Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Boone Jenner’s 5-point game leads Sunday’s 3 Stars

No. 1 star: Boone Jenner, Oshawa Generals (OHL)

The captain steered the ship from the rocks, getting a hat trick plus two assists while helping the Generals beat the Niagara IceDogs 6-4 to cut the series lead to 2-1. Jenner started off strongly, pinging the crossbar in the first period, then took advantage of Niagara penalties by sniping two second-period goals to give Oshawa a lead through two periods.

Jenner was also prominent in the game's late stages. On the ensuing faceoff following a game-tying goal by Scott Laughton, Jenner got control of the puck and made a fine pass to Lucas Lessio, who silenced the St. Catharines crowd by beating Niagara's Mark Visentin to restore the Generals lead. Jenner then locked down the win in the final minute when the IceDogs had a 6-on-4 advantage and seemed like a good bet to force overtime. The Columbus Blue Jackets second-rounder won a puck battle just inside the Oshawa blueline and shot the puck down the ice, right into the vacated net.

The Generals also got big nights from two draft-year players. Laughton had four points, while Daniel Altshuller stopped 46-of-50 shots in his first OHL start.

No. 2 star: Philip Lane, Brampton Battalion (OHL)

The Phoenix Coyotes second-round pick, who lost part of his season to a concussion, got a hat trick to help the Battalion shade the Sudbury Wolves 4-2 and go up 2-0 in their first-round series.

Lane got started with a power-play goal in the second that helped Brampton to take a lead into the final 20 minutes. Normally the Battalion can make a late lead stand up, but Sudbury levelled when Charlie Dodero's low, hard shot ricocheted off goalie Matej Machovsky, then off Wolves winger Nathan Pancel and into the goal.

That hardly staggered the Battalion. Lane untied the game with 6:01 left, digging hard for the net and diving to deflect Brett Mackie's pass home. Wolves defenceman Ryan Hanes had him covered perfectly and Lane just got his stick in the perfect spot. Lane then added the empty-netter, giving the Battalion two hat-trick scorers in as many games.

No. 3 star: Michael Curtis, Belleville Bulls (OHL)

The Bulls would be staring into the abyss of an 0-3 deficit if not for Curtis, whose third-period short-handed goal made it possible for them to beat Ottawa 4-3 in overtime. The 19-year-old has been a terrific penalty killer throughout in the series, helping limit a dangerous Ottawa power play to just one goal in 12 chances, but he took it up a notch on his goal. Curtis nicked a Sean Monahan pass out of the air and went off on a 150-foot breakaway, deking Petr Mrazek to give life to Los Toros. The Jordan Mayer-Curtis-Adam Payerl line also delivered in overtime, with Mayer scoring the winning goal after using the full width of Belleville's Olympic-sized ice to motor into the score zone.

Honourable mention: Francis Ménard, Guelph Storm (OHL)

The Storm beat the Plymouth Whalers with a thorough team effort but certainly are in line for some Three Stars love. Ménard (1G-1A, +3) did some great grunt work in the third period. First he poked in the game-winning goal with 9:47 remaining after the Storm did a great job of winning a faceoff to set up a point shot and rebound chance. The 20-year-old Ménard also helped protect the lead, assisting on the empty-net clincher. He's scored in both games of the series.

Honourable mention: Kevin Sundher, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

The Buffalo Sabres prospect, whom Brandon got from Victoria in early Juanuary, has had trouble giving the Wheat Kings a high rate of return when he's been healthy. He also missed 13 late-season games with concussion-like symptoms. However, Sundher was in good form with one goal and one assist while helping Brandon beat the Calgary Hitmen 4-1 to take a 2-1 series lead in their Eastern Conference quarter-final.

Potent notables — Carolina Hurricanes pick Keegan Lowe scored the late game-winner to help Edmonton open a 2-0 series lead vs. Kootenay ... In the OHL, Seth Griffifth scored two power-play goals to lead London's 3-2 comeback win at Windsor.

(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.