Escanaba's Kallio Leads Atlanta To National Title

The Atlanta Knights won the USA Hockey Junior A Tier III National Championship on Tuesday afternoon, beating the Long Island (NY) Royals, 4-3, in Rochester, Minn.

Escanaba High School graduate Brent Kallio scored the first two goals of the game and then the Knights held on from there. Kallio finished the tournament with seven points (3G, 4A) in five games. He had a goal and two assists in the Knights' 6-1 win over the Chicago Bulldogs in last Thursday's opener. And he had two assists in the national semifinal win over Billings (Mont.) Monday.

"It's pretty hard to put my exact emotions into one word," Kallio said after the title game. "It is the craziest feeling of happiness that I've ever had in my life."

Atlanta won all five of its games in the national tournament, beating Chicago, Helena (Mont.), Billings (Mont.), and Long Island twice.

Kallio is a 2010 Escanaba High School graduate. In two seasons with the Eskymos between 2008 and 2010, Kallio had 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points. He then played with the Alpena (Jr. A) Thunder before moving to Atlanta the following year.

"I didn't think I was going to play hockey after high school," Kallio said. "Then I got a call and they said I should try out. I was skeptical at first, but I had to give it a shot. And look at me now!"
 

Kallio still has one more year of junior eligibility remaining, and he says he may return to Atlanta next year. Or college? "I'm keeping my options open," he said.