The Sault College men's hockey team is back for another year.
In the spring, they became the first Canadian school to win the division 3 title in the American College Hockey League, and are now moved up to division 2.
"It was fun. We had a really good group of guys and everyone clicked," said Austin Rowe, Sault Cougars' forward.
"We knew we had a good team. It was a goal from the beginning of the year to just go to nationals and we got there," added Sault Cougars' forward Ryan Vendramin.
Winning last year brings the Cougars a sense of credibility and respect from other teams.
In prior years, it was hard to recruit new talent to the team. Now, that is slowly changing.
Mike Hall, Cougars' Head Coach, says the team has three times as many home games this year as opposed to last season.
"We only had four home games last year, this year we have 12, which make it easier for players, especially with that many home games and not having to pull them out of school every Friday," said Hall.
Some of last season's road trips lasted as long as four days, and students had to keep a 2.o GPA to play on the team, spending hours studying on the bus or in hotels.
"Yeah throwing away and managing school it's definitely tough. You have to have good time management, and you have to make sure you're going to class and doing all the work," said Vendramin.
Although the competition this year will be tougher, the players say the year should be easier on their bodies and minds from the fact they do not have to be on the road every weekend.
