CIS No. 3 Axemen hand CIS No. 2 UNB 4-3 overtime loss

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - After losing to the winless StFX X-Men on Wednesday, the CIS No. 3 ranked Acadia Axemen bounced back with a 4-3 overtime win against the CIS No. 2 ranked UNB Varsity Reds in front of over 1600 fans on the second weekend of the AUS regular season.

A chippy first period had both teams on edge posting a combined 10 penalties in 20 minutes of play. UNB struck first on the man-advantage 16 minutes into the opening period when Peter Trainor caught the back of the net for his first of a two-goal night.

The Axemen tied the game at one on a powerplay goal with a minute and a half remaining in the first frame when Liam Heelisscored his third goal of the regular season.

Outshooting the V-reds 8-7 in the first, the second period was opened with two Axemen goals by Michael Clarke at 2:15 and in the closing five minutes first year forward Sam Fioretti scored to give Acadia a 3-1 lead at 15:18.

When an errant pass ricocheted off an Acadia defender's skate and past Axemen goaltenderBrandon Glover, it didn't appear to spark the Varsity Reds. The goal was credited to Trainor.

The Axemen took a 3-2 lead into the third, outshooting UNB 15-12 in the second. Glover rose to the occasion throughout the final period, keeping the momentum in Acadia's favor.

With 1:03 remaining in the third, V-Red Matt Petgrave scored the tying goal to put the game into extra time. Rookie defenseman Matthew Pufahl's bullet wrist shot from the top of the left circle over David Shantz glove hand ended the overtime period with only 1:43 off of the clock.

Shots on goal were a dead-even 32 for all three frames and the overtime period. UNB out-shot Acadia only in the third - 13-8. Each team posted 8 penalties a piece. The Axemen were 1-6 on the powerplay, while UNB was 2 for 7 opportunities.

The Axemen remain home to host the Moncton Aigles Bleus on Saturday night at 7:00 pm while the Varsity Reds head to Halifax to take on the home team Saint Mary's Huskies who lost tonight to Moncton 6-2 at the Forum.

With files from Acadia Sports Information.

Photo by Peter Oleskevich.