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Weekend Recap - Aug. 27 - 29

By DLG, 09/03/21, 2:00PM EDT

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Stars Open the '21-'22 Campaign

The Esmark Stars AAA Hockey program kicked the 2021-22 season, their 38th season in operation, into full gear this past weekend, Aug. 27  - 29, as five of the six AAA Stars teams began play.

Esmark's U12 squad split a two-game road trip with Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo, NY.

The Sabres grabbed the opening game 5-3 at the Northtown Center.  Chris Sargo (2G) and Beau Ritson scored for the Stars. Brody Pablic, William McKivigan, Jack Koerbel and Keita Komatsu all picked up assists.  Jacob Johnson suffered the loss in goal, stopping 39 of the 43 shots he faced. The Sabres would score an empty-net goal to finish the scoring.

Game two saw the Stars rebound and grab an exciting 3-2 win at the Harbor Center. Jacob DeWitt (2G) and Maksim Popienko collected the Stars goals. Jack Koerbel (2A), Chay LeMagna, Keita Komatsu, and Daniel Maloney picked up assists. Ben Wilson earned his first win in goal for the season, stopping 33 of 35 Sabres shots he faced.

Esmark's U13 AAA Bantam Minor squad (0-2-0-0) dropped a pair of road games to the Jr. Sabres.

In game one, the Jr Sabres overwhelmed the U13 Stars and grabbed an 8-0 win at the Harbor Center.  Jackson Johnson suffered the loss in goal.

In the second game, also at the Harbor Center, the Sabres would skate to a 6-1 win. Ryan Crouse scored for the Stars and Chase Secriskey picked up the lone assist. Corbin Holt suffered the loss in goal.

The U14 Esmark Stars (1-0-2-0), open the season with a three-game road trip.

First up was a 9-3 win over the Philadelphia Revolution on Saturday at the NE Flyers Skate Zone. Luke Mink (2G, 1A), Emmet McClain (2G), Nino DiPietro (2G), Joseph Vecchio (1G, 3A), Jacob Kraus (1G, 1A), and Aidan Moskovitz all found the back of the net for the Stars. Ian Morganti (3A) and Tripp Goehring picked up assists. Kyle McLaughlin earned his first win of the season in goal, stopping 15 of the 18 shots he faced.

On Sunday, the Stars square-off in a double header against the Valley Forge Colonials at the Oaks Ice Center in Valley Forge, PA.  Both games ended in a tie, 2-2 in the opener and 3-3 in the second game.

In the 2-2 tie,  Nino DiPietro and Jacob Miller scored for Esmark. Ethan Buranovsky and Thomas Barefoot picked up assists. Noah Frohnhofer earned the tie in goal, stopping 40 of the 42 shots he faced.

The 3-3 tie saw Jacob Kraus (1G, 1A), Liam Mahoney and Ian Morganti scored goals. Julian Kemp, Ethan Buranosvky, and Trey Dopson all picked up assists. Kyle McLaughlin earned the tie in goal, stopping 33 of the 36 shots he faced.

Esmark's U18 squad (3-1-0-0), traveled to western New Jersey and opened the season at the inaugural Eastern Exposure Series (EES) Tournament.

The Midget Major Stars open the event with a pair of games on Friday, Aug. 27, grabbing a 5-2 win over the Mercer Chiefs and a 14-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers Elite at the Bridgewater Ice Arena.

In the win over the Chiefs, Brody Simko (2G), Logan Dittenhafer, Shane Miller and Shane Kozlina each scored goals. Logan Scanlon (2A), Cole Mitchell (2A), Liam Varmecky, Maddox Rearic, Keith Smilowitz, Ethan Zupanc and Ray Janik all earned assists. Sam Boos earned his first Esmark "W" stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced.

In the 14-1 win over the Flyers Elite,  Ray Janik (3G, 1A), Ethan Zupanc (2G, 2A), Brody Simko (2G, 1A), Derek Pietrzyk (2G), Maddox Rearic (1G, 4A),  Logan Scanlon (1G, 2A), Liam Varmecky (1G, 1A), Keith Smilowitz (1G, 1A) and Logan Dittenhafer all scored goals. Justin Mettrick (4A), Shane Kozlina (3A), Shane Miller (2A), Liam McClain and Cole Mitchell all added assists. Nikita Volski earned the win in goal.

On Saturday the Stars grabbed a 7-0 shutout win over the Boston Hockey Academy at the Skylands Ice Center. Justin Mettrick (2G), Derek Pietrzyk (2G), Logan Dittenhafer (1G, 1A), Shane Miller (1G, 1A) and Ethan Zupanc (1G, 1A) scored goals for Esmark. Liam Varmecky (3A), Ray Janik (2A), Logan Scanlon, Maddox Rearic, Cole Mitchell and Brody Simko all earned assists. Sam Boos grabbed the win and shutout in goal, stopping all 24 shots he faced.

The Midget Major squad would drop their first game of the season on Sunday, falling 2-1 to the Philadelphia Jr Flyers. at the Bridgewater Ice Arena. Brody Simko scored the lone Stars goal and Logan Dittenhafer earned the lone assist. Nikita Volski suffered the loss in goal, turning aside 28 of the 30 shots he faced. as the Flyers managed to tie the game mid-way through the third period and then get the game winner with under four minutes remaining in regulation.  For the game, Esmark outshot Philly 44 - 30.

The U16 Esmark Stars also traveled to western New Jersey and opened the season at the inaugural Eastern Exposure Series (EES), grabbing  a perfect (4-0-0-0) weekend.

The Midget Minor Stars open the event on Friday, Aug. 27, with a 3-1 win over the Boston Hockey Academy at the Bridgewater Ice Arena.  Bill Kiray III (2G) and Joshua Coffee scored goals for the Stars.  Owen Logan, Elliot Lingle, Colin Ruffner and Mark Trischler earned assists. Ian Amaranto backstopped the win in goal for Esmark, stopping 24 of 25 shots he faced.

Then on Saturday, Aug. 28, the Stars grabbed a pair of shutout wins over the Westchester Express, 5-0,  and the Mercer Chiefs, 3-0, both at the Skylands Ice Center.

In the 5-0 shutout win over the Express, Aiden Briggs (2G), Maxwell Rutkowski (1G, 1A), Aaron Stawiarski and Elliot Lingle scored goals. Nathan Burlando (2A), Owen Logan, Billy Kiray and Wesley Schwarzmiller all earned assists, Goaltender Ian Amaranto picked up the win and shutout in goal for Esmark as he turned aside all 19 shots he faced.

In the 3-0 win over the Chiefs, Nathan Burlando (2G) and Wesley Schwarzmiller scored for the Stars. Maxwell Rutkowski was credited with the lone Stars assist. And goaltender Ian Amaranto picked up his third consecutive win and second consecutive shutout in goal for Esmark, stopping all 16 shots he faced.

The Stars U16 team closed the event on Sunday, grabbing a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Jr Flyers at the Bridgewater Ice Arena. Wesley Schwarzmiller (2G, 1A), Joshua Coffee (2G), Maxwell Rutkowski (1G, 1A) and Aiden Briggs were all credited with scoring goals. Aaron Stawiarski (2A) and Caden Lindo Canfield earned assists. And goaltender Ian Amaranto continued to shine as he picked up his fourth win of the showcase in goal, turning aside 30 of 31 shots he faced.

The U11 Stars, 2010 birth year, (0-2-0-0) enjoyed the weekend off.