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Grigorenko’s four-goal outburst bails out Remparts: Sunday’s 3 Stars

No. 1 star: Mikhail Grigorenko, Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

Cape Breton is one of the weaker teams in the Q this year, but the Screaming Eagles gave the favoured hosts in Quebec all they could handle tonight. Luckily, Grigorenko was there to bail out the Remparts enough that they could still get two points.

The Buffalo Sabres prospect scored all four goals for the Remparts in regulation, then Quebec got a goal from fellow Russian Nikita Kucherov in the circus to earn a 5-4 victory.

Grigorenko scored twice in the first period, and once in each of the last two. His third power-play goal of the game with 2:23 left in regulation looked like it would be the winner, but Alexandre Lavoie netted his second of the game 35 seconds later for Cape Breton to send it overtime.

With 16 goals and 36 points in just 18 games this season, Grigorenko now sits third in the scoring race, two points behind the P.E.I. duo of Josh Currie and Ben Duffy.

No. 2 star: Danick Martel, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL)

If it wasn't already clear that the torch was being passed in the Q, it became more evident Sunday when the Armada hammered the Saint John Sea Dogs 8-1 at Centre d'excellence Sports Rousseau.

Martel doubled his season scoring output with a hat trick, and added an assist for good measure. In his first 21 games, the soon-to-be 18-year-old from Drummondville had found the back of the net just three times.

With the win, the Armada movee into second place in the league with 32 points, while the Sea Dogs slipped under .500 and sit in 13th.

No. 3 star: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Portland Winterhawks (WHL)

The Danish import and 2013 draft prospect became the first WHL rookie to hit double digits in the goal column this season, scoring twice in Portland's 3-1 win over the Kamloops Blazers in a showdown between the league's top two teams.

Bjorkstrand has 11 goals now, as the Winterhawks continue to get solid contributions from throughout their roster. Portland scored 21 goals in three games over the weekend (including 9-5 and 9-1 wins over Vancouver and Spokane, respectively), and none came from sniper Ty Rattie.

The Winterhawks are cruising, winning 12 in a row and outscoring opponents 70-20 over that span. At 16-3-1-0, Portland owns the best winning percentage in the league.

Both teams were playing their third game in three days, and it showed throughout much of the game. But Portland's excellent defence and solid goaltending from Mac Carruth neutralized the Blazers' top scoring line, and Bjorkstrand beat Kamloops goalie Taran Kozun twice from the high slot on power-play chances to provide the margin of victory.

Meanwhile, the Blazers are stumbling, having lost four in a row and five of six after starting the season 16-0-0-1. Kamloops has scored just eight goals in those six games, and the Blazers are struggling to get offence from anyone other than the four-man wrecking crew of Tim Bozon, JC Lipon, Brendan Ranford and Colin Smith.

Kozun got the call instead of Cole Cheveldave Sunday, and looked very solid in net. The 18-year-old stopped 33 shots and stoned Rattie on three separate occasions with highlight-reel saves.

Potent notables: Payton Lee stopped 37 shots in regulation and overtime, and stoned the last four shooters he faced in the shootout, as Vancouver earned a much needed 4-3 win over struggling Prince George. The Giants played without leading scorer Marek Tvrdon, who has an arm infection...Defenceman Dalton Reum (2A, +3) had a solid night as Swift Current won on the road in Brandon, 3-2...Matej Machovsky stopped 40 shots in Brampton's 5-1 win over the Guelph Storm. Barclay Goodrow scored twice for the Battalion, including a shortie...Max Domi scored twice and added an assist as the Knights downed Sault Ste. Marie 5-3 in front of 8,708 in London...JP Anderson made 35 saves in Sarnia's 3-2 win over Sudbury. Reid Boucher scored the game-winner in the third...Matt Puempel scored his 15th and 16th goals of the season for Kitchener, and they held up as the Rangers won 2-1 at Oshawa. John Gibson made 35 saves for the Rangers...Nikolas Brouillard set a new career high with four points (1G-3A) in Drummondville's 5-4 win over Acadie-Bathurst. Brouillard had all four points in the first period as the Voltigeurs built a 5-0 lead and held on for dear life. Christoph Lalancette led the Titan with two goals and an assist...Petr Straka scored two late insurance goals and assisted on a tally earlier in the third period as Baie-Comeau won 5-2 in Val d'Or.