(MONCTON, N.B.) - A power-play goal by Dustin Ekelman at 15:03 of the second period proved to be the winner as the Moncton Aigles Bleus fell 3-2 to the Acadia Axemen in the fourth game of the best 3-of-5 semifinal series of the Subway AUS men's hockey championship, Sunday in front of over 1,200 spectators at the J.-Louis-Lévesque Arena.
The Axemen won the series 3-1 by winning both games played in Wolfville, 5-2 Wednesday and 6-5 in overtime on Thursday. They will now move on to face the Saint Mary's Huskies in the AUS championship final series after the Huskies won 1-0 Sunday over the UNB Varsity Reds to take the series 3-1.
Mike Cazzola, 11 seconds into the game, and Chris Owens, five minutes later, gave the visitors a rapid 2-0 lead.
The Aigles did not let go and came back with a goal by Alex Emond (from Rémi Blanchard and Eric Faille) at 15:09 following a nice passing play and a shot.
Luc Williams (from Eric Faille) evened the score at 8:26 of the second period following a fast play by Eric Faille from behind the net. He passed the puck to Williams who did not hesitate.
The winning goal followed at 15:03. Both teams were unable to score in the third.
Adrien Lemay faced 28 shots on goal compared to 21 for the Axemen's Evan Mosher.
"Their defensive lines did quite a job at blocking shots," said Moncton head coach Serge Bourgeois. "They worked hard in front of their zone. I am happy with the work of my players. We lost (Simon) Lacroix in the first period to an injury and the others filled the hole. We were losing 2-0 and we came back."
"This was a playoff game," added Eric Faille who terminates his university career. "The game could have gone either way. We worked hard. They have a good team and we gave them a chance. We could have won as much as they did."
Source: Moncton Sports Information