The Esmark Stars AAA Hockey club (15U, 16U and 18U) took their show south this past weekend, Nov. 16-18, as they traveled to Dallas, TX, for the third North American Prospect Hockey League (NAPHL) Showcase of the 2019-2020 season.

The 15U Stars dropped their opening game to the Florida Alliance 15U AAA in Plano, TX, on Saturday, Nov. 16. Derek Pietrzyk and Kirill Maslov scored for the Stars. Jacob Meier, Niven Delano and Liam McClaine earned assists. Fedor Tabako, suffered the loss in goal.

On Sunday, Nov. 17, the 15U Stars took to the ice twice. They dropped the first game of the day 3-1 to the Everett (WA) SilverTips Elite 15U AAA squad in McKinney, TX. Logan Scanlon scored the lone Stars goal with a helper going to Derek Pietrzyk. Paul Potosnak stopped 19 of the 22 shots he faced, but suffered the loss in goal. They return to the ice Sunday evening and faced the Arizona Bobcats in Plano, TX, where they would lose a heart-breaking 2-1 overtime decision as the Bobcats would score on the power-play in overtime.  Owen Tutich scored the lone Stars goal, with an assist to Chase Stormer and Tristan Lloyd. Fedor Tabako stopped 21 of 23 shots he faced, but suffered the loss in goal.

The U15 Stars closed their Texas trip dropping a 3-1 decision to CarShield AAA on Monday, Nov. 18, in Plano. Liam McClaine scored the lone Stars goal, a power play goal. Derek Pietrzyk picked up the assist. Paul Postonak, turned aside 30 of the 33 shots he faced, bt suffered the loss in goal.

The U15 Stars overall record now stands at (13-13-2-1).

The 16U Stars open the Texas Showcase on Saturday, Nov. 16, with a pair of games.  First up was an early-morning 4-3 win over Minnesota-based Gentry Galaxy, the nation's number two ranked team (according to  the website www.myhockeyrankings.com), in McKinney, TX. Then Saturday evening the 16U Stars skated to a 7-2 win over the Colorado Springs Tigers in McKinney.

In the win over Gentry, the Stars got goals from Keith Smilowitz (1G, 1A), Adis Ultanbekov, Alex Keller and Ethan Zupanc. While Egor Ramanau (2A), Grant Parshall, Justin Mettrick, Conall Quish and Shane Miller earned assists. Nathan Dickey earned the win in goal, stopping 23 of 26 shots he faced. In the win over Colorado Springs, the Stars got goals from Adis Ultanbekov (2G, 1A), Justin Mettrick (1G, 1A), Regan Kallis (1G, 1A), Ethan Zupanc (1G, 1A), Alex Keller (1G, 1A) and Keith Smilowitz.  And Egor Ramanau (3A), Shane Miller (2A), Ryan Beck, and Hunter Fairman picked up assists. Logan Marnik earned the win in goal.

On Sunday, Nov. 17, the 16U Stars dropped a 12-2 decision to the Florida Hockey Alliance 16U AAA squad in Plano, TX.  Justin Mettrick (1G, 1A) and Adis Ultanbekov (1G, 1A) were the lone scorers for Esmark. Nathan Dickey suffered the loss in goal surrendering nine Florida goals. Logan Marnik, also saw time and gave up three Alliance goals.

The U16s closed the showcase dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to Michigan-based Meijer AAA in an early morning rematch in McKinney on Monday, Nov. 18. Ethan Zupanc (1G, 1A) and Keith Smilowitz (1G, 1A) found the back of the net for the Stars. While Shane Miller and Kamil Zainullin picked up assists. Logan Marnik started in goal for Esmark and surrendered one goal. Nathan Dickey, who played the second half of the game, suffered the loss in net as he surrendered a pair of goals, including the game winner mid-way through the 3-on-3 overtime session.

The 16U Stars overall record now stands at (17-10-0-1) .

The 18U Stars opened the Showcase on Saturday, Nov. 16, with a 9-4 win over the Everett (WA) SilverTips Elite in Frisco, TX. Ryder Brophy paced the scoring for the Stars, collecting four goals and an assist in the victory. Alex Walker (1G, 3A), Dalton Swartz (1G, 1A), Dominic Dezort (1G, 1A), Dustin Geregach, and Giovanni Palombo also scored for the Stars. Ed Pazo (3A), Trent Grey, Luke Reiser, Corbin Ragno, John Camp, and Jonathan Michels added assists. Connor Strobel picked up the win in goal.

The 18U Stars return to the ice twice on Saturday, Nov. 17, dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to CarShield AAA in McKinney, TX, and picking up a 4-0 shutout win over Canadian powerhouse the Notre Dame Hounds in Frisco.

In the CarShield loss, Ed Pazo (1G, 1A), Ryder Brophy (1G, 1A) and Giovanni Palombo scored goals for the Stars. Alex Walker (2A), Dominic Dezort, and John Camp added helpers. Danny Mitchell suffered the overtime loss in goal, turning aside 28 of the 32 shots he faced. In the win over Notre Dame, Connor Strobel stopped all 29 Hounds shots he faced, and recorded an assist, in earning the shutout and win in goal. Alex Walker (2G), Dustin Geregach and Giovanni Palombo scored for Esmark.  While Nikita Zapolski (2A), Ed Pazo and Ryder Brophy earned assists.

The 18U Stars closed the showcase on Monday, Nov. 18, dropping a 5-2 penalty filled affair to South Dakota-based Sioux Falls Power AAA in McKinney. John Camp and Trent Grey had provided the Stars with a 2-0 first period lead, with assists going to Corbin Ragno, Giovanni Palombo, Lane Ruffner and Dominic Dezort. But Sioux Falls would score four power-play goals on 11 opportunities (including three while on a 5-on-3 power play), including three late in the third period to snap a 2-2 tie. Danny Mitchell stopped 29 of 34 shots he faced, but suffered the loss in goal.

The 18U Stars overall record now stands at (21-3-4-3).