Cougars dominate American Collegiate Hockey championship

NEWS RELEASE
SAULT COLLEGE
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Sault College’s Cougars men's hockey team is now the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) championship team with a convincing 12-3 win Saturday, March 30 against the Grand Valley State University Lakers in Dallas, Texas.

The GVSU Lakers had defeated University of Michigan 4-2 in their semi-final to face the Cougars in the finals.

No Canadian men's team has ever won an ACHA Championship and the Cougars did it in dominating style.

The Cougars can also boast winning the first National Championship in any varsity sport in the College's history.  

The College has had many silver and bronze finishes in a variety of Collegiate varsity sports over the years, but never a championship.  

The team is coached by Mike Hall and is made up with a roster of mainly 20-year-olds, predominantly from the Sault. It is a truly proud moment for our College and a source for civic pride.

Ryan Vendramin (Cougars captain, hometown Sault Ste. Marie) played extremely well in the tournament, averaging five points a game and was named its MVP. He was also the league's MVP during regular season play, the scoring leader in the tournament and the ACHA North Division league scoring leader.

The Cougars went 4 and 0 in tournament play, defeating the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 10-1, Ramapo College from New Jersey 12-5, University of South Florida 6-1, and Fairfield University from Connecticut was defeated by the Cougars 6-2 in the semi-finals.

“The Cougars played their hearts out and represented the city very well in this tournament on and off the ice. The College is proud of these young men,” said Colin Kirkwood, Sault College Vice-President of Academics and Research.

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