CarShield, Biggby, Esmark, and Indy capture Dixon Cup titles

February 21, 2023

The 2023 NAPHL T1ER Dixon Cup Playoffs and Championship concluded on Monday, February 20th in Troy, Michigan.

The NAPHL crowned four champions in the T1ER League and two Champions in the SHOW League.

Here is the look at the final day results:

18U T1ER Dixon Cup Championship: CarShield AAA 4 vs. Biggby Coffee 3 - In the Dixon Cup Championship game, CarShield AAA and Biggby Coffee met to take home the title as 18U Champs. In the first period, Biggby got ahead 1-0 with Garrett Carvounis netting a goal. Later in the period, CarShield evened the game 1-1 with a goal from JP Piwowarczyk. In the second, Biggby went back-to-back to take a 3-1 lead with Anthony Alvarado and Bryce Boucher scoring. Less than a minute later, CarShield got on the board with Ryan Andor to end the period 3-2. In the third, CarShield evened the game 3-3 with a goal from Tyler Dale. Late in the period, and on the penalty kill, CarShield scored a shorthanded goal with Ben Cameron to take a 4-3 win. Goaltender Brady Govero topped 30 of 33 shots in the championship game.

16U T1ER Dixon Cup Championship: Biggby Coffee AAA 4 @ CarShield AAA 3 - After a slow start, Biggby Coffee AAA exploded for three goals in the third to edge CarShield AAA 4-3 and win the Dixon Cup. After a scoreless first half of the game, Patrick Vogl netted the game’s first goal to put CarShield ahead. Just a few minutes later, Riley Fast struck on the power play to tie things up heading into the final frame. Then the teams traded three goals in two minutes as first Boston Cornic buried a shot from in between the circles for his second goal of the playoffs. CarShield would respond with a pretty goal of their own as Vogl went around the Biggby Coffee cage, threw it out in front to Brandon Catalano who made a beautiful touch pass to a wide open Logan Stawizynski who buried the puck past Andrew Klei to tie the game again. The tie would not last long as just 19 seconds later Marco Medico answered right back for Biggby Coffee. He came up the left wing, cut to the middle of the ice and beat Levi Niedert with a backhand shot from the slot. Cole Hutchinson would add an empty tally in the final minute to add insurance and it would be huge as Stawizynski scored with 14 seconds left to bring CarShield within one again. It would be too little too late as Biggby Coffee would survive the final seconds and be crowned Dixon Cup champions.

15U T1ER Dixon Cup Championship: Esmark Stars 3 vs. New Jersey Jr. Titans 2 (OT) – The Stars jumped out to an early lead and survived a comeback attempt by the Titans to win in overtime, 3-2. Esmark went up 2-0 in the 1^st period with back-to-back goals just :27 seconds apart from Aidan Moskovitz and Joseph Vecchio. The Titans came back with a 2^nd period goal from Billy Linardakis and a 3^rd period goal from Nick Kasich to tie the game at 2-2. In the overtime, Esmark’s Emmet McClaine converted on a 2 on 1 for the game-winner. Stars goalie Kyle McLaughlin made 28 saves in the win, while New Jersey goalie Andrew Skorupka made 35 saves in the loss.

14U T1ER Dixon Cup Championship: Indy Jr. Fuel 3 vs. CarShield AAA 2 (Shootout) – The Jr. Fuel jumped out to an early lead and survived a late CarShield comeback to claim the Dixon Cup in a shootout, 3-2. Indy took a 2-0 lead in the 2^nd period with goals from Charlie Rutz and Jake McIntosh. CarShield would answer with back-to-back goals from Ethan Feinstein later in the 2^nd period and Ryan Hogan in the 3^rd period. After a scoreless overtime, McIntosh and Nathan Apple would score in the shootout for the Jr. Fuel to secure the win. Hudson Kutchma made 31 saves in the win, while Nathan Arnold would make 29 saves in the loss.

18U SHOW Semifinals: Golden State Elite punched their ticket to the showcase championship after scoring five goals in the 3rd period and beating the Portland Jr. Winterhawks 6-2. Rohin Young scored in the 1st period for Golden State while their 3rd period offensive surge came from Max Oppenheim, Shreevatsa Sandilya, Roman Faz, Luca Tartaglia, and Emanuel Wetschnig. Zinger Solaiman made 27 saves for Golden State. The Lincoln Stars advanced to the championship after defeating St. Viator 6-2. Mike Baran led all skaters with a hat trick and four points for the Stars. Donovan Bradford buried a pair of goals for Lincoln while Xavier Tholl also had multiple points in the victory. St. Viator’s goals came twice from Charlie Hoffman.

18U SHOW Final: Golden State Elite outpaced the Lincoln Stars in the 18U Showcase Championship, winning by a final score of 4-1. Eamon Navin opened up the scoring 8:22 into the 1st period with his 3rd goal of the weekend. Rohin Young extended the lead with a goal before intermission. Matisse Blouin and Luca Tartaglia provided more insurance with scores in the middle frame. Lincoln got on the board 12:52 into the 3rd period from Roman Kubinec but it was too late to spark a comeback.

