West Chester Rustin wins USA Hockey national championship

In USA Hockey’s Pure Division title game, the West Chester Rustin Golden Knights survived a late charge from California’s Santa Margarita Catholic High School to earn a 4-3 victory in the national championship game of the USA Hockey High School Nationals, held in Cleveland, Ohio.

Four different goal-scorers help pace Rustin, including Penney Cade, who also added two assists. Goaltender Jason Grande made 37 saves to earn his fourth victory of the tournament.

The Knights’ avenged an earlier 3-0 pool-play loss to Santa Margarita and produced the 13th USA Hockey national championship overall for a Pennsylvania-based team, the most recent coming last season when the Pittsburgh Pens Elite won USA Hockey’s Youth Tier I 18U title.

Rustin is the second Pennsylvania-based team to win USA Hockey’s High School national championship, following Bethel Park, which won the title in 2014.