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Huskies snap skid with 3-2 win over Acadia
Posted: Jan 28, 2026

Huskies snap skid with 3-2 win over Acadia

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Scoring Summary
1st - 18:46 - PP - Charlie Da Fonseca (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 17:44 - PP - Kian Bell (Acadia)
3rd - 06:24 - Ryan Hopkins (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 10:40 - Ben Boyd (Saint Mary's)
3rd - 12:54 - PP - Bailey Peach (Acadia)
Game Leaders
Acadia
G: 2 Players (#8, #9) - 1
A: 2 Players (#14, #21) - 2
Sh: 3 Players (#9, #12, #84) - 5
Sv: Thomas Couture - 36
Saint Mary's
G: 3 Players (#10, #17, #45) - 1
A: 5 Players (#5, #7, #25, #45, #61) - 1
Sh: Reid Valade - 5
Sv: Marcus Vandenberg - 36
Team Stats
Full stats

HALIFAX, NS – Saint Mary's defenceman Ryan Hopkins scored a goal and added an assist in the third period, lifting the Huskies to a 3-2 win over the Acadia Axemen in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action on Wednesday night at the Dauphinee Centre in Halifax.

The opening period saw back and forth action, with both teams generating several quality scoring chances, but Axemen goaltender Thomas Couture (Lévis, QC) and Huskies counterpart Marcus Vandenberg (Dorchester, ON) both made great saves early.

With just over a minute remaining in the period, the home team broke through with a powerplay marker, as Huskies captain Charlie Da Fonseca (Thornhill, ON) carried the puck into the Axemen zone and fired a high shot over Couture's shoulder to give SMU a 1-0 lead, 18:46 into the first period.

The Huskies outshot the Axemen 16-13 through the first period, and took a 1-0 lead into intermission.

Acadia tied it up with a powerplay goal of their own late in the second period, as off of a faceoff in the Huskies zone, defenceman Tyler Deline (Peterborough, ON) play a pass to forward Kian Bell (Fall River, NS) who skated towards goal and ripped a shot over Vandenberg's pad to tie the game at 1-1, 17:44 into the second period.

The Axemen outshot the Huskies 15-14 in the second period, and the two teams went into second intermission tied at 1-1.

In the third period, the two teams were playing four-on-four when Huskies defenceman Ryan Hopkins (Lunenburg, NS) gave the Huskies the lead, taking a pass from Ben Allison (Halifax, NS) and firing a bullet of a shot into the bottom right corner, giving SMU a 2-1 lead, 6:24 into the third.

A few minutes later, Hopkins assisted Ben Boyd (Dartmouth, NS) on a shorthanded goal giving the Huskies a 3-1 lead, 10:40 into the third period.

Acadia got one back on the powerplay just two minutes later, with Bailey Peach (Falmouth, NS) deflecting a Tyler Deline shot that ricochetted by Vandenberg to cut the lead to 3-2.

But that was as far as the Axemen comeback would go, as the Huskies defence locked down late and held on for a big 3-2 victory.

The Huskies outshot the Axemen 39-38 on the night, with both Marcus Vandenberg and Thomas Couture turning away 36 shots in a matchup of two of the conference's best netminders.

The Huskies win snaps a four game losing streak, improving their record to 13-9-1-2 on the season, good for fourth place in the AUS standings. Saint Mary's will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 30, visiting the Moncton Aigles Bleus (17-6-1-0) at 7 p.m. in Moncton, N.B.

The Axemen loss drops their record to 15-7-1-2, as they remain second in the conference standings, just four points ahead of the Huskies. The Axemen will also take on Moncton next, hosting the Aigles Bleus on Saturday, Jan. 31, 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