Since taking over the head coaching position of the Allegheny Badgers, Justin Brown has had the expectation set from Day 1: win the Mid-American District Hockey Tournament.

Earlier this month, the Badgers’ 16U team did just that.

After going 3-0 in pool play, they defeated Pittsburgh Vengeance, 5-4, to secure the club’s first Mid-American District title in the 16U Tier II division.

Andrew Bryant (2), Brody Boban (game-winning goal), Mason Homan and Jake Fink scored for the Badgers in that title game. Tyler Funk, meanwhile, put on a herculean performance, making 51 saves on 55 shots, including a late-game stand on a Vengeance power play.

Now, after claiming the district crown, Brown and the Badgers have earned a spot in the USA Hockey 16U National Championships in Irvine, Calif. The Vengeance also earned an invite to the tournament.

The Badgers will begin their quest for a national title at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday against No. 27 Team South Dakota.

Next on their goal sheet is to win a national title. Setting high goals and achieving them are different things, though, especially when considering the talent level that will be represented at the national tournament.

The Badgers, made up of players from Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Latrobe, Norwin, Elizabeth Forward, Shaler, Central Catholic, Altoona, Morgantown (W.Va.) and Penn-Trafford, will be competing in Tier II of the 16-and-under classification at nationals. According to MyHockey Rankings, seven of the top 10 nationally-ranked teams in Tier 2 are in the Badgers’ 3A bracket.

Stiff competition, surely, but the Badgers already have experience beating one of those top-10 teams, the Pittsburgh Vengeance. In six matchups this year with the 10th-ranked Vengeance, the No. 20 Badgers won four games, including the Mid-Am title game.

Playing against tougher opponents isn’t something new to the Badgers because Brown builds their schedule with the prospect of a national tournament in mind.

“We enter tournaments all year long based on what I predict the level of difficulty will be,” Brown said.

“It’s a no-brainer at nationals. Everybody there, of the 16 teams in 3A, is essentially a top-40 team in the country. So, you know, you can’t ask for much more than that, as far as a strength of schedule or difficulty level at a tournament.”

Even then, nothing can truly replicate the feeling of traveling across the country to compete on a national stage. Brown is aware of this, which is why he wants his players to take a moment to absorb it.

“After that five minutes is over,” he said shortly after, “I want to refocus, keep the boys together, and go put our best foot forward and compete to the level that I know we can compete. I know that when the mindset is there, the preparation is there, and they are hungry and ready and motivated, bought in, that they can beat anyone in the country. I have the data to support that.

“Qualifying is great, but the work’s not done yet.”