Niagara IceDogs’ Mark Visentin stops 44 pucks to top Friday’s Three Stars

No. 1 Star - Mark Visentin, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)

With the Niagara Ice Dogs as the odds on favourite to win their series against the Brampton Battalion, you probably wouldn't have expected them to get out-shot to the extent they did in Game 1 of their OHL Eastern Conference semifinal series at home. It was a very high-event, high-excitement game, yet each goaltender kept the other team off the score sheet despite the shots being 36-26 after regulation time, with Mark Visentin the busier of the two, oddly enough, given Niagara's star power.

Visentin, with the score tied 1-1 in the third period, made a terrific sliding save to rob Patrik Machac with his left pad. All-in-all, with the Ice Dogs taking the first game and drawing first blood on an OT goal by David Pacan, Visentin stopped 44 of 45 Brampton attempts. Not bad for a guy who had his equipment stolen the night before the game.

No. 2 Star - Ty Rattie, Portland Winterhawks (WHL)

We expected Kamloops and Portland to be a dynamic series offensively, and Game One certainly didn't disappoint. After Kamloops took a somewhat surprising lead early on, the Winterhawks fought back, forcing the Blazers' Cole Cheveldave to make a number of saves. Rattie had the only marker for Portland through two, but, down 3-1 going into the third, him and linemate Sven Bartschi went to work.

Rattie and Bartschi were in on the first four Portland goals, with Rattie banging home a rebound in front to tie the game with 9:51 to go, then feeding a puck to Brad Ross on a Portland powerplay with 5:13 left to give the 'Hawks their first lead of the game, and the eventual winner as they came back for a 5-3 win.

No. 3 Star - Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)

Fast-forward to halfway through the third period of Game One of the Chicoutimi-Shawinigan series. The Saguenéens are on the road, down 6-3 on the road, go to the penalty kill, and get a goal from Jean-Gabriel Pageau, the Ottawa Senators draft pick from last June. Pagueau's goal represented his third point on the night, and sparked a wild comeback from the Saguenéens in a barnburner at Shawinigan's Centre Bionest.

The third period saw seven goals in total, three from Shawinigan and four from Chicoutimi, and it took overtime to settle this contest. Pageau would score his second on the night 10:05 into the period, and while it wasn't never really a question that Chicoutimi got good value when they traded for Pageau from Gatineau earlier this season, this has to make it all the more sweet.

Honourable Mention: Shane Prince, Ottawa 67s (OHL)

Last Friday, Shane Prince scored a hat-trick against the Belleville Bulls on the Sportsnet's nationally-televised Friday Night Hockey in a game that sent his 67s to the second round. As if the Senators fans didn't have enough to cheer about this spring, seeing a few of their top CHL prospects do well in the playoffs has to be fun. Prince scored twice again on Friday Night Hockey in Game 1 against the Barrie Colts, first on a breakaway and then 3:26 later, tipping in a Marc Zanetti point shot.

Honourable Mention: Zack Phillips, Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)

The Sea Dogs scored 34 times in their first round series against Cape Breton, and expecting a similar pace in the second round against Baie-Comeau would have been crazy. But then Saint John came out and put nine goals past the Drakkar. Zack Phillips led the way with two goals and two assists for the Sea Dogs, along with a game-high six shots on goal.

Honourable Mention: John Gibson, Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

John Gibson recorded the night's only shutout, stopping 40 pucks to lead Kitchener to a 2-0 Game 1 win over Plymouth. Now, Plymouth came out sloppy in the first round against Guelph, dropping the first two games at home before rallying for four straight, but in those two games they had launched an assault on the Storm net, taking 47 shots and 34 shots in each game. Gibson was undaunted by the task tonight, making 16 saves in the third period alone.

Honourable Mention: Joel Edmundson, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

Joel Edmundson scored just four goals all year for Moose Jaw in 56 games, but the defensive defenceman didn't live up to his billing on Friday, scoring an unlikely pair of goals (putting them past Tyler Bunz, no less), the only two the 'Jaw recorded, in their 2-1 Game 1 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Potent Notables: Charles Coyle didn't carry over his torrid scoring pace from the first round of the playoffs in Game One against Baie-Comeau, scoring just a goal and three points... Alexandre Comtois had three assists for Québec, while Mikhail Grigorenko was held off the score-sheet... In that game, Nathan MacKinnon set a Halifax record for playoff goals by a 16-year old with seven... Petr Straka had a goal and two assists for Rimouski, including the empty-net clincher in Game 1 over Blainville-Broisbriand... Christian Ouellet had two goals in the Chicoutimi/Shawinigan shootout, and Alexandre Chaput had four assists... in the "O," Austin Watson had two goals and an assist for London... To the "Dub," Emerson Etem was given five-and-a-game for kneeing just 3:37 into Medicine Hat's 2-1 loss... Curtis Valk broke Warriors' Luke Siemens' shutout bid with :54 seconds left in that game... Brandon's Corbin Boes made 45 stops in a 2-1 Game 1 loss to Edmonton... Brad Ross scored the 5-3 clincher for Portland, but Kamloops' Cheveldave stopped 41 of 46 pucks... Peanut butter jar expert Darren Kramer had a goal and an assist in regulation for the Spokane Chiefs... Mitch Holmberg scored the overtime goal in that one to give the Chiefs a 1-0 series lead.