Brett Ritchie, Michael Schumacher lead way to comeback wins; Friday’s Three Stars

No. 1 Star, Brett Ritchie, Niagara Ice Dogs (OHL)

Down 2-0 to the Ottawa 67s midway through the second period, two of the more experienced Ice Dogs put the team on their backs to lead a Niagara comeback attempt in Northeastern Ontario. It started with Brett Ritchie finding Ryan Strome for the first goal on the contest. That was the spark that the Ice Dogs apparently needed, as Shayne Rover wired home a shorthanded shot just over a minute later to tie the contest.

Ritchie, a selection of the Dallas Stars in the 2011 Draft, beat 67s backup goaltender Jacob Blair (who replaced Keegan Wilson in the first intermission) on an unassisted tally, capitalizing on a sloppy Ottawa breakout midway through the third period. Ritchie would also set up Strome's empty net clincher.

No. 2 Star: Michael Schumacher, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)

When it comes to racing apparatae, more people associate the name "Michael Schumacher" with single seater cars and not racing greyhounds. Friday night, the hockey version of Michael Schumacher was the Soo Greyhounds best player in a comeback win against the Sarnia Sting.

It was a bit of a shootout, two goalies, Matt Murray and JP Anderson, each playing at the top of their game and earning 3rd and 2nd star honours in the building, respectively for their performances as each team topped 40 shots on goal. Schumacher was the driving force behind the 'Hounds coming back from a 3-1 deficit, banging in a rebound off a Ryan Sproul shot with 1:37 left on the clock, which would stand as the winning goal. Schumacher also scored a second period goal that tied the game at 1.

No. 3 Star: Chris Driedger, Calgary Hitmen (WHL)

In the absence of Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers games during the NHL lockout, hockey fans in Alberta's two biggest cities will have to make do with the junior version pitting the Hitmen vs. the Oil Kings. Their first matchup was tonight, with Edmonton controlling the shot clock. Chris Driedger, him of the outstanding early season performance, turned away 34 shots from the vaunted Oil King offence to improve the Hitmen record to 3-0 with a 4-1 win. In doing so, he improved his own save percentage to an impressive .956, and helped break the Kings' regular season win streak at 14, dating back to last season.

Honourable Mention: Marek Langhamer, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)

Over the first weekend, the Czech Import was tagged with a loss and 1B goaltender Dawson MacAuley was hit with a win playing in back-to-back nights. Langhamer wasn't necessarily shaky in his first ever WHL start, but stopping just 18 of 21, there was room for improvement. MacAuley allowed three goals on six shots in just 5:02 against Red Deer Friday night. Shaun Clouston pulled MacAuley and put in Langhamer, who stopped every shot he faced until Charlie Inglis beat him on the powerplay midway through the third. By that point, the Tigers had scored four goals.

The Tigers would get a goal from Jayden Hart with 4:33 to go on the clock, Langhamer earning the win. On the other side, Patrik Bartosak was also in incredible form, stopping 39 of 44, but not enough.

Potent Notables: Moosehead Nathan MacKinnon was ejected from Halifax's home opener for his role in a brawl… Toronto prospect Stuart Percy scored a goal for Mississauga and added a shootout tally in a win against Windsor… Connor McDavid had an assist in Erie's 6-5 loss to Kingston… Big OHL clash in London, but John Gibson turned away 43 of 44 shots for a 2-1 Kitchener win... Three Habs' prospects, Brady Vail, Alex Galchenyuk, and Tim Bozon scored in their respective games tonight… Excellent goaltending performances out West: Jordon Cooke stopped 34 of 35 against Portland, while his opposite Cam Lanigan had a 31-save shutout…