Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
On Tuesday, February 24th at the Northern Community Centre, the 2026 regular season champion Korah Colts opened the 2026 Sault Ste. Marie Boy’s High School Hockey League City Championship best-of-five series against the St. Mary’s Knights. Both teams earned their spot in the finals with dominant semi-final performances. The Knights eliminated the Superior Heights Steelhawks in two straight games, outscoring them 9–6, while the Colts overwhelmed the CASS Huskies, pouring in 19 goals while allowing just three.
St. Mary’s wasted little time setting the tone in Game 1. At 4:21 of the opening period, Hunter Jackson gave the Knights a 1–0 lead, finishing a play set up by Tucker Bennett and Nathan Watts.
The Colts responded in the second period, and Max Battacchio took control of the game. At 4:10, Battacchio tied the contest 1–1, converting on a play assisted by Koen Manchulenko and Tyler Lang. Just 47 seconds later at 3:23, Battacchio struck again for his second of the night, finishing a feed from Manchulenko to give Korah a 2–1 advantage heading into the third.
The Knights battled back early in the final frame. At 9:46, Owen Brown evened the game 2–2, capitalizing on a setup from Marcus Spadafora to shift momentum back toward St. Mary’s.
Korah answered quickly and decisively. At 4:30, Bodie Belair restored the Colts’ lead at 3–2, finishing a play created by Deago Campagna and Preston Miller. Less than a minute later at 3:36, Koen Manchulenko extended the lead to 4–2, wiring home a pass from Will Pusch.
St. Mary’s refused to go away. With 1:33 remaining, Nathan Watts pulled the Knights within one at 4–3, assisted by Russell McNally. Late in the game, Knights goaltender Aaron Juma was pulled for an extra attacker in a final push to tie the contest.
With 24 seconds remaining, Battacchio sealed the win, scoring an unassisted empty-net goal to complete his hat trick and secure a 5–3 victory for the Colts.
Korah coach Dustin Grondin told Saultsports that “I liked how we worked through St Mary’s pressure. They came out really hard and made us really dig in. They scored the first goal and our players never blinked. We stuck to working hard and playing a grinder style game. We really need to sharpen up our positioning and puck movement moving forward and that will earn us a little more space to play like we want to play. Game one is always nice to win. It just means one step closer to our goal. Each game in a final series is a must win and that’s the attitude we will take into game two.”
“I thought we were the better team today. Sometimes you can play a really good game and still lose. As I said prior to the game. When you make mistakes they make you pay. We had a couple breakdowns late in the second and third and it cost us. The good news is they are fixable mistakes. Our confidence can’t be higher right now. They are a really good team and it’s going to be a tight series but I’m really happy with where we are right now. Hats off to them for grinding out the win,” said Knights coach Luc Provenzano.
“I can’t say enough about Taco. He’s the heartbeat of our team a lot of the time. He makes every practice, pays attention to the details, works his tail off. He’s hard to play against and way more skilled than people give him credit for. I love coaching him and he delivered a huge game in a huge moment. If I’m honest, I’m not surprised he did. It’s just the level he has demanded from himself and I’ve grown to expect it too. I absolutely love coaching Taco and the rest of the boys,” added Grondin.
Will Franic earned the win between the pipes for Korah, while Aaron Juma turned aside numerous chances in a strong effort for the Knights.
With the victory, the Colts take a 1–0 series lead into Game 2 of the 2026 Sault Ste. Marie Boy’s High School Hockey League City Championship best-of-five series. The series return to the John Rhodes Centre on Thursday, February 26th, with puck drop scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
