Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos

Over the January 9th and 10th weekend, the Sault College Cougars hosted the Marian University Sabres in American Collegiate Hockey Association action at the Northern Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, treating fans to a back-and-forth contest that required overtime to decide a winner in game one of the weekend.

The Cougars wasted little time setting the tone in the opening period. At 3:05, Mitchell Moore opened the scoring with his second goal of the season, finishing a play set up by Dylan Winsor and Lucas Diberardino to give Sault College a 1–0 lead. Less than a minute later, Nick Jameus extended the advantage to 2–0 at 4:02, netting his 14th of the season off assists from Jacob Kovacs and Cameron Lemcke. Marian University responded midway through the frame, as Jackson Sweeney got the Sabres on the board at 8:48 with his seventh goal of the season, assisted by Gavyn Galloway, cutting the deficit to 2–1 heading into the first intermission.

Sault College regained momentum in the second period. Brock Santa Maria restored the two-goal cushion at 5:26, burying his ninth of the season with help from Michael Starzomski and Jameus. Marian again found an answer, as Sweeney struck for the second time in the game at 8:51, making it 3–2 with assists from Blake Stafford and Galloway. The Cougars closed the period strong on the power play when Jacob Kovacs fired home his 15th of the season at 10:39, with Jameus and Starzomski picking up the assists, giving Sault College a 4–2 lead after forty minutes.

The third period saw momentum swing dramatically. Sweeney completed the hat trick at 3:57, scoring his ninth of the season to pull Marian within one. Just under a minute later, Anthony Oneal tied the game at 4–4 with his 18th goal of the season, assisted by Keynan Miller and Colin McMahon. Sault College responded on the power play once again, as Kovacs notched his second of the night and 16th of the season at 10:26, assisted by Jameus and Starzomski. Only 28 seconds later, Kovacs completed the hat trick with another power-play marker, his 17th of the season, with assists from Jameus and Santa Maria, pushing the Cougars ahead 6–4.

The Sabres refused to go away. Blake Stafford pulled Marian within one at 12:03, finishing a play from Sweeney, and at 15:17 Logan Graf scored his first of the season to tie the game 6–6, with Connor Cozens and Cayden Frenette earning assists, forcing overtime.

In the extra frame, Sault College capitalized on yet another power-play opportunity. At 3:09 of overtime, Dylan Winsor buried the game-winning goal—his seventh of the season—off feeds from Nick Jameus and Brodie McLeod, sealing a dramatic 7–6 victory for the Cougars.
Between the pipes, Marian University split goaltending duties, with Jackson Powers stopping 7 of 10 shots and Tyler McArthur turning aside 6 of 10. For Sault College, Keenan Marks made 24 saves on 30 shots to earn the win.

Game two of the weekend between the Sault College Cougars and the Marian University Sabres took place on Saturday, January 10th, once again at the Northern Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. After Friday night’s overtime thriller, the rematch delivered another closely contested ACHA battle, with special teams and timely goals proving to be the difference in a 4–3 Cougars victory.

Marian University struck early in the opening period, silencing the home crowd just 1:08 into the game. Easton Nick opened the scoring with his 10th goal of the season, finishing a setup from Devon Butler and Keynan Miller to give the Sabres a 1–0 lead. Sault College responded midway through the frame on the power play. At 5:49, Brodie McLeod scored his second of the season, converting a chance created by Gabriel Zimbaro and Dylan Winsor to even the score at 1–1 after the first period.

The Sabres regained the lead late in the second period. At 12:58, Devon Butler netted his fifth of the season, with Easton Nick and Anthony Oneal recording assists, putting Marian ahead 2–1. The Cougars answered quickly, as Jacob Kovacs continued his strong weekend with an unassisted goal at 13:45, his 18th of the season, tying the game 2–2 heading into the final frame.

Sault College took its first lead of the night early in the third period. At 4:07, McLeod scored his second goal of the game and third of the season, finishing a play from Chase Johnson and Piper Post to make it 3–2. Marian once again found an equalizer at 7:50, as Easton Nick scored his second goal of the contest and 11th of the season, assisted by Butler and Oneal, tying the game at 3–3.

The decisive moment came late in regulation. With the Cougars on the power play at 15:27, Jacob Kovacs delivered the game-winning goal, his 19th of the season, off an assist from Lucas Diberardino, giving Sault College a 4–3 lead they would not relinquish.

In goal, Tyler McArthur made 30 saves on 34 shots for Marian University, while Trennis Riley was solid for the Cougars, stopping 24 of 27 shots to earn the win.

Cougar Harley Wardell told Saultsports that “I thought we played very well coming off the Christmas break. Especially against a strong Marian team, definitely great to get those two wins coming off the break. It was a good start to the second half of the season and a great way to give us the momentum going into two big weekends with Montana and Minnesota coming up and leading into playoffs. Definitely going to need our best down this final stretch.”

The Cougars will now head out on the road for a three game trip to Bozeman, Montana to face the Montana State Bobcats over the January 23rd to 25th weekend in ACHA action.