Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
The Sault College Cougars women’s hockey program hit the road for a back-to-back ACHA Division II series in Evanston, Illinois, taking on the Northwestern University Wildcats and delivering an emphatic weekend sweep highlighted by offensive depth, disciplined special teams, and two shutout performances in goal.
Game One on Friday, the Cougars set the tone early in the series, opening the scoring at 3:56 of the first period when Emma Lee netted her eighth goal of the season off a feed from Katelynn Jacques. Sault College continued to apply pressure, doubling the lead at 10:00 as Danika West buried her ninth of the season, assisted by Lily Wallsmith and Payton Stos. The Cougars closed out the period in dominant fashion, as Payton Stos scored a shorthanded goal at 17:40—her 11th of the season—once again set up by Jacques, giving Sault College a 3–0 lead after one.
The offensive surge continued in the second period. Tara Knight made it 4–0 at 12:55 with her third of the season, assisted by Zoe Weaver. Just over three minutes later, Matea Glavota added her third of the year at 16:22, assisted by West. The Cougars erupted for three goals in a 33-second span late in the period, with West scoring her 10th of the season at 16:44, followed by an unassisted tally from Taryn Sullivan at 16:55, and Katelynn Jacques finishing the frame at 18:58 with her 14th of the season, assisted by Materia Land, pushing the lead to 8–0.
Sault College showed no signs of slowing down in the third period. Danika West completed her hat trick at 1:20 with her 11th goal of the season, assisted by Stos. Just 22 seconds later, Sullivan added her second of the night and 10th of the season. Abygail McDonald followed at 2:00 with an unassisted goal, and Tara Knight netted her second of the game at 5:51 off a pass from Weaver. Sullivan completed the scoring at 15:37, recording her hat trick with her 11th of the season, assisted by Stos, sealing a commanding 13–0 victory. In goal, Farrah Farstad turned aside all 12 shots she faced to earn the shutout, while Northwestern’s Mia Rooney faced a heavy workload, stopping 93 of 106 shots.
Game Two on Saturday in Evanston, the Cougars carried their momentum into game two on Saturday, January 10th, opening the scoring at 3:19 of the first period when Reece Laidlaw netted her fourth goal of the season, assisted by Maddy Fick. Katelynn Jacques made it 2–0 on the power play at 6:24, scoring her 15th of the season with help from Abygail McDonald. At 7:48, Aaliyah Fantazir added her fifth of the season, again assisted by McDonald, giving Sault College a 3–0 lead after the opening frame.
The second period featured another offensive outburst from the Cougars. Jacques scored her second of the game and 16th of the season at 9:48, assisted by Materia Land. Danika West followed at 11:11 with her 12th of the season on an unassisted effort. Annika Babineau joined the scoring at 12:57, recording her first goal of the season with Fantazir picking up the assist. Tara Knight closed the period at 18:20 with her fifth of the season, assisted by Weaver, sending Sault College into the third period up 7–0.
The Cougars completed the weekend sweep with five more goals in the final frame. Jacques struck again at 1:44 with her 17th of the season, assisted by Land. West added her 13th at 7:00 with Sullivan earning the assist, followed by an unassisted goal from Materia Land at 11:20, her 14th of the season. Sullivan scored her 12th of the year at 16:05, and Jacques capped off a dominant weekend at 17:05 with her 18th of the season, assisted by Lee, sealing a 12–0 win.
Danali Forsyth earned the shutout in game two, stopping all 12 shots she faced, while Northwestern’s Mia Rooney made 61 saves on 73 shots.
The Cougars will remain on the road as they head to Niagara Falls, New York, to face the Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles. Puck drop is scheduled for Friday, January 16th at 6:00 p.m., followed by a Saturday matchup on January 17th with a 9:00 p.m. start.
