Saturday’s 3 Stars: Kuchin leads Wolves to big road win

No. 1 star: Andrey Kuchin, Sudbury Wolves (OHL)

Wolves coach Trent Cull recently reunited his big line of San Jose Sharks prospect Michael Sgarbossa with Kuchin and Toronto Maple Leafs-drafted left wing Josh Leivo. It paid off huge Saturday, as Kuchin had two goals and one assist to help Sudbury win 5-3 at Belleville and scoot up to fourth in their conference with an impressive .603 point percentage.

It was Kuchin's second three-point effort in the three games since the big line has been put back together. The 20-year-old Russian got the all-important 2-0 goal off a sweet feed from Leivo in the first period, then tallied again in the second period to chase Bulls goalie John Chartrand. Kuchin reciprocated by feeding Leivo for an insurance goal in the final frame.

The Sgarbossa-Leivo-Kuchin line was devastating during the playoffs a year ago. Sudbury didn't have home-ice advantage for their first-round series vs. Ottawa, but at the rate they're going, they might be able to start the second season on home ice.

No. 2 star: Dominik Uher, Spokane Chiefs (WHL)

The Pittsburgh Penguins fifth-round choice scored twice and also had an assist in Spokane's big 5-3 divisional win over the league-leading Tri-City Americans. Uher did his best work early in the game. The Americans scored less than five minutes in, but Uher poked home a rebound just 31 seconds later and then assisted on Todd Fiddler's wraparound goal 1:04 after that to Tri-City in a chase position for the rest of the night. The Czech forward also helped Spokane survive a late 6-on-4 situation by scoring the empty-net clincher.

No. 3 star: Garret Sparks, Guelph Storm (OHL)

The Leafs are on a two-game slide, but at least their draft picks had pretty nice Saturdays. Sparks made 32 saves, many falling under the heading of stellar, to help the Storm post a 3-0 shutout win over Peterborough on the road one night after they were skunked on home ice. (Figure that out.)

Honourable mention: Lukas Sutter, Saskatoon Blades (WHL)

Sutter's two-goal, two-assist night paced Saskatoon to an 8-6 win over the Prince Albert Raiders for their fourth consecutive win. A game with 14 goals can fairly be called a Wild West shootout, eh? The Blades took a shaky one-goal lead into the third period, but pulled away thanks to Sutter tallying twice in a span of less than four minutes, including a short-handed goal that stretched the lead out to 7-4. That was just enough for the Blades. Prince Albert rookie defenceman Josh Morrissey, meantime, had a four-point night of his own.

Honourable mention: Brandon Maxwell, Mississauga-St. Michael's Majors (OHL)

Twenty-four hours after his old Sarnia Sting friends beat him five times on 11 shots, Mad Maxx and the Majors buckled down and blanked the powerhouse Plymouth Whalers 2-0. The Majors played a fairly safe defensive game, but Maxwell was dialled in as he stopped all 24 shots from the team which leads the Ontario league in goals. It was, as hard as this might be to believe given the reputation they had a year ago, the first shutout all season for Mississauga. One can only imagine the measure of satisfaction Maxwell took from bouncing back to get the bagel, especially since he was on the wrong end of a Game 7 vs. Plymouth last season.

Honourable mention: Josh Currie, P.E.I. Rocket (QMJHL)

On the same night that he was named team captain, Currie went out scored two decisive goals early in the third period to help the struggling Rocket cool off Chicoutimi 6-3. P.E.I. was fresh off getting shellacked 8-2 on home ice by the Shawinigan Cataractes, so the Charlottetown native's effort was presumably a major boost to team morale. The 19-year-old Currie put P.E.I. ahead 3:46 into the final frame, then tallied again 4 1/2 minutes later to take the wind out of a tiring Chicoutimi team's sails. Matthew Bursey, who had three assists, set up both of Currie's counters.

Potent notables — Brandon Wheat Kings rookie goalie Curtis Honey — twin brother of Seattle forward Connor Honey — made 46 saves in a 4-3 shootout loss to Victoria. The Wheat Kings are 0-2-0-1 since trading for the Royals' star, Kevin Sundher ... Anaheim Ducks first-rounder Emerson Etem scored twice for Medicine Hat, giving him 37 ... Ty Rattie scored his WHL-best 39th ... Draft-year Kamloops Blazers forward Tim Bozon also had a two-goal night ... In the OHL, Nashville Predators prospect Austin Watson scored his first two goals for London Knights ... Signed Pittsburgh Penguins pick Tom Kühnhackl had one goal and one assist to help Niagara beat Barrie 4-1 to sweep a home-and-home. Ryan Strome had one assist while playing with a broken nose ... Sarnia's Charlie Sarault burned his former Kingston team for three points, moving within one of league scoring leader Tanner Pearson, who's played nine fewer games ... In the QMJHL, Val-d'Or rookie Anthony Mantha scored with one second left in overtime to beat Quebec 5-4. It was Mantha's first two-goal game ... Saint John Sea Dogs 17-year-old goalie Sébastien Auger had his first career shutout.

(Game recaps available on the news page.)

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet (photo: OHL Images).