From The Sault Star
By Janson Duench
Danika West was in bed when her phone alerted her with the news she’d been patiently waiting on.
The Sault College Cougars were officially going Division 1.
“I was pretty excited,” she said. “Our team has worked so much for this. It’s definitely well deserved.”
For West, only in her second season, the move hit as both validation and a promise fulfilled. She’d been chasing higher-level hockey from the minute college became an option.
“It means a lot,” she said. “I’ve wanted to play at a higher level since I even thought of coming to college.”
Her teammate Matea Glavota, a second-year defender, echoed that idea of stiffer competition — games that punch back, rinks where nothing comes easy.
“Just having more competitive, back-and-forth games,” she said, “that’s what I’m most excited about.
That hunger is what head coach Megan Dubas pointed to when she explained how Sault College reached this point.
This wasn’t about submitting an application so much as acknowledging reality: Sault College had outgrown Division 2.
Three straight national championships can attest to that. The program is undefeated this season as it pursues another title.
“This is my fourth season with the team,” Dubas said, “and it’s always been in the back of our minds. We knew we had a competitive team. We knew we were bringing in elite players. Unfortunately, we weren’t even allowed to apply to go up.”
When she said “weren’t allowed,” she meant it literally. ACHA rules barred junior colleges, which typically offer two-year programs, from applying to Division 1 — and Sault College, despite offering a four-year nursing program, still wore that label.
The Cougars kept building anyway. Under former head coach Brianne Shunock, they won nationals in 2023, then did it twice more. They kept recruiting out west. They kept scheduling heavyweights. They kept growing.
And when the ACHA reversed the rule with a vote last spring, Sault College already looked like a Division 1 team waiting at the door.
“That was our big momentum swing,” Dubas said. “Teams backed us up, and we’ve obviously proved that we are a competitive team and we’re able to play in Division 1.”
In that sense, the news felt less like a leap and more like the natural next step for a team that’s spent years sharpening itself against top-caliber programs, including Niagara and Michigan-Dearborn.
This season has already included punishing swings through Minnesota and North Dakota — trips that pack as many as four games in three days, the kind of schedule that feels more like a minor hockey tournament than a college weekend.
“They’re fun, but very long,” West said, laughing. “You get to know each other a little too well.”
Glavota added, “It’s a fun experience, visiting places you wouldn’t usually — but definitely long bus rides.”
This season, those road trips have also become more necessary. Not every Division 2 team is required to play Sault College under the CCWHA’s schedule this year. The fact that the program is also an undefeated powerhouse doesn’t necessarily convince teams to make the long drive north, either.
Division 1 could bring more certainty to their schedule. The program is already in talks to join a cluster featuring regular games against Adrian, Lake Superior State, Michigan-Dearborn, and Eastern Michigan — a setup that would add a legitimate cross-border rivalry with Lake State and reduce some of the long-haul miles that have defined their season.
The opportunity to face Lake State in particular is significant to Sault College, as their support helped push Sault’s application over the line.
The two schools already model a rivalry on the men’s side with the Lou Lukenda Cup, named for the late Dr. Lukenda, who shaped both programs — and once served as Dubas’ boss with the Soo Greyhounds.
“It just makes sense to have that competition,” Dubas said. “We’re really looking forward to building that relationship and creating something with the women’s teams too.”
If the structural implications of Division 1 are significant, Dubas insists the day-to-day won’t change much. She doesn’t intend to overhaul a program that’s already functioning like a top-level operation with three straight championships.
“You don’t really fix a well-oiled machine,” she said. “Nothing really changes for us. I grew up in that elite mindset. I’ve had experience with the OHL and watching my brother (Kyle Dubas) move up the ranks as well. I’ve always had that professional standard, and I’m gonna push the girls every single day. So not much is gonna change — our expectations are just going to be a lot more.”
For a team that’s unbeaten this season, hunting a fourth straight national title, and already mentally preparing for 2026, that mindset is battle-tested.
“The players deserve this.”
(Originally published at https://www.saultstar.com/sports/the-players-deserve-this-sault-college-joining-division-1-after-years-of-overpowering-the-field)
