Blaine, MN - The North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) has announced the T1ER League Peak Performers from the T1ER / T1EHL Invitational event in Blaine, MN, and three members of the Pittsburgh Stars AAA Hockey Program were named.
Congratulations to Pittsburgh Stars AAA Hockey players Nikita Oleksiienko, U16 goaltender, Maxim Popienko, U15 forward, and Jacob Johnson, U15 goaltender, as all were honored as T1ER League Peak Performers for the T1ER / T1EHL Invitational event in Blaine.
Nikita Oleksiienko, U16 goaltender Peak Performer, posted a 2-0-0-0 record in Blaine, securing victories over the CarShield (2-1) and the Madison Capitols (3-2). Over the course of the two games, the Dnipro, Ukraine, native faced 75 shots, making 72 saves. Oleksiienko's standout performance at the T1ER event included making 40 saves on 42 shots against Madison and 32 saves on 33 shots against CarShield.
"Nikita came up big for us in Blaine," 16U Pittsburgh Stars head coach Yuri Krivokhija said. "His performance in both games was outstanding and he shut the door on both CarShield and Madison."
Maksim Popienko, 15U Forward Peak Performer, is the second overall leading scorer at the NAT1HL 15U level, second to teammate Brock Bienemann. Popienko added to his league total with another strong performance in Minnesota, tallying an impressive six points in four games. After notching one assist during game one, the New Kensington, PA, native went on a scoring frenzy, finding the back of the net in each of the remaining three games. Against both the Orange County Ice Dogs and Tri-State Spartans, Popienko netted a pair of goals as he rang up five goals over the course of the weekend.
Jacob Johnson, 15U Goaltender Peak Performer, posted back to back wins against the Orange County Ice Dogs and the Philadelphia Hockey Club, improving his NAT1HL season record to 3-1-0-0. Over the course of the weekend, the Johnstown, PA averaged just over 38 shots per game as he faced 77 shots, making 76 saves. In his two wins, Johnson earned his first shutout of the season after turning away all 29 shots against the Ice Dogs and posted an impressive .979 save percentage, stopping 47 of 48 shots he faced, in a 5-1 win over the Philly Hockey Club.
“Both Maksim and Jacob had outstanding weekends," said U15 Stars head coach Chris Stern. “Their hard work paid off in both ends of the ice. And they certainly contributed to our team's overall success at the event."
Players were chosen based on their performances in the regular season games that took place from Dec 13 - 16.
NAT1HL "Peak Performers" are selected by the NAT1HL scouting service, following the completion of each event ... top forward, defenseman and goaltender ... at each age level of play at the showcase.