Jayce Hawryluk gets 4 points, Wheat Kings off to WHL final: Friday's 3 Stars

No. 1 star: Jayce Hawryluk, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

The Wheat Kings will play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time in a decade after Hawryluk (2G-2A, +2) and his teammates crushed Calgary 8-2 to win the conference final, scoring five goals in fewer than seven minutes during the second period. Hawryluk, whom the Florida Panthers chose with their second choice last June after landing Aaron Ekblad, was in on three of those goals.

Brandon was down a goal until Calgary Flames-drafted defenceman Eric Roy (1G-1A, +4), who had an exception series, scored at 8:35 of the second. Hawryluk drew a helper on another defenceman goal, by Ryan Pilon for a 2-1 edge. Rookie Nolan Patrick (1G-2A, +2) scored 10 seconds after that go-ahead goal, chasing Calgary goalie Mack Shields. Hawryluk scored off his own rebound to open a 4-1 lead and then had the primary assist on a tally from New Jersey Devils first-rounder John Quenneville (2G, +1).

Hawryluk, one of 10 Manitobans on the Wheat Kings, also scored on a third-period breakaway. That was his 18th point in 12 playoff games, sixth-best in the WHL. Quenneville is fifth with 19.

No. 2 star: Jackson Whistle, Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

Whistle made 42 saves, allowing only a third-period goal to Winnipeg Jets prospect Nic Petan, during Kelowna's 2-1 overtime win against Portland that opened a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference final. Whistle's cord-cottage counterpart Adin Hill (47 saves) stole the show to some extent with some sensational stops in OT before Tyson Baillie scored on the Rockets' 20th shot of the sudden-victory session by one-timing a pass out of the corner from rookie Dillon Dubé.

On the whole, Whistle was a primary reason the Rockets got to overtime. The hometown goalie from West Kelowna, B.C., made 16 saves across the opening 20 minutes. In the second, he robbed playoff scoring leader Oliver Bjorkstrand, who was sprung for a breakaway after defenceman Josh Morrissey stumbled on the soft springtime ice.

After allowing the late equalizer, Whistle shook it off and matched Hill in overtime, making a tricky left-pad save on Miles Koules. Since being pulled in a Game 3 loss; the 19-year-old goalie has responded by stopping 82-of-85 Winterhawks offerings. 

No. 3 star: Anthony Cirelli, Oshawa Generals (OHL)

Cirelli (1G-1A, +1) continued to provide the spark for the Generals, who beat North Bay by a multi-goal margin for the first time with a 4-1 win that opened a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference final. The rookie forward drew an assist on a goal 41 seconds into the game. The teams were level inside of the three-minute mark of the second when Cirelli initiated a pretty three-man passing play that gave Ottawa Senators prospect Tobias Lindberg (2A) an open look. The rebound came right to Cirelli, who deposited it for his first playoff goal. Two power-play goals in the third iced the win.

Potent notables — Petan ran his playoff point streak to 16 games. It was also his 87th career playoff game, tying the WHL record. Oshawa's Ken Appleby (36 saves) lowered his playoff goals-against average to 2.22 and improved his save percentage to .924, second-best in the OHL behind North Bay's Jake Smith (1.99, .928).

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