Advertisement

Acadie-Bathurst Titan's Jordan Maher nets first QMJHL hat trick: Saturday's 3 Stars

Neate Sager
Jordan Maher (#16), of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL), Drummondville, Que., Oct. 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Ghyslain Bergeron
Jordan Maher (#16), of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL), Drummondville, Que., Oct. 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Ghyslain Bergeron

No. 1 star: Jordan Maher, Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL) 

Not so long ago, the Titan were enriched by a 50-goal campaign from Newfoundland and Labrador native Zach O'Brien, and now the goal scorer from Gander, 16-year-old Maher (3G, +4) is finding his grove. Positions to succeed can be few and far between with a young and struggling team, but Maher went to town by scoring on all three of his shots during the Titan's 5-1 win against the Charlottetown Islanders.

Maher, overage centre and fellow Newfoundlander Andrew Ryan (1G-4A, +4) and their linemate Jeffrey Truchon-Viel (1G-1A, +2) dominated play. Maher scored in each period, including the the icebreaker 5:07 into the contest and a clinching hat-trick goal with 1:59 left in the third period via a pass from defenceman Nicolas Latulippe (1A, +3).

Maher has 12 goals and 22 points across 42 games for the Titan, who have the basement locked up with a .330 point percentage. Interestingly enough, all four of his multi-point nights have come at the expense of Maritimes Division foes, including a four-pointer two weeks ago vs. Saint John.

No. 2 star: Maxim Lazarev, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)

Lazarev (3G-1A, +4) outshone two more highly heralded compatriots, teammate Evgeny Svechnikov and St. Louis Blues prospect Ivan Barbashev, while leading the Eagles to 7-1 drubbing of the Moncton Wildcats in their own barn. The line of Lazarev alongside Marcus Hinds (1G-3A, +5) and Stephen Anderson (1G-3A, +4) combined for a dozen points. Lazarev factored into all three of the goals that put the Eagles up 3-0 by the midpoint of the first period. The 18-year-old left wing completed his hat trick at 14:37 of the second.

No. 3 star: Tyrell Goulbourne, Kelowna Rockets (WHL) 

The Philadelphia Flyers prospect had a five-point night as Kelowna ran away from short-staffed Everett with a 9-3 home victory. Goulbourne (2G-3A, +4) got the Prospera Place party started with a goal that pulled the Rockets even after 20, then scored a short-hander that touched off a five-goal second frame. The 20-year-old's three assists also included a helper on San Jose Sharks prospect Rourke Chartier's Western League-leading 40th of the season.

Honourable mention: Maxime St-Cyr, Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)

The Drakkar had a point night during a 6-1 drubbing against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, with St-Cyr (3G, +1) breaking into the league lead in goals with 38 in 46 games. The overage from St-Charles, Que., scored on all three of his shots: power-play goal that tied the game in the second, last-minute tally in that frame and another strike with 8:28 to play. Montreal Canadiens-drafted captain Jérémy Grégoire (1G-2A, +2) and Frédéric Gamelin (4A, +3) also had big nights for Baie-Comeau.

Potent notables — Winnipeg Jets prospect Nic Petan (1G--2A, +3) had the overtime assist in Portland's 4-3 win at Seattle ... Tri-City's 17-year-old Evan Sarthou had his sixth shutout in 24 appearances, making 26 saves in a 2-0 win over Spokane ... Florian Baltraw (2G-1A, +1) was first star in Letbhridge's win over Prince George ... Overage Brett Stoven (3G-1A, +2) led Saskatoon to a 6-1 win over Moose Jaw ... In the OHL, Guelph's Justin Nichols had a 29-save shutout against the Plymouth Whalers, who won 3-0 despite having six regulars out with injuries ... Rookie Logan Brown scored the OT winner for Windsor against Sarnia, as the Spitfires moved within four points of the final Western Conference playoff berth with two games in hand over eighth-place Saginaw ... Barrie's Mackenzie Blackwood, NHL Central Scouting's top-ranked North American goalie, increased his save percentage to .917 by stopping 30-of-31 in the Colts' win over Saginaw ... In the QMJHL, New York Rangers prospect Ryan Graves scored the last-minute tying goal to help Quebec to a 3-2 shootout win over Shawinigan in the outdoor game in St-Tite, Que. ... Tim Weiser (2G-1, +2) gained bragging rights over fellow Swiss Timo Meier (1G, -3) in Sherbrooke's wiin over Halifax ...

 

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.