Gazzola nets a trick from the blueline in Foreurs win over Victo: Sunday’s 3 stars

No. 1 star: Randy Gazzola, Val-d’Or Foreurs (QMJHL)

Gazzola picked a fine night to net his first multi-goal game. The Foreurs’ defender scored a hat trick, added an assist to complete a four-point night and was named first star in Val-d’Or’s 7-5 barnburner win over Victoriaville.

Gazzola was a major factor in the Val-d’Or attack. The Foreurs scored five goals, including two Gazzola markers, on the man advantage to go 5-for-6 in the contest.

The trifecta gave Gazzola 11 goals on the year, four more than the seven he mustered last season between Halifax and Val-d’Or.

Louick Marcotte scored a goal and added two assists for Val-d’Or, who improved to 24-11-1-0 on the year. Nicolas Aubé-Kubel netted a pair of goals. Keven Bouchard held on for the win in a rare start. He made 25 saves.

Gazzola’s former teammate Matthew Boudreau and Jan Mandat each had a goal and an assist for the Tigres, while three Tigres registered two assists apiece: Jonathan Diaby, Angelo Miceli and Gabriel Gagné. Victoriaville dropped to 13-17-2-2.

No. 2 star: Max Domi, London Knights (OHL)

Domi was a big factor in the Knights’ eighth win in nine tries over Kingston.

The son of Tie scored twice and assisted on two others in London’s 6-4 home win over the Frontenacs. Domi had a three point first frame, where he scored twice, and earned a secondary assist on Matt Rupert’s game winning goal that sunk the Fronts.

The four-point night extends Domi’s point-scoring streak to six games, where he has 16 points in that span.

The win keeps London rolling and keeping pace with Midwest Division-leading Erie (more on them later). The 2014 Memorial Cup hosts improved to 25-6-1-2 on the year. Forward Brett Welychka had a goal and two assists in the win, while Chris Tierney had a goal nad an assist.

Kingston dropped to 17-11-2-2, still enough for third in a weak Eastern Conference.

No. 3 star: Matthew Mancina, Guelph Storm (OHL)

Call this more of an accumulative star, but it’s still well deserved.

Mancina earned his second shutout in as many nights as the Storm dominated the CHL’s no. 1 team, the Erie Otters, 5-0. They were his first two shutouts of the season.

Mancina only had to make 21 saves; the defensive help was top notch for a second night in a row.

Scott Kosmachuk scored twice to keep Guelph two points behind London for second in the Midwest. Robby Fabbri and Brock McGinn each had a goal and an assist in the win.

The loss was only Erie’s fifth of the season. Devin Williams made 32 saves.

Honourable mention: Jérémy Grégoire, Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)

Grégoire scored twice and added an assist in Baie-Comeau’s 5-2 win in Quebec. The win was the Drakkar’s third in a row in front of over 11-thousand fans at Colisée Pepsi.

Grégoire hit the 20 goal mark with the pair. Baie-Comeau improved to 23-8-1-3 with the win. Frédéric Gamelin had a marker and two apples in the win. Philippe Cadorette made 27 saves for the W.

Quebec dropped to 18-11-3-3 with the loss. The Drakkar managed to score two goals on only four shots in the second stanza, a move that prompted the hook for starter François Brassard, who got tagged for the loss.

Honourable mention: Brayden Point, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

Point had an identical night to Grégoire’s: he notched a pair of goals and forged an assist in a 5-2 win. The Warriors dispatched the Kamloops Blazers.

Point did his damage on the scoresheet early: his assist came on the first goal of the game, and his two goals came in an efficient 1:25 in the second period.

The game wasn’t a great matchup on paper. Moose Jaw’s win gives them a record of 9-21-3-3, while Kamloops’ loss pegs them to the basement of the West with a 9-22-2-2 mark, but games are played on the ice, where this one was an end-to-end affair.

Justin Paulic got the win in net, stopping 24 shots, while Taran Kozun got the hook after two and the loss, with 26 saves. Cole Kehler had a ten-save unblemished third in just under 18 minutes.

Notables: Both the Saint John-Moncton and Shawinigan-Rimouski games were cancelled Sunday due to inclement weather. … Kevin Spinozzi scored twice in Sault Ste. Marie’s solid 5-1 victory over visiting Kitchener. Matt Murray stopped 31 shots. … Oil Kings goalkeeper Tristan Jarry made a case for his Team Canada omission with a 27-save shutout he laid on Saskatoon. Edmonton won the game 4-0. … Frédéric Bergeron scored twice but it wasn’t enough to stop Blainville-Boisbriand from falling to Acadie-Bathurst 4-3 in a shootout. Joël Blanchard scored the only goal in the sixth round of the shooting gallery to win. … Chiefs netminder Eric Williams stole the show in Everett with a 29-save goose egg in Spokane’s 2-0 win. … Nathan Pancel lit the lamp at 3:33 of extra fun to give Sudbury a 1-0 win at home over North Bay. Franky Palazzese grabbed the 25-save shutout. … Louis-Philip Guindon earned a 33-save goose egg and Frédérick Gaudreau got a goal and two assists in Drummondville’s 4-0 win in Gatineau. … Hitmen blueliner Kenton Helgesen scored and added two apples in Calgary’s 5-2 win over Swift Current. Calder Brooks had two assists. … QMJHL castoff Jack Flynn stopped 37-of-39 shots and earned first star honours for Owen Sound to defeat the Windsor Spitfires 3-2. … Coleman Vollrath stopped 30-of-31 and six different Royals scored in Victoria’s 6-1 thrashing of Lethbridge. … Simon Desbiens scored his second game winner in as many nights and Francis Desrosiers steered aside 39 shots in Sherbrooke’s 3-2 overtime win over Rouyn-Noranda. … Ty Edmonds made 41 saves in Prince George’s 3-1 win in Vancouver, a game where only two assists were made on four total goals.