Hopwo leads Axemen past Dalhousie

Acadia earned a 4–3 victory over Dalhousie on Wednesday night at Andrew H. McCain Arena, powered by a multipoint performance from Corson Hopwo and a steady 21-save effort from goaltender Nicholas Sheehan.

Dalhousie opened the scoring at 4:22 of the first period when Ethan Wongus finished a chance created by Brody Fournier. Acadia responded late in the frame on a shorthanded goal from Brendan Tomilson at 18:41, set up by Marc Boudreau and Liam Kidney, sending the teams to the intermission tied 1–1.

Acadia took control early in the second period. Hopwo put the Axemen ahead at 5:43, converting after a faceoff win in the offensive zone. Just over a minute later, Brendan Mairs extended the lead when he finished a feed from Keagan Slaney at 6:51.

Dalhousie countered with two goals in 13 seconds. Ethan Martini scored on the power play at 13:02, and Kai Dunits added another at 13:15 to even the game 3–3. Despite the shift in momentum, Sheehan held firm, making key stops throughout the period to keep the game even heading into the third.

The Axemen regained the lead for good at 6:24 of the final frame. Boudreau jumped on a loose puck in front and lifted home the go-ahead goal, assisted by Hopwo and Tyler Deline. Acadia held Dalhousie to nine shots in the period and killed off a late Tigers power play to secure the win.

Hopwo finished with a goal and an assist, while Boudreau also posted a two-point night. Sheehan stopped 21 of 24 shots, including several key saves during penalty kills. Carter Richardson made 33 saves for Dalhousie in the loss.

Up next: Acadia hits the road on Saturday, Nov. 22 to face StFX at 7 p.m.