It looked like a scene reminiscent of a Colgate or Cornell game deep into conference play, with the quick pace, heads-up plays and hard checks. Instead, it was an exhibition match for the men’s ice hockey team against Acadia University (3-1, 0-0 CIS) — a Canadian team who defeated Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team (0-0, 0-0 ECAC) 4-1 Saturday night.
The exhibition, the only game the Bobcats have before their regular season starts, was played against an Axemen squad featuring former Canadian Hockey League players, from the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior League.
The first goal came just five minutes into the game for the Bobcats. Sophomore transfer K.J. Tiefenwerth picked the puck off of an Acadian defenseman and fed a pass through the slot to the wide-open sophomore Tim Clifton.
“I like to think I just came on the ice,” Clifton said. “Sherbs [Brayden Sherbinin] and K.J. [Tiefenwerth], they did all the work. K.J. slid it back door and I had an open net. They made it easy for me.”
The next three goals would come off the stick of Axmen. The first would be a shorthanded goal by the captain Liam Heelis, who would peel the puck off of sophomore Sam Anas in the slot and get the high shot past freshman goaltender Sean Lawrence.
The Bobcats’ penalties would come back to bite them in the middle stanza. First, a tripping penalty on freshman winger Jonah Renouf gave Acadia the power play goal and the lead. Coincidental penalties— a five minute interference major on sophomore Connor Clifton and a tripping penalty on freshman Kevin McKernan gave Acadia the 5-on-3, which freshman winger Zachary Franko would capitalize on.
Head coach Rand Pecknold believes these penalties and errors showed the inexperience of the team.
“I thought we were okay in the first. Then I think our youth showed in the second and third, we kind of panicked,” Pecknold said. “Two guys were lazy on the first goal, poor decisions on the second and third, and the fourth.”
Co-captain Dan Federico left the game after the first period, in a move Pecknold said was pre-determined.
“He knew ahead of time he was going to get five shifts and we’d shut him down after the first,” Pecknold said. “We had nine defensemen, so we want to get a look at the other guys.”
Federico wasn’t the only one that took a step back so that younger players could get more time. Of the 25 players that dressed, 11 were new to the Bobcats system, and nine of them were freshmen.
“So it’s a good evaluation tool, it gives them a chance to show they deserve to be in the lineup every night,” Pecknold said. “So in the end, it was a really good evaluation game for us.”
The Bobcats open their season at the TD Bank Sports Center on Oct. 11, as they take on the Falcons of Bentley.
