(HALIFAX, N.S.) - The Acadia Axemen (19-3-3) overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring three goals in the span of eight minutes during the second period yielding a 5-2 victory over the Saint Mary's Huskies (11-14-0).
The night, dubbed 'TomStrong Night', was organized as a fundraiser for the Leukemia and ymphoma Society of Canada in honour of Huskies former assistant men's hockey coach Tom Lee who has been battling cancer since 2008.
Friday's crowd, the Huskies and the Axemen made Lee feel right at home in his return to the Halifax Forum. Lee served as an assistant coach for four seasons with the Huskies before having to step down in 2013 to focus on his health.
He was honoured with a pregame ceremony and a standing ovation from 3,525 fans, Saint Mary's largest crowd of the season.
Lee, a 2010 CIS champion with the Huskies, performed the ceremonial puck drop, saluted fans, and gave captain Lucas Bloodoff an embrace before leaving the ice.
All told, Friday night's event raised $20,000 for cancer research.
Saint Mary's immediately seized momentum as Jamie Doornbosch opened the scoring with a long shot through traffic that squeezed under the glove of Evan Mosher.
The Huskies extended their lead to 2-0 at 04:11 of the second period when Cory Tanaka drove wide around an Acadia defenceman and backhanded a pass to Francis Menard who potted his fifth goal of the season.
However, just 30 seconds later, Acadia's Joe Gaynor started the comeback when he snapped a shot from the slot over the glove of Anthony Peters to halve the deficit.
At 10:47 of the second, Acadia brought the game back to even. Liam Heelis picked up his AUS-leading 23rd goal of the season when he redirected a feed from Brett Thompson past Peters.
Heelis and Thompson hooked up again on their next shift to put the Axemen ahead for good. This time it was Thompson who tallied the go-ahead goal when he took the Heelis pass and deked Peters for his 11th of the season.
Travis Randell and Michael Clarke added two insurance goals for the Axemen in the third period, eliminating any hope for a Saint Mary's rally.
Evan Mosher made 26 saves for Acadia to pick up his AUS-leading 16th win of the season.
Saint Mary's power-play wasn't there when they needed it again on Friday as they went 0-for-4. The Huskies' power-play efficiency is last in the AUS at 10.3%.
The Axemen, who are battling with UNB for top seed in the conference, return to action in Wolfville tonight when they host the Dalhousie Tigers for a 7 p.m. start. Saint Mary's looks to snap a three-game losing streak tonight against StFX at the Forum. Puck drop is also set for 7 p.m.
Source: Brian Mosher for Saint Mary's Sports Information