Cougars Fall Short versus Saints

Saturday Night saw the Sault College Cougars and Maryville Saints face off in a thrilling matchup. The Cougars got off to a fast start as they outshot the Saints 15-7 in the opening period. Maryville goaltender Zach Broxterman would star for the Saints right from the get-go, turning aside all 15 shots he faced in the period. Maryville would open the scoring midway through the first and would take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Cougars would respond early in the second, as Nick Jameus ripped home a one-timer set up by Michael Starzomski and Ethan Esposito. Midway through the period, the Cougars would take a tripping penalty and Maryville made no mistake with the man advantage restoring their one-goal lead. Nick Salthouse would add his second of the game for the Saints before the period ended, extending the Saints’ lead to 3-1 with 20 minutes left to play.

A tight checking third period left little space for either team to get their offense started. The Saints would eventually break through the Cougars’ defence as Joey Morici added his second goal of the game with just over four minutes remaining. Jackson Jacques would get one back in the final minute assisted by Michael Chaffey and Brock Santa Maria cutting the deficit to 2 goals. On the ensuing face-off, Santa Maria would streak into the zone deking the goalie and putting a backhander off the crossbar, but that would be as close as the Cougars would get as they fell to the Saints by a final score of 4-2. Gavin Disano made 29 saves for the Cougars.

The loss ends the Cougars’ season as they fall short of making the National Championship. The Cougars finished the season with an overall record of 26-9-0.