Niagara IceDogs' Mikkel Aagaard gets first OHL hat trick: Saturday's 3 Stars

No. 1 star: Mikkel Aagaard, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)

Aagaard, like the IceDogs, is hitting his stride as the playoffs near. The 19-year-old Dane, who has done fine work as a top-6 forward, scored his first Ontario Hockey League hat trick to help Niagara rout the Ottawa 67's 8-3 in a potential playoff preview.

The night began with Aagaard (3G-1A, +4) scoring in the first period as Niagara built a quick 3-0 lead. The Frederikshavn, Denmark native buried his second on the first shift of the second, then took a feed from New York Islanders first-rounder Josh Ho-Sang 4:37 into the third for his hat trick.

“It was amazing," Aagaard told the St. Catharines Standard. "It’s a dream coming over here and all my buddies have hat tricks and it’s so hard to get one in a league like this."

Niagara is only three points behind fourth-place Ottawa with six games left in the season.

No. 2 star: Paul Bittner, Portland Winterhawks (WHL)

Oliver Bjorkstrand's goal streak ended, but for a good cause since Bittner (3G-2A, +1) was a force during a 6-2 'Hawks win over the Tri-City Americans. The 18-year-old, whose combination of size and finesse has made him a likely high NHL draft pick, had three points in the opening stanza, including the game's first goal 7:29 in on a setup from Bjorkstrand (2A, +1).

Evan Sarthou (46 saves) kept the Ams within sniffing distance until the midpoint of the third period. Bittner earned an assist on a clinching goal by Skyler McKenzie, then took a feed from Nic Petan (3A, +1, giving him 20 helpers in the last six games) to complete his hat trick with 1:40 left in the game. 

No. 3 star: Torrin White, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

White might not be having the age-19 season he had hoped for — he came into Saturday with just one goal in 15 games — but he busted out with his first Western Hockey League hat trick. The outburst helped the Warriors beat Saskatoon 7-1 and move within two points of slumping Swift Current for the final Eastern Division playoff berth. White (3G, +3) opened the scoring 1:53 into the game and struck again later in the period on a setup from Tampa Bay Lightning second-rounder Brayden Point (1G-3A, +1). The Medicine Hat native also scored in the second minute of the second.

Honourable mention: Thomas Schemitsch, Owen Sound Attack (OHL)

The 18-year-old defenceman continued his breakout season, scoring the first two goals of Owen Sound's 5-2 win against the Saginaw Spirit. Schemitsch (2G) got the icebreaker 3:28 into the game, then struck again 4:06 into the middle frame. The Thornhill, Ont., native has 42 points in 61 games on the season.

Potent notables — Lethbridge's 16-year-old goalie Stuart Skinner made 55 saves in a 4-3 defeat against Prince Albert ... Brandon's Tim McGauley (40), Rihard Bukarts (30) and Peter Quenneville (25) had milestone goals during a 9-1 win against Swift Current ... Davis Koch scored the winner with 2:36 left in Edmonton's 3-2 win against road-weary Calgary ... Defenceman Ryan Gagnon scored his first goal all season during Victoria's 4-3 shootout win against Prince George ... In the OHL, Erie's Connor McDavid, Barrie's Andrew Mangiapane and Saginaw's Dylan Sadowy each hit the 40-goal mark ... Plymouth's Alex Nedeljkovic made 57 saves during a 3-0 loss against Oshawa ... In the QMHL, Val-d'Or's 18-year-old Anthony Richard scored his 40th of the season.

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