'No words to describe it': Cougars women's hockey team heads home on high note
The Mount Royal University Cougars women's hockey team returned home Monday as national champs.
The Cougars faced off against the Concordia Stingers and in the end, it was the Cougars who came away with a 4-3 overtime victory.
The Cougars went into the national championship as the eighth seed, despite being the lowest-ranked team.
It didn't seem to bother them.
In the final against the Stingers, it looked like the Cougars were going to settle for the silver medal, but with under two seconds left on the clock and the goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, Breanne Trotter came through.
That sent the game into overtime and in the extra frame, the magic ride continued for the Cougars.
Emma Bergeson would end up scoring the golden goal.
Goaltender Kaitlyn Ross also played a big role in winning the national championship.
"I have no words to describe it – it's one of the best feelings in the world. We deserve this. We've worked so hard all year, and it's so nice that all of our hard work paid off," Ross said.
The cougars were called the Cinderella story of the tournament, but Ross isn't buying that.
"You know, I think everyone underestimated us and how good we actually (are). I don't think it was much of a Cinderella story – I thought we deserved to be here. We're a great team and we worked our butts off for this," Ross said.
The cougars moved from college to university sports 10 years ago, and the women's hockey program has come a long way.
"It means a lot to this group. It means a lot to those that have come before, based on what my phone is lit up with, (and it) means a lot to our school – the first ever for our program and our institution. (I) just couldn't be more proud of the group right now," head coach Scott Rivett said.
"This is huge. This has been a long time coming. We've never had a national championship. We've never had a banner and this is just a step in the right direction," Ross said.
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