AUS Regular Season 2017-18

[UNB Bruins Fan]

New season, new thread. All AUS news and discussion can go here until the playoffs begin.

UNB beats Moncton 6-2 in the AUS opener in a game that was almost impossible to watch at times with all of the penalties.

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[Prov1X]

Sorry, not to beat on a dead horse, but if you cannot be impartial in calling a game, then you have no right being on the ice. I know that Thomas plays on the edge, but that cross check call was HORRIBLE, he pushed the guy, the guy barely moved. I would also love to see the one that he called a hit to the head. O'Shaughnessy could lose control of an Atom rec game
Anyway, it was a sloppy game I found. One thing, I guess there will be no more debate whether or not Peter plays this year, I actually like him in there, would like to see what he can do over the season.
Definitely will be hearing a lot of Gardner's motto this year, Better Every Single Time if they want a three peat!

 

[FreddyFoyle]

Officiating was horribly inconsistent; unfortunately no different than most games at the AUC.

 

[Prov1X]

Officiating was horribly inconsistent; unfortunately no different than most games at the AUC.

You have a point there. I did see that Brace got a head butting minor (actually two) at the end of the game.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

UNB needs to be smart...they can’t afford to be doing dumb stuff that might lead to suspensions given their roster size.

 

[Prov1X]

UNB needs to be smart...they can’t afford to be doing dumb stuff that might lead to suspensions given their roster size.

Totally agree, can't be playing around with the 10 minute misconducts, because they will come back to bite ya and more than likely at the worst possible time.

 

[Drummer]

You have a point there. I did see that Brace got a head butting minor (actually two) at the end of the game.

Yes - a Double-Minor and 10-min misconduct for Head-Butting (for the action of contact or attempt and there is no injury, otherwise they can issue a Match for intentional contact or if an injury is incurred). I couldn't get the video to work here at my office, but I don't recall a head-but action by Brace and if anything the UdeM player came up to him from behind. If the video review showed no obvious head-butt action, I would appeal it - weak call, but they should have all walked away from that last face-off with 1.9sec left.

 

[Prov1X]

Yes - a Double-Minor and 10-min misconduct for Head-Butting (for the action of contact or attempt and there is no injury, otherwise they can issue a Match for intentional contact or if an injury is incurred). I couldn't get the video to work here at my office, but I don't recall a head-but action by Brace and if anything the UdeM player came up to him from behind. If the video review showed no obvious head-butt action, I would appeal it - weak call, but they should have all walked away from that last face-off with 1.9sec left.

Yes, he actually brought this on himself, as he skated across the face-off circle to engage, and although not the typical head butt, he does throw his head backwards and contact the Moncton player. Typically when I think of a head butt, its the front of the head, and since it does contact the Moncton player in the head, I guess that is the reason for the double minor.
I've watched the Thomas hit, and I can't tell where he gets him, I can't say for sure, wish there was a different camera angle. And being Mike, he's not going to get the benefit of the doubt!

 

[Rob]

STFX 5 Acadia 4 - Wild one in Wolfville. X scores first four goals. Acadia scores next four unanswered. X wins in shootout. Steeves was chased from the net in favor of Carty. Be interested to see if he takes the starters job.

UNB 5 UPEI 3 - VReds out shot the Panthers badly 49-12. Mancina made his debut in goal for UPEI. They actually might have had a chance to win the game early on but UNB scored three goals on a 5min major. Undisciplined play by Panthers carries over from last year.

SMU 4 Dal 1 - Same old.

 

[Rob]

UPEI 7 Moncton 6 (ot) - Ended up watching this one because it became obvious it was the more entertaining game. Les Aigles had a 4-0 lead in the first only to see UPEI tie it up with less than a minute to go. Shots were 39-37 in favor of Les Aigles who are still looking for their first win of the season. Kameron Kielly looks like a very solid recruit for the Panthers which would explain why UNB tried to recruit him.

STX 3 SMU 1 - Marchand with back to back wins. Brassard was in goal for the second straight game for the Huskies. Makes me wonder if he is the new number one or if Cheveldave is hurt.

Acadia 5 Dal 3 - Dawson Carty gets his first AUS win for the Axemen. Dal faces them again on Friday.

 

[AUS Fan]

Bit late on this. Watched SMU-SFX last night at the Fabulous Forum. Pretty good tilt. X looks pretty solid. SMU had a number of good chances but whiffed on a few. SMU at DAL tonight for DAL Homecoming weekend.

 

[Rob]

I know it is early but I think it is safe to say that the AUS is pretty much divided into three groups.
1) UNB, STFX, SMU, Acadia
2) UPEI
3) Dal and Moncton

 

[AUS Fan]

I was talking to an AUS coach a few weeks ago and we basically agreed on this. Injuries will play a big role as usual. I can't speak for the other teams, but ACA and SMU have a couple of top guys out. UPEI has good goaltending from what I know and UNB is always in the top tier. Looking forward to seeing both teams this weekend. Will watch the "bottom feeders" Wed night.

 

[AUS Fan]

Kind of an entertaining game last night with DAL and UdeM. Tigers with the SO win after leads of 2-0 and 3-1. Give the edge in play to DAL with spurts from UdeM. One more sleep till UPEI and UNB in town.

