(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) - The CIS No. 5 ranked Acadia Axemen topped the No. 3 Saint Mary's Huskies 3-2 in Game 5 of the best-of-five semi-final series, punching their ticket to not only an AUS championship best-of-three series against the UNB Varsity Reds, but also this year's CIS University Cup championship held in Halifax.
In a sold out Andrew H. McCain Arena, the Huskies drew blood first on a goal by Gerrad Grant (Halifax, N.S.) on the man advantage at 5:41 of the first period.
Saint Mary's forward Gerrard Grant put a back door pass from Stephen Johnston (Guelph, Ont.) past Brandon Glover (Victoria, B.C.). Steven Beyers (Orangeville, Ont.) added the second assist on the play.
Midway through opening period, a Huskies goal was disallowed due to a kicking motion, keeping Acadia within one.
The second period went in favour of Axemen as they scored on two of their three power play opportunities.
The first goal was scored by captain Liam Heelis (Georgetown, Ont.) who fanned on the initial attempt, but made no mistake on the second try, burying it in between the legs of goaltender Anthony Peters, to tie the game at one just over 12 minutes into the period. Mike Cazzola (Guelph, Ont.) earned the only helper on the marker.
Just over four minutes later, Remy Giftopolous (Ancaster, Ont.) scored the go-ahead goal – his third goal against the Huskies in post season play.
With a narrow 2-1 lead entering the final period, first year forward Boston Leier (Saskatoon, Sask.) scored his second goal of the series to give Acadia some breathing room and a 3-1 lead.
With a 1:58 remaining in the game, the Huskies pulled goaltender Anthony Peters (Blyth, Ont.), and pressured the Axemen before scoring their second goal of the night with 31 seconds remaining. Stephen MacAulay (Cole Harbour, N.S.) was credited with the man advantage goal.
The Huskies were unable to tie the game at three and the Axemen walked away with a 3-2 win and the semi-final series victory.
Subway First Star of the Game Brandon Glover had an exceptional game backstopping of 33 of 35 shots. His counterpart, Anthony Peters, made 31 saves in the losing effort.
The Axemen advance to the best-of-three finals series against the UNB Varsity Reds with hope to capture their second consecutive AUS title. The Varsity Reds picked up a 6-3 win in Game 5 against StFX tonight, advancing to the championship final that they missed last season after being eliminated by Saint Mary's.
The AUS championship best-of-three series begins on Monday, March 2 at UNB followed by Game 2 on Wednesday, March 4 in Wolfville. If a third game is necessary, it will be played in Fredericton on Friday March 6. All games begin at 7 p.m.
Source: Mitchell Racine for Acadia Sports Communications