KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Fighting to bring home a national title to Utah, the Ogden Jr. Mustangs made history with a 3-1 victory against the Vegas Jr. Golden Knights in Sunday’s 2A title game of the 2025 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier II 14U National Championships.

“This is awesome, from my understanding it’s the first national championship in Utah,” head coach Jeff Krieger said. “We’ve been doing this since August, kids never gave up, had a big OT win yesterday. Family is great, parents are great, it’s just an awesome season, awesome opportunity.”

Ogden came out strong on the forecheck, controlling the puck for a majority of the first 16 minutes of gameplay. Not only was the team controlling in its offensive zone five-on-five, but the Mustangs also used their strong presence on the penalty kill, continuing to chase the puck down the ice and remain the aggressor against the Knights. 

The Mustangs continuously peppered Vegas netminder Cole Larrison, who made several key saves and stopped 27 shots through the first two periods. 

Ogden’s defense controlled the first two periods as well, only allowing 7 shots each in the first two periods. The team was able to strip pucks away from their opponents and control play on the blueline to set up their forwards for scoring opportunities. 

The strong offense from Ogden final paid off with just 1:18 left in the second period. After receiving a power play opportunity, two-way forward Colton Harding sent the puck over Larrison’s blocker side, giving the Mustangs a 1-0 lead to carry them into the final period. 

Vegas came into the third hungry, tying it up quickly on the power play. Defenseman Quentin Gorman-Avina was able to slip down towards the goal line and stuff the puck into the net for his first goal of the tournament. 

With the game tied, someone needed to step up in the third period. Unsurprisingly, that turned out to be Krew Krieger, who picked up an assist on Ogden’s first goal to give him his 20th point of the tournament. 

All the way from the Mustangs’ own zone, Krieger carried the puck all the way into the offensive zone, dancing in front of Vegas defenders and ripping a shot top shelf to give Ogden its lead back. 

“I knew I had to do it. I saw an opening through a stick and short side, just made a heck of a shot,” Krew Krieger, son of head coach Jeff, said. 

Krew Krieger finished the tournament with 16 goals and 21 points, putting him eight points ahead of the second-leading scorer in the tournament. 

Jahkai Bennett finished the job for the Mustangs when he scored on an empty net to secure the 3-1 win. 

“This is what we worked for all season, everybody deserved it, we just got to take it home,” Krew Krieger said. “We did everything we could all season, we had a great season, I love these guys, they did everything for me. It’s awesome.”

Photo/USA Hockey

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc./USA Hockey

(April 6, 2025)