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Niagara IceDogs’ Brent Moran makes 54 saves to stymie Knights: Friday’s 3 Stars

Neate Sager

No. 1 star: Brent Moran, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)

Moran, now Niagara's goalie of present following Chris Festarini's exit on Thursday, stood on his head by making 54 saves to help callow Niagara hold off the mighty London Knights 6-5. The upset completed the unlikeliest season sweep the OHL should see this season, with the 19th-place IceDogs now counting two triumphs over the MasterCard Memorial Cup-host Knights among their 11 victories on the season.

Moran, whose defence corps included four fellow 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old rookie, kicked out 17 Knights shots in the first period to help Niagara open a 2-0 lead. The Orleans, Ont., native kept it up in the second period, getting his body in front of several excellent close-range chances. The Knights, as so often happens when they fall behind on home ice, got a string of power plays and pulled even, twice tying the game almost immediately after the IceDogs had retaken the lead. A rather soft call on the Knights with 1:31 remaining, though, created a 5-on-3 and opened the door for Brendan Perlini (2G-1A, +3) to roof a shot in the top corner to give Niagara the lead for good.

With the victory, Moran has his first three-start win streak in the OHL. He's stopped a whopping 134 shots over those games.

No. 2 star: Roland McKeown, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)

McKeown (2G-2A, +3) managed to get four points and only be on the ice for one goal against on a night when both Kingston and Ottawa 67's defencemen handled the puck like every opposing forecheck was their Secret Santa recipient. Kingston finally came out on top 8-5 — with a 51-15 edge on the shot counter — after scored three goals in as many minutes late in the third period. The 17-year-old McKeown had the primary assist on Robert Polesello's game-winner with 7:32 left. The projected NHL first-rounder also scored twice on perfectly placed point shots in the second period, giving him his first two-goal night in the OHL.

The Listowel, Ont., native had seven points in the last two games before the break, so the OHL already has a player of the (short) week.

No. 3 star: Cristiano DiGiacinto, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)

Defence and goaltending went on holiday early, judging by how the Spitfires' 11-6 win over the Saginaw Spirit unfolded. DiGiacinto (3G-1A, +4) was named first star inside the Dow Events Center after notching his first OHL hat trick. The 17-year-old free-agent signing opened the scoring fewer than two minutes into the game, starting an opening onslaught where Windsor took a 6-1 lead after 20 minutes. DiGiacinto scored against midway through the second period to open an 8-2 cushion and completed his hat trick with just more than seven minutes remaining. Overall, the Hamilton native has 12 goals and 21 points over 25 games since Windsor picked him up.

Honourable mention: Connor Chatham, Plymouth Whalers (OHL)

The 18-year-old Chatham got the third-period tying goal and converted in the shootout to help the Whalers win 4-3 at Oshawa, snapping their nine-game losing skid. Sophomore goalie Alex Nedeljkovic also came up big, making 36 saves and stopping all three shootout tries.

Honourable mention: JC Campagna, Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)

While Chatham helped end a streak, Campagna (3G, +1) helped extend Moncton's win streak to seven with his hat trick in a 5-4 win over the Halifax Mooseheads. The overage Texan who's toiled for seven junior teams in four provinces got to the net to score two early goals as the Mooseheads and Wildcats traded tallies back and forth for the first 30 minutes, then completed the trick with a marker that opened a 5-3 lead after two.

Potent notables — Phoenix Coyotes first-rounder Max Domi scored two goals in London's loss ... Samuel Dove-McFalls' first QMJHL goal spurred Saint John by Cape Breton, 3-2 ... Drummondville's Jérome Verrier (2G-1A, +2 in a win over Chicoutimi) reached the 25-goal mark ... Blainville-Boisbriand had six goal scorers in its nationally televised 6-2 win over Charlottetown, with Tyler Brown (1G-1A, +2) getting his first two-point game in the Q ... San Jose Sharks second-rounder Gabryel Paquin-Boudreau got his second of the night with seven seconds left in OT to give Baie-Comeau a win at Victoriaville.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.