From The Sault Star
By Gordon Anderson
Winning a national championship is not an everyday accomplishment, so forgive the feeling of unfamiliarity.
The Sault College Cougars completed a season for the local sporting record books with a 6-1 win over Northeastern University in the ACHA Women’s Division 2 national championship game on Monday morning in Boston.
“If I’m being honest, I think I speak for a lot of the staff and players when I say winning a national championship hasn’t fully sunk in, yet,” Cougars head coach Brianne Shunock told the Sault Star. “After a full week goes by where we aren’t on the ice, and I realize the season is over, I’ll be able to fully appreciate the season we just had.”
Emily Moore netted twice in the title game while Emma Lee, Alyssa Turcotte, Brooke Brazeau and Stephanie Pagnotta added singles for the Sault. Emily Hanson got the start in the cage and picked up the victory.
“The players were ready for that game,” Shunock said. “The nerves were there, but nothing out of the ordinary, and the coaches recognized that and let them do what they’ve done all season. We took advantage of our powerplays, were aggressive on our penalty kills, and dominated offensively.”
And when all the hard work of scoring and dominating was generally done, and with a five-goal advantage heading for the third period, the Cougars were well in control. But coaches are generally conservative and panicky by nature and Shunock is no different, a worst-case calamity always possible in her mind.
“I’m not one to think too far ahead, so it wasn’t until the last five or six minutes of the third period against Northeastern where I thought it would be tough for them to tie the game up,” Shunock said. “I was standing on the bench hearing the excitement in the players voices, and in my head, I was thinking about our entire season and how it led us to this very moment, while trying not to show my emotion.”
The club started and finished the season on a win streak, the final number coming in at 31 consecutive wins. The Cougars ended up on the right side of four one-goal games, two of them coming in overtime. They scored 229 goals and allowed 22 goals, multiple players at the top of many statistical categories.
“I don’t think it’s possible to not be satisfied,” Shunock said. “If anything, I’m blown away with their success this season and so proud of the team as a whole for accomplishing so much.”
If asked, Shunock could produce a veritable laundry list of characteristics she most admired about her team, but the appetite for success, drawn from losing at last year’s ACHA nationals, was the kick starter to a season not soon forgotten for every member of the team.
“Their drive and appetite for success is something you can’t teach,” Shunock said. “I’ve never been a part of a team where they celebrate after scoring a goal in practice. Our team had a winning attitude since the first day they stepped on the ice, and we never took one win for granted. Every week we started fresh, and focused on the next series rather than soaking up the wins from the previous weekend.”
The Sault was dominating in Pool D play, outscoring their opponents 25-1 in three games played. The Cougars beat Rowan University, University of Delaware and Providence College.
The Cougars beat the Dakota College Jacks 3-0 in the semifinal, setting up the championship game against Northeastern. Dakota and the Sault met up two times during the regular season with the Cougars picking up identical 3-2 victories.
(Originally published at https://www.saultstar.com/sports/im-blown-away-with-their-success-this-season-cougars-acha-national-championship)
