Cougars edged 1-0 in national final

Sault College Cougars forward Payton Stos scored the only goal of the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s women’s Division 2 national championship final as they handed the Assiniboine College Cougars a heartbreaking 1-0 loss on Thursday in Maryland Heights, Mo.

Cougars head coach Charles Tweed said the game was as close as the score indicated.

“It was a one-goal game with two really good teams competing against each other,” Tweed said. “At the end of the day, that goal goes their way instead of our way, but our athletes, our girls, played incredible today.

“They didn’t stop until the very end and that says something about their character, about their will to play and the amount they trust themselves and their teammates out there on the ice.”

The goal by Stos, which was her first of the tournament, came 59 seconds into the game as the Cougars unsuccessfully tried to clear their own zone.

“We sent it up the wall and didn’t get it out,” Tweed said. “It was a good shot. It smashed into our net by Rachel and then we couldn’t get one the rest of the day.”

Assiniboine went 0-for-2 on the power play, with Sault unsuccessful in five chances.

Cougars goaltender Rachel Halldorson of Lundar was outstanding in the loss, turning aside 37 shots. The goal she allowed in the final was the only one she let in during her three games at the event.

“Rachel was a rock star for us,” Tweed said. “She was incredible in net. Her numbers speak for themselves. She is just one of those ultra-competitive people. We wouldn’t have been here without her. I stood beside her in the line at the end on the blue-line and every one of the Sault players went by and said that was a heckuva game that she played.

“We’re pretty fortunate to have her and pretty fortunate to have two good goaltenders, but today was Rachel’s day.”

Sault goalie Farrah Farstad stopped all 29 shots she faced, although Tweed noted the shutout was a team effort. The teams met one other time all season, which was also a 1-0 Sault victory on Nov. 8.

“They are a really good team,” Tweed said. “They’re big, they take up a lot of space, all their pressure comes from the inside out, so it’s a real challenge to get pucks to the net against that team. They understand who and what they are for sure.”

It was the only loss at the tournament for the Brandon-based club, which went 4-1-0-0 in the St. Louis suburb.

In the round-robin, the Cougars beat Boston University 8-0 on Sunday, Central Michigan University 10-2 on Monday and Northern Michigan University 5-0 on Tuesday.

In the semifinals on Wednesday, they topped Boston College 3-2 in overtime.

“It was tough,” Tweed said of the loss. “Obviously there were some girls in the dressing room with tears in their eyes after. That’s difficult.”

Sault College is moving on to Division 1 next season, so Assiniboine won’t match up with them at nationals again next year for the third time in a row. Sault beat Assiniboine 6-2 in the 2025 final.

The most amazing part of the Cougars’ 2025-26 run is that they had a dozen rookies on their 18-player roster. Only forward Kasey Fouillard is scheduled to graduate, although Tweed hopes she might return for her last season.

“We’re probably ahead of schedule,” Tweed said. “We’re not supposed to be here with 12 rookies. We thought, ‘OK, we’re having a bit of a rebuild this year, they’ll get to see nationals and get a taste for it, and next year we should be good to go.’”

Tweed said he’s thankful for all the support the team received from the school and the community this season, and said although they came two goals short, it was an incredible ride.

“Hockey is just part of the story,” Tweed said. “We became more reliable, we became more accountable to each other, we became a family. It’s pretty rewarding to see a group of people grow that much throughout a season.

“The on-ice stuff is just such a small, small piece of that.”

pbergson@brandonsun.com