie Tigers.

The Huskies win improved their record to 5-1-0 on the season. They'll be back on home ice on Friday night, as they host the UPEI Panthers (3-3-0) at the Dauphinee Centre, with puck-drop scheduled for 7 p.m. GET TICKETS