Press Release
Monday, March 07, 2022
Men’s hockey: Aigles Bleus face Axemen Wednesday
The time has come for the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus to put everything in place for the single-elimination game they will play against the Acadia University Axemen on Wednesday in Wolfville in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey.
Moncton (6-15-1-2=15pts) finished seventh and last in the final regular season standings by scoring three of four possible points over the weekend. Acadia (7-14-0-1=15pts) was ranked 6th due to the percentage of points obtained compared to the number of games played.
“It's a game without a tomorrow for a team,” said head coach Judes Vallée. “The players are aware of the stakes and it's a big motivation. We can defeat the Axemen if we play like we did this weekend. They beat us 6-3 in our last outing. They were able to adapt following the loss of some big players to the professional ranks in January. We will have to play with the same desire as last weekend and shoot for a victory. We will not complicate things.”
“It's all at stake,” said Nathaël Roy, the team's top scorer (14-13=27pts in 24 games, 3rd in AUS) in the regular season. “The preparation began last weekend, and all the guys are on the same page. We are going there with confidence, and we know what to do. Our season was a bit disappointing; it didn't go the way we wanted. We had set expectations at the beginning of the year. We have a chance to erase the season and we will do it. To win, we know what we must do, follow the game plan, and trust our system. I adapted well to the university level with the help of my speed.”
For Mika Cyr, “on their big surface, we need to skate and work hard. We are a difficult team to defeat, and our focus is now on this game.” Cyr (9-13=22pts, 10th ranked AUS) was the second top Aigles Bleus scorer.
Acadia scored 56 goals in 22 games and allowed 84, a difference of 28. Moncton scored 55 goals, the lowest total on the circuit and the teams scored 91 times against all three goaltenders in 24 games, a difference of 36 goals.
The game can be viewed at the AUStv.ca.
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