"We have the best 12-year-old goalie in the country."

Such were the words of Troy Double, a 12-year-old center who happens to be a teammate of Clay Bachman, the goalie for the Pittsburgh Huskies Pee Wee AAhockey team.

Both are Butler residents and will be joining their Huskies teammates in Indian Trails, N.C., Wednesday through April 5 for the USAHockey National Championships.

The Pee Wee division of USAHockey consists of 11- and 12-year-old players. Four other Butler players, center Dustin Davis, winger-defenseman A.J.Ritenour, winger Nick Whann and defenseman Matt Tomasovic, also are key members of the squad.

"We finished around .500 last year," said Butler resident and Huskies coach Vic Whann. "But we had a lot of first-year players at this level a year ago, and 11-12 is the division where body checking starts.

"That's a major adjustment for these kids to make."

That adjustment was completed this year as the Huskies finished 16-3-1 in the regular season and are 29-7-1 overall. They have scored 166 goals and allowed 59.

As for Double's appraisal of Bachman's goaltending?It might not be far off.

Bachman had a 92.2 save percentage during the regular season, stopping 364 of 395 shots. During the Mid-Am District Regional Tournament in Sylvania, Ohio, recently, Bachman stopped 46 of 48 shots in regulation and nine of 11 shots during shootouts.

"Clay is an amazing goalie for this age level,"Whann said. "His numbers speak for themselves. He's a natural talent who does things you can't teach."

The Huskies began their surge toward nationals by winning their state championship at Ice Castle in Castle Shannon. The team defeated the North Pittsburgh Wildcats 7-3, Indiana Warriors 6-1 and North Hills Vipers 5-0 before defeating the Vipers 6-1 in the title game.

Bachman stopped 61 of 66 shots in the tournament. Double scored six goals, Christian Miller of Kittanning and Alex Welsh of Apollo netted four each. Eric Leya of Hampton scored three goals, Nick Whann, Jake Snyder of Kittanning and Davis tallied two each.

Bachman's performance in shootouts came during the regional tournament. The Huskies were in competition with state championship teams from Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.

Double scored all three goals as the Huskies defeated the Indianapolis Racers 3-2 in a sudden-death shootout. The team then shut out the Sylvania Maple Leafs 6-0 and blanked the Cleveland Warriors Gold 1-0 in a shootout.

"We played in five shootouts during the regular season, so I was used to them,"said Bachman, who is only 5-foot-5, 130 pounds. "As a goalie, you just stay calm and focused during a shootout."

Double and Miller scored two goals each against the Maple Leafs. Cody Krstonich of Springdale scored the lone goal against Cleveland.

Double is the Huskies' leading scorer with 17 goals and 16 assists. Miller has 18 goals and seven assists and Davis has 17 goals and six assists.

"You want to win in those situations," Double said. "You're the only one on the ice and you don't want to let your teammates down."

The Huskies will be one of 12 teams at the national tournament. Marcus Krstonich of Springdale, Noah Moody and Camden Lydick of Indiana, and Ethan Marie of Bethel Park round out the roster.

"Our goal this year was to get the championship banner of the (Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League) and we did,"Whann said. "We wanted to play well in the state tournament and see what happens. We did that and we won it.

"Now we're in uncharted territory."

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance,"Double said. "We'll be ready."