Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos

In the opening game of a doubleheader at the John Rhodes Centre, the third place (9-5-1) St. Mary’s Knights delivered a strong performance as they took on the fourth place (4-10-1-1) CASS Huskies in Sault Ste. Marie Boy’s High School Hockey League action.

The Knights set the tone early in the first period, opening the scoring at 13:39 when Nathan Watts netted his 13th goal of the season, finishing a play set up by Tucker Bennett and Beau Primeau. Less than two minutes later, St. Mary’s struck again as William Watts scored his first of the season at 11:40, converting on assists from Tyler Cady and Jarrett Solomon to give the Knights a 2–0 lead.

St. Mary’s continued to control the pace in the second period, extending their lead with a pair of goals. At 3:28, Tucker Bennett found the back of the net for his third of the season, with Connor Bishop and Nathan Watts collecting assists. The Knights made it 4–0 at 1:45 when Hunter Jackson scored his 11th of the year off feeds from Bennett and Bishop, firmly putting St. Mary’s in command heading into the third.

The Huskies showed resilience in the final frame, getting on the board at 12:28 with a shorthanded goal from Gabe Stewart, who scored unassisted for his fourth of the season. Any momentum was quickly halted, however, as the Knights responded at 10:42 when Bates Borelli scored his sixth of the year, assisted by Tucker Bennett and William Watts, sealing a 5–1 victory.

Riley Papi-Grant turned aside the necessary chances to earn the win in goal for the Knights, while Jack Unetic handled the crease duties for the Huskies.

The Huskies will look to rebound when they face the Korah Colts on Saturday, January 17th at the Desbarats Arena, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Meanwhile, the Knights return to regular season action on Monday, January 19th, back at the John Rhodes Centre for a 3:30 p.m start against the White Pines Wolverines.