All you have to do is to make the playoff round. From there, anything can happen.

That was the battle cry of the St Charles College Cardinals boys hockey team at the recent Saint Michael's Mustangs Invitational Tournament in Niagara Falls.

For as much as the Cards have enjoyed previous success at the event, capturing the banner three times in the past 5-6 years, their round robin play in 2025 was less than stellar.

St Charles opened with a 2-2 tie versus the Nelson High-School Lords (Burlington), dropped a 3-1 decision to the St Edward High-School Eagles (Lakewood, Ohio) but bounced back on day two, blanking the Oak Park High-School Raiders 5-0 (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and the Milton District High-School Mustangs (10-0).

With a total of 13 points to their credit (two for a win; one point per period won), the SDSSAA representatives squeaked into the quarter-finals on a tie-breaker, upsetting the #1 seeded Steinbach Regional Secondary School Sabres from Manitoba, 3-2.

A rematch against Nelson in the semi-finals produced the best SCC effort of the weekend, a 6-2 triumph over the Lords as Liam Judd, Jackson Noble, Karson Gouchie, Andrew McLean, Vincent Gilbert and Brady Holden all hit paydirt for the Cardinals.

A 4-2 loss in the final to the St Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School Wildcats (in Lasalle, just outside of Windsor) featured an empty-net goal from the Cats as Liam Judd and Jackson Noble scored for St Charles.

A mainstay at the tournament in recent years, the Cardinals were overwhelmed with the presentation of the Rocco Renaud (Game MVP) Award after each contest, with Vincent Gilbert, Kessler Koosees, Brady Holden and Rowan McCann all recognized, along with tournament MVP runner-up Karson Gouchie.