BILLINGS — The 14U Butte Irish hockey team entered the State Tournament at the Centennial Ice Arena as the No. 5.

The team returned home as the undisputed state champion.

Butte’s boys and girls beat the Helena Big Horns 7-1 Sunday for a convincing victory during the championship game. The Irish came out focused and relentless, controlling the pace from the opening puck drop as they made a statement with the lopsided win.

The victory avenged a tournament-opening loss to the Big Horns. In that Thursday game, the Irish fought back from a 5-2 deficit and fell in an 8-7 heartbreaker.

Despite the loss, though, the Irish showed that they would not go down without a fight.

In a 7 a.m. Friday game against top-seeded Miles City, the Irish rolled to an impressive 6-2 victory. In that win, the Irish held league points leader Christian Hogan to one goal, and the confidence continued to build for the Butte boys and girls.

Butte dominated Billings for a 7-0 victory on Saturday morning, showcasing balanced scoring, disciplined defense and stellar goaltending.

Butte finished No. 2 in its pool, pitting the Irish against the Missoula Bruins, who entered as the sixth-ranked team but emerged as the No. 1 team from its pool, in the semifinals.

In that battle, Butte wasted little time. The Irish delivered on of their most complete performances of the tournament, pitching a 4-0 shutout and punching the ticket to the title game.

Butte Irish team members are Brayton “Bea” Burleson, Maverick “WWE” White, Calvin “John John” Johnson, Ryan Byrne, Carly “Roxy” Ryan, Gaige Davis, Kaden Malkovich, Vera Peterson, Jerdon Harned, Lane “Linda” Batterman, Nick D’Amico, Kelton “Hot Rod” Dennehy, Ryan “Rhino” Ferriter, Kevin “Big Kev” Nielsen.

Jeff Dennehy and Zach Woods coach the Irish. Corbin Roberts is the team manager, and Rory Burleson is the equipment manager.