(Halifax, NS) On Tuesday night at the Halifax Forum the Acadia Axemen cruised to a 5-2 win over the Dalhousie Tigers in AUS men's hockey action. Zachary Franko led the way with two goals and an assist for the Axemen.
Franko started the high scoring first period off with a beautiful tally just one minute after the opening puck drop. Franko flew into the Tigers zone pulled off a toe drag to elude the Tigers defender and beat Corbin Boes with a backhand short side.
The shaky start continued for the Tigers as Kyle Farrell scored Acadia's second of the night three minutes later. Farrell fired a shot beating Boes just after a Dalhousie penalty was expiring.
Acadia's quick 2-0 lead was cause for concern for the Tigers who were facing one of the best team's in the country. Dalhousie had a quick response getting on the board before the halfway mark in the first period.
Steven Johnston capitalized on an Axemen turnover in their own slot and pulled a backhand-forehand deke to beat Brandon Glover. The 2-1 Axemen lead would hold up for the remainder of the frame.
Franko netted his second of the night and extended the Axemen lead halfway through the second period. Brett Thompson was credited with the assist.
Shortly after the Franko tally the Axemen managed to extend their lead to 4-1 scoring on the powerplay 12:31 into the period. The puck took a couple bounces towards Cazzola who managed to spin around and whack at a loose puck sending it top shelf.
Acadia took a 4-1 lead heading into the third period.
Fabian Walsh cut the Axemen lead in half scoring with a blast from the point on the power play in the opening five minutes of the third period. The early goal gave the Tigers some life as they fought to cut the deficit to one.
The comeback was stopped short when Matthew Pufahl ripped a slap shot from the blue line beating Boes high glove with less then five minutes remaining. The 5-2 lead would hold for the remainder of the game.
Dalhousie had a woefull night on special teams with their penalty kill giving up two goals while the power play went 1-for-9.
Both teams will be back in action on Friday, January 22 with Acadia (16-2-2) hosting the UPEI Panthers (9-8-2) and the Tigers (5-12-3) travelling to St. Thomas (1-17-1).