 

[FreddyFoyle]

I know it is early but I think it is safe to say that the AUS is pretty much divided into three groups.
1) UNB, STFX, SMU, Acadia
2) UPEI
3) Dal and Moncton

Yes, early on it does look that way, doesn't it. The Big 4 look pretty solid, so unless Power and Kielly can keep lighting it up every night I don't see the Panthers wiggling their way into the group. Unless, and it's a big unless, Acadia's apparent goaltending issues become a real problem.

 

[AUS Fan]

Couple of tough games for the Island boys. Guessing it was a quiet ride home after giving up 14 goals on the weekend. Good game last night with SMU-UNB. I like the look of the Red Army, but they are not as good as last year's team. Duh. SMU is definitely better than last year. Garlent is still pretty good. With Steeves making 42 saves against UNB he has erased some of that "big unless".

 

[Rob]

Still waiting for UPEI to make the big leap into the top four. Problem continues to be their D.

 

[AUS Fan]

Agree. Their Defense is not all that good.

 

[AUS Fan]

I made the trek to the land of Green Gables on the weekend for some "interesting" hockey. Friday night featured a different UPEI team than the one in Halifax last week. Although out-played by SMU they managed to have a 2-0 and 3-1 lead during the game, facilitated by a lack of aim by the Huskies and hard work by the Panthers who scored off a couple of SMU turnovers. The 3-on-3 OT featured not one, but two 3-0 rushes by SMU. The first was thwarted by a thrown stick but Beaton missed the net on the penalty shot. A minute later, SMU has another 3-0 and after the initial save, Repaci scores to get the win. I should add that Alex Peters played after being out for a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury and he had a Ton of ice time and looked good.
The Saturday game saw Acadia, fresh off a 7-2 spanking at UNB come to town on a mission to spilt the weekend. I was expecting a close game similar to Friday, but it became a last-goal-wins affair. 6 of the 12 goals were on the PP, there were several "pretty" goals: Southam deking thru 3 players, Fioretti ripping one high glove side and MacKinnon on the PP finding a spot between the pad and the post. Farrell had a strong game for the Axemen with 2 goals and Leier with 4 points. On the other side, Kielly and Guetler both stood out over the weekend. The absence of Schemitsch and Pufahl on the Acadia defense is noticeable as there were a few breakdowns. Maybe not the kind of a game from a coaches perspective but entertaining to watch 12 goals being scored.

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

I made the trek to the land of Green Gables on the weekend for some "interesting" hockey. Friday night featured a different UPEI team than the one in Halifax last week. Although out-played by SMU they managed to have a 2-0 and 3-1 lead during the game, facilitated by a lack of aim by the Huskies and hard work by the Panthers who scored off a couple of SMU turnovers. The 3-on-3 OT featured not one, but two 3-0 rushes by SMU. The first was thwarted by a thrown stick but Beaton missed the net on the penalty shot. A minute later, SMU has another 3-0 and after the initial save, Repaci scores to get the win. I should add that Alex Peters played after being out for a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury and he had a Ton of ice time and looked good.
The Saturday game saw Acadia, fresh off a 7-2 spanking at UNB come to town on a mission to spilt the weekend. I was expecting a close game similar to Friday, but it became a last-goal-wins affair. 6 of the 12 goals were on the PP, there were several "pretty" goals: Southam deking thru 3 players, Fioretti ripping one high glove side and MacKinnon on the PP finding a spot between the pad and the post. Farrell had a strong game for the Axemen with 2 goals and Leier with 4 points. On the other side, Kielly and Guetler both stood out over the weekend. The absence of Schemitsch and Pufahl on the Acadia defense is noticeable as there were a few breakdowns. Maybe not the kind of a game from a coaches perspective but entertaining to watch 12 goals being scored.

UNB vs Acadia friday night. Acadia's D looked slow against an over aggressive UNB forecheck, resulting in several turnovers .Plenty of skill missing, with Schemitsch and Pufahl out.
UNB vs SMU looked a lot like the Acadia game. SMU under a lot of pressure from UNB's forecheck for long stretches of the game. Brassard played well, despite giving up 4 goals.
UNB offense has started to click, despite the loss of scoring in the departure of Maillet, Halley and Murray.
Defese remains rock solid!
Anderson and Bennitt are a force to handle, could use a little more hustle out of Boland.

 

[AUS Fan]

Acadia should be OK when they get those guys back. it's hard when guys are in situations they are not used to or have the "skill" for. Tyler Ferry does a great job filling in on the back end. Really smart player.

 

[Rob]

The SMU v UNB game was closer than the score indicated IMHO. Alex Dubeau made some big saves for UNB. He has been slotted as the clear number one netminder and has definitely earned it so far. I think playing in more games has definitely benefited him. Last couple of seasons he has only played sparingly. Usually against Moncton or UPEI facing limited shots.

 

[Prov1X]

I am curious if UNB has filed a notice of appeal on Friday"s night hit on Clapperton?

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

I believe I saw on the Gleaner website that they have already sent something to the league about the hit and are seeking a multiple game suspension.

 

[AUS Fan]

They did send in the video. I just watched the hit and I can't say either way if it should be a suspension.