(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) - The CIS No. 2-ranked Acadia Axemen take a 1-0 lead in the best 3-of-5 Subway AUS men's hockey championship final with a 6-3 win over the visiting Saint Mary's Huskies Thursday night.
Special teams were the difference Thursday night as both teams combined for a total of six power-play goals on 17 attempts.
A day after being named an AUS first team all-star, Chris Owens scored two goals and added one assist. His clutch performance earned him Subway First Star of the Game honours.
It didn't take long to open the scoring, as the home team Axemen drew first blood on the man-advantage. Third star of the game Cullen Morin put a wrist shot on net with traffic in front, fooling Anthony Peters who didn't move until the goal light came on.
The Huskies responded quickly just over two minutes later, when Lucas Bloodoff took advantage of the extra man. Scoring his first of two goals on a wrist shot from just inside the ringette line, Bloodoff tied the game at one heading into the first intermission.
Acadia continued their strong play into the second frame, starting the period on a textbook goal. Chris Owens skated in along the boards and as soon as he crossed the goal line, sent a hard pass out front to AUS MVP Liam Heelis, who netted his fifth goal of the playoffs.
Rookie Taylor Makin scored a beautiful goal for his first career AUS playoff goal, undressing a Huskies defenceman by putting it in-between his legs; skating in on a partial breakaway and ripping a shot past Anthony Peters' far side blocker.
Assistant captain Colin Archer extended the lead to 4-1 and scored the eventual game winner with just under two minutes remaining in the second frame. Archer had a nifty waist high tip-in on an Alex Beaton shot from just inside the blue line.
Five minutes into the third period, Chris Owens picked up his first of two goals. After faking a shot, Liam Heelis quickly fed it over to Owens who made no mistake sending it to the back of the net.
After an Acadia timeout, it was Saint Mary's who capitalized on the man-advantage, scoring 15 seconds into an Acadia hooking penalty. The second of four third period power-play goals was scored by the Huskies Michael D'Orazio 12 minutes into the third.
Huskies' captain Lucas Bloodoff then tipped in a snap shot from just outside the blue paint in between the legs of conference leading goaltender Evan Mosher to close the lead to 5-3.
Owens relieved some stress from the nearly sold out crowd, wiring one past Huskies netminder Anthony Peters, who had no chance on the screened shot. Peters made 16 saves in the losing effort, while Acadia's Mosher repelled 24.
The last time the Huskies and the Axemen met in the playoffs was last year in the AUS semifinals. Saint Mary's beat Acadia in four games and earned their spot in the AUS finals, which they would go on to win. This past season, Acadia has taken all four regular season matchups between the two teams, outscoring Saint Mary's 16-7.
The Axemen will host Game 2 tonight at the Acadia Arena, followed by Game 3 and Game 4 (if necessary) in Halifax on Sunday and Monday.
Source: Mitchell Racine for Acadia Sports Information