This past weekend, Nov. 17-18, the 16U and 18U Esmark Stars AAA Hockey teams returned to the friendly confines of Pittsburgh Ice Arena for a weekend showdown with the USPHL's Skipjacks AAA Hockey Club.
The Stars and Skipjacks U16 squads split the spirited weekend series as the Skipjacks upended the Stars 6-2 on Saturday and Esmark returned to the win column on Sunday with a 5-3 win. The two-game series split leaves the U16 Stars with an overall record of 13-11-2-1.
The U18 Stars picked up a pair of home wins (4-0 and 4-1) over the Skipjacks 18U squad. The pair of wins improved the 18U Stars overall record to 21-7-1-1.
Danny Mitchel recorded a shutout, stopping all 34 shots he faced, in the 4-0 win on Saturday. Gio Palumbo (1 goal and 1 assist), Corbin Ragno, Raman Yerameichyk and Jackson Dobbs each found the back of the net. Ty Stewart and Matsvei Kurylovich each recorded a pair of assists and Will Studt and Dustin Geregach each added a helper.
On Sunday, Parker Rey backstopped the Stars stopping 33 of 34 shots he faced to get the win in goal. Jackson Dobbs (1 goal, 2 assists), Ty Stewart (1G, 1A), Gio Palumbo (1G, 1A) and Cole Ferri recorded goals; and Dustin Geregach and JT Schmizzi picked up assists.
The U15 Stars were idle this weekend. Their overall record stands at 13-9-2-1.
All three Stars Midget teams are off for the Thanksgiving weekend. They return to action the following weekend, Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, at the ECEL Holiday Classic in Northford, CT.