Kevin Albers, P.J. Klebba and Zack Rourke are U.S. National Champions.
They played for the AAA U16 Belle Tire team out of Fraser, Michigan.
Their season recently concluded with a record of 61-7-6, including games played at Ohio State, Ferris and Miami of Ohio.
In mid-March, they won the State Championship after defeating Little Caesars in the final game.
The team went on to compete in the National tournament held in Fraser. There were 12 teams that qualified in their age division from across the U.S.
Belle Tire won their first three games of the tournament and moved on to quarterfinals. The third period in the quarterfinals ended in a 3-3 tie against a Wisconsin team. With 45 seconds remaining in the second overtime, Klebba scored the winning goal with an assist from Rourke.
Later that day, Belle Tire defeated a team from New Jersey in the semi-final round, 3-1.
The final game was between Belle Tire and Shattuck St. Mary’s of Minnesota. The Minnesota team took the lead in the first period 1-0. Belle Tire scored two goals in the second to take the lead and held on in the third to win the National Championship by a score of 2-1.
P.J. and Kevin are sophomores at Lake Orion High and Zack is a junior at Oxford High.