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Plymouth Whalers' Alex Nedeljkovic has triumphant return: Thursday's 3 Stars

Nedeljkovic was named OHL Goaltender of the Year  last season (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)
Nedeljkovic was named OHL Goaltender of the Year last season (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)

No. 1 star: Alex Nedeljkovic, Plymouth Whalers (OHL)

Nedeljkovic was a true stopping for Plymouth in his first game back after a short absence due to injury, authoring a 30-save 1-0 shutout against the rival Windsor Spitfires and the ever-dangerous Josh Ho-Sang. Plymouth broke on top through Danny Vanderwiel 2:24 into the contest and turned it over to the reigning OHL goaltender of the year. Nedeljkovic, a Carolina Hurricanes second-rounder, had 12- and 13-save periods in the opening 40 minutes. It was an impressive showing, considering that the Whalers were reduced to five deffencemen due to overage Gianluca Curcuruto's suspension and Alex Peters being out with an injury.

The 18-year-old goalie wasn't as busy in the third as Yannick Rathgeb and the Whalers defence tightened up their game, but robbed Ryan Moore on the doorstep seven minutes into the frame to preserve the one-goal lead. Having a shutout win while being short-staffed was a statement win.

No. 2 star: Spencer Watson, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)

The Los Angeles Kings pick will be the answer to a trivia question. Who was the first out-of-town player to score a go-ahead goal at St. Catharines, Ont.'s Meridian Centre? Watson (2G, -1) buried the game-winner with 8:48 left to vault the Fronts to an eventual 5-2 win (with two empty-netters) over the Niagara IceDogs.

Dallas Stars-drafted goalie Brent Moran stopped 40-of-43 shots for Niagara, which had a chance to go up by two in the third period before Kingston's Lucas Peressini stoned Mitchell Fitzmorris with a right pad save on a breakaway. The Fronts made the most of their reprieve with two goals in 96 seconds to take the lead. Ryan Verbeek, who had a huge shot block earlier in the third, scored unassisted to tie the game before Watson went upstairs for the winner.

Watson, 18, might have had a hat trick in the final minute. Teammate Ryan Kujawinski tried to slide him the puck for an empty-netter, but fanned on it and had to tuck the puck home on his own.

No. 3 star: Jake Paterson, Saginaw Spirit

Peterborough Petes fans might have thought the days of seeing their beloveds bedevilled by a Detroit Red Wings goalie prospect were over when Petr Mrazek graduated from the Ottawa 67's three seasons ago. The good news is that Paterson, who had a 32-save shutout in a 4-0 Spirit romp over the Petes, isn't scheduled to return, barring a deadline trade to an Eastern team.

The overage, who by all merits should be in his rookie season as a pro were it not for the depth in Detroit's system, was simply impregnable. Paterson made half of his saves in the second period when the Petes pushed to get back into the game after going down 3-0 on the first shift of the frame on a goal by Connor Brown (1G-1A, +1).

Honourable mention: Carl Neill, Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)

The 18-year-old Neill (1G-1A) was first star of the Phoenix's come-from-behind 5-3 win over the Va-d'Or Foreurs after factoring into two special teams tallies. The defenceman whom the Calgary Flames invited to rookie camp wired home a power-play goal in the second period. Val-d'Or struck to go up 3-2 in the second minute of the final frame, but Neill got the second assist on a shorty that knotted the game for the third time. That set the stage for Charles-Eric Légaré (2G) to get the game-winner and the empty-netter in the final three minutes, with Montreal Canadiens fifth-rounder Daniel Audette (2A, +1) getting assists on each decisive tally.

Potent notables — Vancouver Canucks signing Cole Cassels (2A) and Ottawa Senators selection Tobias Lindberg (1G-1A, +1) helped Oshawa edge North Bay 2-1 for its OHL-best 10th win in its first 12 games ... Cape Breton overage Kyle Farrell now has a QMJHL-leading 16 goals in 16 games, although the Screaming Eagles dropped a 5-4 shootout decision to Baie-Comeau.

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