18U SHOW Consolation: Monument Hockey Academy brushed past the New Mexico Jr. Ice Wolves 10-1. Brody Greenwood contributed a hat trick in the win while Caleb Kallemyn and Thomas Thrutchley had a pair of goals and three points. Jeth Fogg was strong in net for Monument, stopping all but one of 27 shots faced. The Weber Mustangs scored a pair of goals in the 3rd period to overtake Clearwater Ice Storm American and secure the comeback victory. Gavin Lee got the Mustangs on the board in the 2nd period. Trailing heading into the 3rd, Boston Bradshaw and Alexander Denton both lit the lamp for Weber to provide the victory. The Vegas Jr. Golden Knights 16U T1ER squad took down the Dallas Penguins 2-1. Connor Beers broke the deadlock in the 1st for Vegas. Daniel Sullivan evened the scores for Dallas before Ryan Disbrow scored the eventual game winner for the Golden Knights. Jacob Brumm was the winning netminder. The Pilot Mound Buffaloes defeated the Texas Jr. Brahmas 4-3 in the shootout. Alexander Musyakevych and Isaiah Felix scored the shootout goals for Pilot Mound while their regulation goals came twice from Nicholas Chapman and once from Tyler Fairbairn. Pacific Ridge Hockey Club shutout the New Jersey Jr. Titans 3-0. Spencer Lyon was the backstop for Pacific Ridge, stopping all 33 shots faced in the shutout. Pacific Ridge scores came from Luke Harris, David Han, and Hayden Labovitch. Denver East High School took down the Tri State Spartans 3-1. Nicholas Chadd had a goal and an assist in the win while Matt Smith and Wyatt Woessner also found twine. Tri State’s lone goal came from Brody Burge.

16U SHOW Semi-Finals: In the first semi-final, it took 20 combined shooters in a shootout for Pilot Mound Academy to beat the Weber Mustangs, 5-4. Beau Murray had two goals and an assist for Pilot Mound in the win and Jake Brown and Jack Smith also scored. For the Weber Mustangs, Anders Waugaman had two goals and an assist and Cooper Ford and Avery Pezzolesi also scored. In the shootout, Owen Stewart netted the winner for Pilot Mound. Piet Mierau made 28 saves in the win, while Yair Perez made 39 saves in the loss. In the other Semi-Final, the Texas Warriors got 17 saves from Aden Zirogiannis in a 4-1 win over the Tampa Crunch. John Bowdich, Alexander Gorley, Eitan Hahn, and Yehor Chyzhevskyi scored for the Warriors, while Talon Whaley scored the lone goal for Tampa in the loss.

16U SHOW Final: Texas Warriors 2 @ Pilot Mount Hockey Academy 5 - The perfect season was not to be as the Pilot Mound Buffaloes defeated the Texas Warriors 5-2. Owen Stewart and Ryder Stimson got the scoring started for Pilot Mound with goals in the opening seven minutes. Hudson Haasz would score back-to-back goals to tie the game for the Warriors. Beau Murray scored before the end of the second period to put Pilot Mount back in the lead and then Riel Chartrand and Stimson added goals in the final minutes to secure the win for Pilot Mound. Piet Mierau was the winning goaltender as he made 32 saves while Walter Jimenez III suffered the loss, making 24 saves.

16U SHOW Consolation: Vegas beat Rose City 15U, 3-1. Ryan Williams had two goals and goalie Shayn Tarolla made 13 saves in the win for the Golden Knights. The New Jersey Titans Elite got two goals from both Matteo Darcy and Landon Hopwood, along with 21 saves from Scott Capan in a 7-2 win over the Texas Jr. Brahmas. Logan Slezak, Zachary Bahret, Yiorgos Bikakis, and Braden Kozlowski all had multi-point games as the Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning beat Park City, 4-3. The Clearwater Ice Storm topped Monument Hockey Academy 6-5 in a shootout as Robert Zettler netted the game deciding goal. Michael Alicea netted two goals in regulation. Ryan Loftus netted two goals while John Mayer stopped all 36 shots as St. Viator blanked the SISU Thunderbirds 2-0. Luka Remec turned aside all 30 shots he faced as the New Mexico Jr. Ice Wolves shutout the Rose City Pats 2-0. Mason Rhodus and Ian Mohr scored the game’s only two goals.

All-Time Dixon Cup Tier 1 Champions

2023: 18U-CarShield AAA, 16U-Biggby Coffee, 15U-Esmark Stars, 14U-Indy Jr. Fuel

2022: 18U-Northstar Knights, 16U-Esmark Stars, 15U-Reapers Hockey Association, 14U-Reapers Hockey Association

2021: 18U-Northstar Knights, 16U-Florida Alliance, 15U-CarShield AAA, 14U-Arizona Bobcats/Colorado Springs Tigers

2020: 18U-Meijer AAA, 16U-Gentry Academy, 15U-CarShield AAA

2019: 18U-Thunder Bay Kings, 16U-Meijer AAA, 15U-Rocky Mountain RoughRiders

2018: 18U-Esmark Stars, 16U-Arizona Bobcats, 15U-Rocky Mountain RoughRiders

2017: 18U-Madison Capitols, 16U-Esmark Stars, 15U-Washington Little Caps

2016: 18U-Madison Capitols, 16U-Omaha AAA

2015: 18U-New Jersey Jr. Titans, 16U-Omaha AAA

2014: 18U-Omaha AAA, 16U-Lansing Capitals

2013: 18U-Indiana Jr. Ice, 16U-Omaha AAA