“I just shot the puck,” Treadway said. “I was just hoping that it would go in.”

It did more than that. It paved the Coyotes’ way to the 2019 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier I 16U National Championship, April 3-8 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Forward Matthew Knies, the team’s leading goal scorer, added two goals, including an empty-netter in the final minute, and Tristan Rand also scored for Arizona.

The Coyotes’ success as of late couldn’t have been envisioned at the start of the season, not with Arizona starting the season 8-14, including a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars Elite back in October. But 10 wins in 11 games before Christmas turned the tide.