Troy, MI - The Esmark Stars U12 Red Pee Wee Major squad captured the 2024 North American T1ER Hockey League (NAT1HL) U12 Playoff Championship as they skated to a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over the Sylvania North Stars at the Buffalo Wild Wings Arena on Monday, Feb 19, in Troy, MI.

Brandon Abel closed the game with a goal one minute and 19 seconds into overtime to send the Stars home as Dixon Cup NAT1HL Playoff Champions.

The game winner was Abel's second overtime winning goal on Championship Monday, as he also tallied the winning goal in the Stars 5-4 semi-final overtime win over the Windsor Spitfires. 

Maximillian Norman, George Lewarchik and Tyler Avolia scored the Stars regulation goals in the win over the North Stars. Tristan Waite (3A), Maddox Pagley and Brandon Abel were all credited with assists. Goaltender Ixander Zamias was the winning goaltender.

The Stars qualified for the Championship game with a 5-4 overtime semi-final win over the Windsor Spitfires on Monday morning on Brandon Abels goal 3:34 seconds into the first extra frame. Nicholai Rosvanis, Phillip Dunn Jr (1G, 1A), Micah Schenk (1G, 1A) and Tristan Waite scored for the Stars. Maximillian Norman and Brandon Abel added assists. Issac Helsel was the winning goaltender.

The Stars advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-1 win over the Esmark Stars White U12 squad on Sunday in the division's quarter-finals. Micah Schenk (3G, 1A) led the way with a three-goal hat-trick. Maximillian Norman (1G, 1A), Maddox Pagley (1G, 1A) and Tyler Avolia (1G, 1A) were also credited with the Stars Red squad's goals. Christian Gimigliano, George Lewarchik, Brandon Abel and Phillip Dunn Jr were credited with assists. Ixander Zamias was the winning goaltender.

In round-robin play the Stars captured the top spot in their bracket with a 2-0-0-1 record.

They opened round-robin action with a 8-0 win over the Tri-State Spartans on Friday. Maximillian Norman (2G), Nicholai Rosvanis (2G), Brandon Abel (2G), Tristan Waite and Phillip Dunn Jr were credited with the Stars goals. Micah Schenk (2A), Enzo Vickers, Maddox Pagley, Tyler Wingenroth, and Christian Gimigliano all were credited with assists. Issac Helsel was the winning goaltender.

In game two, on Saturday, the Stars skated to a 6-1 win over the Seattle Jr Kraken. Tristan Waite (2G), Nicholai Rosvanis (1G, 1A), Christian Gimigliano (1G, 1A), Micah Schenk and Tyler Avolia were credited with the Stars goals. Tucker Howell (2A), Enzo Vickers, Austin Kumnik and Brandon Abel were credited with assists. Ixander Zamias was the winning goaltender.

The Stars closed round-robin play dropping a 3-2 (OT/SO) to CarShield AAA on Saturday evening. Maddox Pagley (1G, 1A) and Nicholai Rosvanis were credited with the Stars goals. Caven Walden and Micah Schenk were credited with assists. Issac Helsel helped guide the Stars through regulation and overtime, but CarShield outscored the Stars in the three-man shootout to strap the goaltender with the OT/SO loss.