(HALIFAX, N.S.) - The AUS men's hockey banner is returning to Wolfville. The Acadia Axemen, after dropping Game 3 in Halifax, played a perfect road game Monday night at the Forum, defeating the Saint Mary's Huskies 3-1 in Game 4 of the 2014 AUS Final.
The title is Acadia's first since 2006 when they beat UNB in three straight games.
After finishing second in the regular season standings, the Axemen proved to be the best team in the postseason by utilizing their offensive talent and solid goaltending within the system coach Darren Burns has put in place.
Liam Heelis was named the most valuable player of the AUS playoffs after picking up 11 points over eight games tying Stephen MacAulay for most in the 2014 postseason.
Dustin Ekelman, Travis Randell, and Michael Clarke scored for Acadia in Game 4, offsetting the lone Huskies' goal from Steven Shipley. The Huskies were within a goal for the entire third period but even after several good chances, they were unable to put a tying goal past Evan Mosher.
Mosher finished with 28 saves on the night while Anthony Peters made 27 stops.
It was all Axemen in the first period of Game 4 as they outshot the Huskies 12-6.
Peters did his best to weather the early storm.
Acadia's first quality chance came at 8:12 of the first when Dylan Anderson shed a Saint Mary's defender behind the net and fed Ekelman in the slot, but Peters flashed the glove to keep the game scoreless.
The Saint Mary's netminder was tested again at 14:49 when Liam Heelis threw a low shot on net that Brett Thompson deftly redirected toward the five-hole, but Peters reacted with a quick butterfly save.
The Axemen's first period surge kept coming and at 18:29 they took the lead. While on the power-play, Ekelman beat Peters with a hard wrister along the ice. On the play, Liam Heelis was left unattended at the point and he easily found Ekelman streaking hard to the net.
Acadia's offensive pressure carried over into the second period and they nearly scored again at 4:28. Brett Thompson had room to manoeuvre and came in undefended against Peters. Thompson tried to outwait Peters but he couldn't get him to bite and his shot met the leather of the goaltender's glove.
Then, the Huskies tied it at 7:00. They were unstoppable in the Acadia end, throwing hard checks and winning board battles when the puck shot out to Matt Tipoff in the high slot. The forward sent a wrist shot through traffic that Steven Shipley deflected past a screened Evan Mosher.
The Axemen regained their lead at 14:46 after they volleyed a high clear from their own end. Cameron Wind got to the puck but mishandled it just inside the Huskies' blueline allowing Travis Randell to steal the puck. Randell deked Peters and slid a shot underneath the outstretched goaltender.
Saint Mary's threw everything they had at Mosher in the third period, outshooting Acadia 14-8.
At 12:00 of the third period, Saint Mary's began to string together several shifts with sustained pressure. But they would take an untimely penalty 15:02 into the period.
The Huskies were able to kill the penalty off and, with 1:05 remaining in the game, they earned an offensive zone faceoff. Saint Mary's took their timeout to design a play which they hoped would generate the tying goal before time expired.
However, with Peters on the bench and the net empty, Mike Cazzola won the faceoff and Michael Clarke was able to seal the victory when he sent a shot into the back of the net from the redline.
Acadia will now travel to Saskatoon for a chance to win the CIS University Cup. The Axemen's last Cup victory came back in 1996.
Source: Brian Mosher for Saint Mary's Sports Information