From The Sault Star
By Gordon Anderson
While the Cougars will most certainly take any hardware given in this season for the college record books, there is a far greater goal in mind.
Sault College won the ACHA Women’s Division 2 central conference championship with a 3-0 victory over the Adrian College Bulldogs at the Crystal Fieldhouse in Burton, Mich., on Sunday.
“The win feels great, and we’re super proud of what we’ve accomplished so far this season, but our goal hasn’t changed,” Cougars captain Olivia Barsanti said. “We won’t be satisfied until we come home with a national title. We’re feeling confident as we’re getting closer to our trip to Boston but know that we still have work to do in the next few weeks to finish the job.”
Barsanti chipped in with an assist on the game-winning goal at 3:51 of the second period as Alyssa Byers found the back of the net on the powerplay.
“It was bittersweet after the final because we knew we won the regional championship but, and everyone was excited about it, happy with how far we’ve made it, but you knew very quickly this wasn’t the moment they are waiting to celebrate,” head coach Brianne Shunock said. ”To see how dialed in they are as this championship is just the first step. It shows you how determined they are to win the national championship.”
It’s getting to be a pleasant habit for Shunock, as she is continually impressed with how the team continues to display a fighting spirit in pursuit of scoreboard perfection, currently at 26-0-0-0.
“You have to be happy with the results because they’re playing through injuries, they’re playing after finishing mid-terms and they’re traveling further than the other teams to play,” Shunock said. “And they still were able to push through all that adversity to win the four games”
As Shunock mentioned, the Cougars rolled through the tournament relatively stress-free. The Cougars beat the Bulldogs 6-0 in the tournament opener last Friday; won 11-0 over Central Michigan and 9-1 over Michigan State on Saturday, prior to the three-goal victory in the final game.
Shunock said the team didn’t quite make the grade in all aspects of their play, but nobody can argue with the result.
“In all honesty, I don’t think we played our best the entire tournament,” Shunock said.
There is one significant lesson left to learn in the midst of all this success, a lesson that could render this season a major heartbreak should they lose in the final.
Shunock said the team needs to make the proper plays, the right reads, while carrying the burden of their own expectations, along with a perfect record intact.
After all, the team played in six regular-season games where the score differential was three goals or less, four of those games played against two teams in Assiniboine College and Dakota College at Bottineau.
“(The national tournament games) are all playoff games,” Shunock said. “It was good for (the team) to see the pressure early and recognize what not to do in certain situations and making sure we are making the simple plays.”
The ACHA women’s nationals will commence on March 16 at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Mass. The national final is set for March 20.
(Originally published at https://www.saultstar.com/sports/cougars-go-unbeaten-to-win-acha-womens-division-2-central-conference-tournament)
