IRON RIVER—Brandon Henschel earned the most valuable player award for his play in the championship game of a recent hockey tournament in Chicago.

Henschel, who is 8 and will be entering fourth grade next fall, was the starting goalie for the Northern Michigan Chill, a AAA hockey team that won the championship of the Cougar Classic tourney. The Chill includes some of the best Squirts players from seven different U.P. hockey associations.—all players were born in 2000.

Brandon’s play in goal was a big factor in the Chill winning the title, and he was awarded MVP honors for his efforts during the 6-3 win over the Cougar Selects in the title game.

During the regular season, Brandon is goaltender for the Squirts team of the Iron Amateur Hockey Association Ice Hawks. He has played in the IAHA for four years.

This month, he and the Chill will be playing in the Invite Division of the USA International Cup, being held in Blaine, Minn., from June 18 to 21 against some of the top AAA programs from the U.S. and Canada.

Henschel has also been asked to be starting goaltender for the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals during a tournament in Minocqua this weekend, June 13-14. The Jr. Admirals are a AAA team based in Milwaukee and sponsored by the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League.