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Huskies score five unanswered goals in 7-3 win over Axemen
Posted: Jan 22, 2025

Huskies score five unanswered goals in 7-3 win over Axemen

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Scoring Summary
1st - 06:25 - PP - Adam McMaster (Acadia)
1st - 09:48 - Nathan Dunkley (Saint Mary's)
1st - 10:56 - Ben Roger (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 01:19 - PP - Adam McMaster (Acadia)
2nd - 07:07 - Liam Kidney (Acadia)
2nd - 13:39 - Derek Gentile (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 19:50 - PP - Derek Gentile (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 00:15 - PP - Nathan Dunkley (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 10:46 - Ben Boyd (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 13:55 - Matthew MacDonald (Saint Mary's)
Game Leaders
Acadia
G: Adam McMaster - 2
A: Brady Burns - 2
Sh: Tyler Deline - 5
Sv: Thomas Couture - 31
Saint Mary's
G: 2 Players (#9, #77) - 2
A: Cedric Ralph - 4
Sh: Derek Gentile - 7
Sv: Ben West - 27
Team Stats
Full stats

HALIFAX, NS – Saint Mary's forwards Nathan Dunkley and Derek Gentile each scored two goals, helping lead the Huskies to a 7-3 win over the Acadia Axemen in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action on Wednesday night at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax.

Just over a minute into the first period, the Huskies got a powerplay opportunity and were able to generate several scoring chances, but Axemen goaltender Thomas Couture (Lévis, QC) turned away the attempts.

Several minutes later the Axemen went on the powerplay and took advantage as defenceman Tyler Deline (Peterborough, ON) fired a slapshot that was deflected by forward Adam McMaster (Beamsville, ON) past Huskies netminder Ben West (Barrie, ON), giving the visitors a 1-0 lead, 6:24 into the first period.

The Huskies responded midway through the period, as forwards Nathan Dunkley (Campbellford, ON) and Derek Gentile (Sydney, NS) broke out on a two-on-one, with Dunkley faking the pass before firing a shot that beat Thomas Couture, tying the game at 1-1, 9:48 into the first period.

The Huskies took the lead just over a minute later – with a delayed penalty coming against the Axemen, Dunkley played a great pass through to defenceman Ben Roger (Brighton, ON) who beat Couture to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead, 10:56 into the first period.

The Huskies outshot the Axemen 10-5 in the first period, and took a 2-1 lead into intermission.

The Axemen began the second period on a 5-on-3 powerplay and took advantage. After forward Brady Burns (Port Williams, NS) fired a shot off the goalpost, Adam McMaster jumped on the rebound for his second powerplay goal of the night, tying it at 2-2, 1:19 into the second period.

Acadia regained the lead several minutes later, as they broke out on a counterattack with forward  Liam Kidney (Enfield, NS) skating down the left wing and firing a sharp angle shot that snuck past West, giving the Axemen a 3-2 lead, 7:07 into the second period.

But once again the Huskies would equalize minutes later, as Derek Gentile sent a pass towards goal that was deflected off an Axemen skate and took a funny bounce past Couture. Gentile's team-leading 13th goal of the season tied it at 3-3, 13:39 into the third period.

In the last minute of the second period, the Huskies their turn at a 5-on-3 powerplay and retook the lead, as Cedric Ralph (Peterborough, ON) found Derek Gentile in the slot, and he unleashed a wicked wrist shot off the crossbar and in to give the home team a 4-3 lead with just 12 seconds remaining in the second period.

The Huskies outshot the Axemen 16-11 in the second period, and took a 4-3 lead into the intermission.

The Huskies powerplay continued into the second period and it took just 12 seconds for the Huskies to capitalized, as Cedric Ralph made a nice deke around a sliding Axemen defender and fed Nathan Dunkley with a backhand pass to extend the lead to 5-3, just 14 seconds into the third period.

Saint Mary's continued to add to their lead, this time with a shorthanded goal, as forward Ben Boyd (Dartmouth, NS) outraced an Axemen player to a loose puck and beat Couture five-hole, giving the Huskies a 6-3 lead, 10:44 into the third period.

The Huskies fifth unanswered goal came courtesy of forward Matthew MacDonald (Halifax, NS) who took control of the puck in his own end and skated all the way down the left wing, evading a defender and finishing to extend the lead to 7-3, 13:54 into the third period.

The Huskies outshot the Axemen 38-30 on the night, with Ben West stopping 27 shots for the win, while Thomas Couture turned away 31 shots in defeat.

Huskies forward Nathan Dunkley was named Player of the Game with two goals and one assist, while Derek Gentile (two goals, one assist), Cedric Ralph (three assists) and Ben Boyd (one goal, one assist) also had multi-point nights for the Huskies.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 13-8-2-0 on the season, tying them for second place in the conference. Saint Mary's will hit the road on Friday, Jan. 24, visiting the UPEI Panthers (7-13-0-1) at 7 p.m. in Charlottetown, PEI.

The Axemen loss drops their record to 10-11-1-1 on the campaign. Acadia will be back on home ice on Saturday, Jan. 25, as they host the UPEI Panthers at 7 p.m. in Wolfville, N.S.

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Mona Ghiz / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics