WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The U SPORTS No. 5 ranked Acadia Axemen extend their winning streak to nine games and improve to 9-1 with a 4-1 win over the visiting StFX X-Men Friday night.
The opening period saw no goals or even close calls until the X-Men struck with 33 seconds remaining in the first frame. Adam Laishram scored an unassisted goal as he skated past Logan Flodell and pulled off a wrap-around that gave StFX the lead heading into the locker room.
With Acadia doubling StFX with 10-5 shots on net in the first period, the Axemen tied the game at the 7:51 mark of the second period when Cristiano Digiacinto scored his seventh goal of the season after a nice across-the-top of the crease pass from teammate Jordy Stallard.
The Axemen grabbed a 2-1 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the second period. With the X-Men on the power play, Axeman Garrett McFadden won a race for a lose puck in the neutral zone and was pulled down as he raced on the breakaway. McFadden would not fail, taking a high shot over the blocker side of Joseph Raaymakers on the penalty shot that followed.
With a 2-1 lead heading into the final frame, the Axemen extended the lead to 3-1 on a Johnny Corneil one-timer shot from a feed from the corner from Stephen Harper. Corneil's goal at 8:37 of the third period gave the Axemen comfortable lead into the closing of the game.
Raaymakers was pulled at the 2:34 mark of the third period, but Jack Flaman solidified the Acadia win with an empty net goal shorty after.
Garrett McFadden's earned first star and Subway Player of the Game, while Adam Laishram and Flaman were second and third stars respectively.
Acadia outshot StFX by a slim margin of 32-29.
The X-Men lose their second game in a row and slip to 4-4-1. They travel to Saint Mary's Saturday night. The Axemen have the remainder of the weekend off and return to action on Friday, November 8th at Moncton.
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Courtesy Acadia Sports Information