At the John Rhodes Centre in Sault Ste. Marie on Sunday, December 7th, the first-place Superior Heights Steelhawks went head-to-head with the second-place St. Mary’s Knights in a tightly contested Sault Ste. Marie High School Hockey League matchup. With top-spot implications on the line, both teams delivered a fast, physical, and skillful game from start to finish.

Superior Heights opened the scoring at 6:08 of the first period as Oliver Austin buried his ninth goal of the season on the powerplay, finishing a setup from Ayden Hamilton. The Steelhawks carried their 1–0 lead into the intermission, but the second period belonged to the Knights.

At 13:37, Marcus Spadafora tied the game with his second of the season, capitalizing on a feed from Tyler Cady. Just three minutes later, the Knights struck again—this time Hunter Jackson netting his ninth of the year off a smooth passing play from Nathan Watts and Connor Bishop. With momentum rolling, Jackson added his second of the night and tenth of the season on a powerplay at 2:32, once again assisted by Watts and Bishop, giving St. Mary’s a 3–1 advantage.

The third period saw no scoring, but both goaltenders—Aaron Juma for the Knights and Peter Gartshore for the Steelhawks—stood tall to keep the game tight and competitive right to the final buzzer.

Athletes of the Game honours went to Oliver Austin for Superior Heights and Nathan Watts for St. Mary’s, both delivering strong performances that drove their teams’ efforts.

Next up for the Steelhawks is a December 12th matchup against the CASS Huskies at 7:30 p.m at the John Rhodes Centre, while the St. Mary’s Knights head to Niagara Falls to compete in the 2025 Saint Michael Mustangs Invitational Varsity Boys Hockey Tournament.