(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) – The CIS No. 5-ranked Saint Mary's Huskies shutout the Acadia Axemen 1-0 in Wolfville Sunday night to win their best three-of-five Subway AUS men's hockey semifinal series 3-1 and advance to the AUS championship final series.
With the victory, the Huskies have also qualified for the 2013 CIS men's hockey championship March 14-17, hosted by the University of Saskatchewan as the AUS conference receives two berths in the national event.
Subway player of the game Anthony Peters proved to be the difference in games three and four, stopping 41 shots in each game.
Tonight, Peters was extremely sharp in the closing period, stopping 17 shots on net to register his sixth shutout of the season and his first of the 2013 AUS playoffs.
With 1,883 fans on hand, the two teams battled through a scoreless opening period as the Huskies outshot the Axemen by a 12-11 margin.
The lone goal of the game came after 33 minutes of play when Michael D'Orazio scored on the power-play late in the second period. D'Orazio, the top scoring defenceman in the conference during regular season play, returned after serving an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and scored six seconds after stepping out of the penalty box and onto the ice.
The final period saw the hometown fans rise to their feet to the cheer on their Axemen but several opportunities were stifled by Peters' sharp play.
It was the second consecutive game that Peters was honoured as the Subway First Star of the game.
Acadia head coach Darren Burns pointed out that there was not much more to expect from his team.
"I was proud of what our team did in the playoffs," said Burns after the game. "The tough part of this loss is that this is one of the most committed, tightest teams I have ever coached. They exuded integrity and commitment. Sometimes a team doesn't get maybe what they deserve."
Peters turned aside all 41 shots he faced to improve to 3-1 in the post-season, while Mosher stopped 36-of-37 shots on goal in the loss.
The Huskies finished 1-for-3 on the power-play while the Axemen were 0-for-3.
Saint Mary's will now face either the UNB Varsity Reds or the UPEI Panthers in the best two-of-three AUS championship final series.
The Varsity Reds and Panthers split the first two games of their semifinal series and will square off Monday and Tuesday night in games 3 and 4 of the series in Charlottetown.
Game 5, if necessary, is scheduled for Thursday, February 28th at the Aitken Centre in Fredericton.
Source: Acadia Sports Information