The College women’s hockey team, captained by Olivia Barsanti (3rd Year BScN), is headed to St. Louis, Missouri to compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) National Championship tournament! The Sault College Cougars compete in the ACHA Division 2 and the Cougars were ranked second in the Central division. That ranking punched their ticket to the national tournament as one of the league’s top 16 teams out of 64 college/university teams who compete in the ACHA.
The Cougars regularly compete in the Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association (CCWHA) league within the ACHA. In the league finals held in Flint, Michigan, Sault College lost a heartbreaker 2 to 1 in the championship game and qualified to move forward to the National Tournament starting March 15, 2022.
Captain Olivia Barsanti also received honours by being named to the CCWHA’s All Star Team. Barsanti and her teammates had a challenging year with COVID. “This has been quite a year, with all the extraordinary measures we had to take to comply with all of the health guidelines and border requirements. The College’s Athletic staff are to be commended for all of the extra work they had to do to make sure we completed the season. The women persevered through it all and made it to the top tier of teams selected to be showcased at the national level. We are very proud of our women’s hockey team” said Rick Webb, Women’s Hockey General Manager. “Coach Veal and her staff have done a great job of keeping the team focused on the goal of making it to National Championships and everyone is
very excited to see their success this year’, added Webb.
“The American Collegiate Hockey Association is the fastest growing and most extensive College hockey league in North America. Having our Sault College Women’s varsity team as part of this fraternity is amazing and to see them in a national final with the top 16 teams from around North America in just theirsecond year of play is truly remarkable. We wish them well on their journey to St. Louis and hope they can repeat the magic our men’s team had when they won it all in Dallas, Texas three years ago.”
About Sault College
The vision of Sault College is to provide a transformative life experience through empowering those who study with us to think and learn in progressive, innovative ways, including those we have not yet imagined. Sault College grants Ontario College certificates, diplomas, advanced diplomas, graduate certificates, and degrees to its graduates. The College is the largest deliverer of apprenticeship training in all of Northern Ontario. Sault College has a significant economic impact on the community, with spin-offs in excess of $355 million. Over $2 million dollars in scholarships, bursaries and awards are distributed annually to students at the College. Located on the border to the United States and situated in the middle of three of the largest Great Lakes on the planet, in the traditional territory of the Anishnaabe, Sault College is one of 24 publicly-funded colleges in the province of Ontario.
Source: Sault College Athletics
