WAYNE, N.J. — Portland Jr. Winterhawks (OR) forward Braden Payne knew he needed to light up the scoreboard.

A power play presents a goal scorer like Payne the perfect chance to make his mark. He did just that on the biggest stage of the 2025 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth 16U Tier II 1A National Championships.

At the 6:31 mark of the 1A championship game, the Winterhawks got their first power play opportunity against the Indy Jr. Fuel (IN). Seven seconds later, Payne capitalized on his chance. 

“I just [saw] top shelf wide open,” Payne said. “And I snipe it. It’s a great feeling knowing that we came all this way and then we’re up in the chip game. It felt great.”

Three minutes later, another power play opportunity awaited the Winterhawks. They took advantage of the man advantage and netted their second goal of the game. This time, it only took 15 seconds after the penalty for Portland to convert, as defenseman Carter Johnson found the back of the net.  

“I shot it on net, hoping for a prayer, and it got answered,” Johnson said. “It was huge.”

Despite playing on the blue line, Johnson joined Payne as Portland’s leading goal scorer this tournament with four goals apiece.  

The hot start continued for the Winterhawks near the end of the first period. Forward Efrem Manzhura’s shot near the blue line snuck through to give his team a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission. 

Thomas Dugan scored the Fuel’s first goal of the game with 10:42 to go in the second period. However, Owen Brown got a goal back for the Winterhawks less than three minutes later. 

Indy didn’t go down easily, as Ethan Lehtinen scored less than two minutes after Brown did. Then Brayden Lemieux made it a 4-3 game with two minutes to go. From there, the Winterhawks survived to become national champions. 

The whole team mobbed goaltender Noah Porter in celebration when the clock hit zero. It was a moment of jubilation none of them will ever forget.

“We worked hard all year long off ice, on ice, just day in, day out, four or five days a week,” Payne said. “It just feels great for all to pay off here on the biggest stage.”

Head coach Paul Frys is extremely proud of his group, commending his team for playing as a family. While it’s an honor to be national champions, it means more than that for Frys.

“I just want kids back home in Oregon to realize that they can play hockey, and the kids back home are good hockey players,” Frys said. “We're really trying to put Oregon hockey on the map, and this is a start, but we got to continue with it.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.