Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
In an electric afternoon matinee at the John Rhodes Centre, more than 550 students filled the stands as the Korah Colts and St. Mary’s Knights clashed in Sault Ste. Marie High School Hockey League action on Tuesday, November 18th. The energy was high from the opening puck drop, and the players matched it with a fast-paced, physical contest that delivered excitement from start to finish.
Korah opened the scoring at 8:42 in the first when Bodie Belair buried his sixth of the season, set up by Deago Campagna. St. Mary’s answered quickly as Owen Brown struck unassisted for his first of the year at 6:32, tying the game and igniting the Knights bench. But with just over two minutes remaining, the Colts regained control. Koen Manchulenko continued his strong campaign with his ninth of the season, assisted by Belair, giving Korah a 2–1 lead heading into the intermission.
In the 2nd period, the Knights pushed back early in the middle frame, and at 7:07 Beau Primeau notched his second of the season off a feed from Russell McNally, tying the game 2–2. Korah, however, responded once again as Belair tallied his second of the afternoon and seventh of the season at 3:49, assisted by Ryan Johnson and Preston Miller. The Colts added a key insurance marker on the powerplay in the final minute of the period, with Ryan Johnson burying his second of the year at 0:48, helped by Tyler Neveau and Tyler Lang, extending the lead to 4–2.
St. Mary’s continued to fight in the third, and at 9:47 Primeau scored his second of the game and third of the season, finishing a setup from Hunter Jackson and McNally to pull the Knights back within one. But Korah sealed the win at 2:02 when Max Battacchio netted his fourth of the year, assisted by Miller and Manchulenko, securing a 5–3 victory in front of the lively student crowd.
Between the pipes in the afternoon matinee, the Korah Colts turned to Will Franic in goal, while at the opposite end, Riley Papi-Grant stood strong for the St. Mary’s Knights.
“Truthfully I thought we played a great game. We have come 100 miles as a brand new team in three weeks. We gave up a couple of big plays and took 2 stupid penalties and it cost us. Those are things we can clean up. Korah is a really good team and when you make mistakes they make you pay. All round I was happy with our effort but we still have work to do. Thought it was a really good hockey game in all phases. Looking forward to the next time we play them,” said Knights coach Luc Provenzano.
Visit the Freeze Frame Photos by Bob Davies gallery for a full set of action shots from the Korah Colts vs. St. Mary’s Knights high school hockey matchup.
The St. Mary’s Knights are back in action on Thursday, November 20th at the John Rhodes Centre with a 3:30 p.m. puck drop. Meanwhile, the Korah Colts will next face the CASS Huskies on Sunday, November 30th at the Rhodes in a 7:00 p.m. start.
