(HALIFAX, N.S.) - Some may have counted the Saint Mary's Huskies out after falling behind 2-0 to the Acadia Axemen in the AUS championship final series. However, the Huskies came off the ropes and countered on Sunday night to shut down the Acadia Axemen 2-1, winning Game 3 of the series and forcing Game 4 Monday night.
Stephen Johnston picked up the game winning goal at 8:03 of the third period just after Acadia gave Saint Mary's a two-man advantage.
Anthony Peters played well again on Sunday as he made 24 saves to earn the game's MVP. His counterpart Evan Mosher stopped 20 shots in the loss.
Saint Mary's was able to control a lot of the play in Game 3 which was driven by a strong effort on the defensive side of the ice and a focus on finishing their checks.
The effect of the Huskies' physicality was mitigated in the first two games mostly due to the international size ice on which the Axemen play. But, as expected, the game in Halifax was played in a much grittier fashion due to the smaller dimensions of the Forum's ice surface.
The Huskies controlled much of the play, preventing scoring chances by the high-powered Acadia offence. This trend reversed at 16:20 into the first when the Huskies got into penalty trouble.
On the man-advantage, Peters was sharp with a couple saves on Dustin Ekelman. The Huskies were then boxed again yielding 0:46 seconds of 5-on-3 play.
The Huskies were now on their heels with seconds ticking down in the first frame. The best chance on the 5-on-3 came when Leo Jenner slammed a one-timed snapshot at Peters that was redirected toward Alex Beaton at the side of a wide-open net. Peters lunged across his crease to make a spectacular stick save on Beaton to keep the game scoreless.
At 15:47 of the second period the Huskies took their first lead of the series. It was Lucas Bloodoff who came straight off the bench to score on the play when he pounced on a rebound generated by linemate Brad Greene.
The next shift, top Acadia scorers Brett Thompson and Liam Heelis were sprung on a 2-on-0. Thompson waited for Peters to go down and then passed to Heelis at the side of the net. Heelis' shot right away but the puck was met by the outstretched right pad of Peters.
At 6:45 of the third period, Saint Mary's earned 1:28 of 5-on-3 time. The Huskies power-play unit doubled their lead when Stephen Johnston jammed home a rebound off a Michael D'Orazio point shot.
The Axemen were able to cut the Huskies' lead to 2-1 when Michael Clarke powered off the side boards and lasered a wrister over the blocker of Peters at 16:27 of the third.
The Axemen were all over the Huskies in the dying seconds but were kept to the outside of the slot, making them unable to tie the game.
The teams return to the ice on Monday night at 7 p.m. for Game 4 of the series in Halifax. Saint Mary's will look to continue their strong play at home and force a deciding Game 5 while Acadia looks to end the series and earn a trip to the CIS championship.
Source: Brian Mosher for Saint Mary's Sports Information