Like after any hockey game, the buzzer sounded and local teen Michael Lackey left his post in goal to meet up with his teammates. But unlike most games, Lackey was now a world champion. The Under 17 Men’s hockey team had just beaten Canada 4-0 in the World U-17 Hockey Challenge.

He grew up living in Wood Acres and attending the Potomac School in McLean, is currently participating in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan and playing for the under-17 USA national team. The team competes in the U.S. Hockey League, the nation’s top junior league, and a number of international tournaments.

In January, Lackey and the national team travelled to Cape Breton, Canada to play—and eventually win—the World U-17 Hockey Challenge, the premier hockey tournament in the world for players of that age.

“It was my favorite hockey moment so far,” Lackey said of winning the prestigious tournament. “It was such an honor to represent my country like that.”

The tournament consists of the ten best national teams in the world and boasts a prestigious history. Ten out of the NHL’s last 13 number one overall draft picks played in the tournament including current stars Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane and John Tavares.

Lackey shared time as the starting goalie for the U.S. team and dominated the competition. In four games, he allowed only three goals and led all goalies in the tournament in save percentage and goals against average.

He also came up clutch when the pressure was at its peak. During the championship game, Lackey shut out the Pacific Canadian team en route to a 4-0 victory for the Americans.

Because of his strong performance, Lackey was named goalie of the tournament, an honor he shares with current Capitals goalie Philip Grubauer, who won the award in 2008.

Lackey’s goalie coach at the U.S. team, Kevin Reiter, only had strong praise for Lackey.

“Michael has the size and his competition level is off the charts,” Reiter said. “He does everything he can to win and he has come up big for us in a bunch of games.”

Participating in the U.S. National Development Program means Lackey lives with a host family and attends an Ann Arbor public school. But it also means he’s on the ice every day.

“The training here is incredible,” Lackey said. “It pushes you to a whole another level that you didn’t think was possible and makes you the best player you can become if you put all your effort into it.”

Reiter explains that the program is beneficial for player development because it is sport specific. At other places around the country, athletes might play a number of sports along with hockey, but at this program it’s all hockey all the time. They also have a number specialized personnel that gets the players everything they need.

Lackey grew up playing for the Montgomery Blue Devils, one of the area’s most popular travel hockey teams, before transitioning to the more competitive Team Maryland.

During a six-year span between the two teams, Lackey played and carpooled with freshman Sam Dexter, someone he still sometimes talks to.

“Even then he was one of the best goalies his age in the country,” Dexter said. “I could see he had a bright future.”

After playing for Team Maryland, Lackey moved to the Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire so he could more easily focus on schoolwork alongside his hockey. Instead of spending hours and hours in the car traveling to practice, at prep school, practice was on campus so Lackey could quickly transition to studying.

Playing at a sports powerhouse like Exeter helped Lackey impress a number of scouts.

“Last season, scouts from the U.S. team followed me throughout the season and at the end, they contacted me and offered me a spot on the tryout team,” Lackey said.

The U.S. teams weren’t the only ones to send scouts as a number of colleges offered Lackey scholarships. After finishing high school, Lackey has already committed to play hockey at Princeton University.

Though Lackey currently lives away from home and likely will in the future, he still acknowledges his parent’s role in his development as an athlete.

“I really attribute most of my success to my parents,” Lackey said. “They spent so much time getting me to the rink, watching my games, taking me out to lessons just so I could keep doing what I love.”

Though it’s a brutal profession, Lackey looks like he is on track to keep doing what he loves for a long time.

“His potential is really unlimited,” Reiter said. “He has the size and skillset to be an elite goaltender one day and have a long hockey career.”