Lazar, McDavid record four-point nights, Cataractes get first W: Friday’s 3 Stars

No. 1 Star - Curtis Lazar, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) - Big night for the Edmonton Oil Kings against Red Deer. The Kings not only crushed the Rebels 4-0 on the scoreboard, but also out-shot their Alberta rivals 45-21. A couple of their prospects had big nights, the most notable being Ottawa Senators first round pick from this past spring Curtis Lazar, who had one of the many four-point nights. Lazar scored twice in the third period, and assisted on both Oil Kings goals in the first period. Those were scored by Islanders 2012 first rounder Griffin Reinhart and Mitch Moroz, who went 32nd to the Oilers back in 2012.

The Oil Kings need the dominant performance. They've yet to win two straight on the season, but now they have Saturday and Sunday games against the Kootenay Ice, both at home. That's before going out on an 8-game road trip, so banking these early wins is somewhat important even though it's relatively early in the season. Goaltending has been a bit of an issue for the Kings so far, but Tristan Jarry stopped all 21 shots on the night to drive his save percentage up to .897.

No. 2 Star - Felix-Antoine Bergeron, Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)

How do you spell 'at least'? In the Shawi, it would be E-N-F-I-N, but that's beside the point right now. The Shawinigan Cataractes began the season at 0-9-2 and were the last club in the nation to secure a victory, but they finally managed their first on the campaign Friday night with a 4-3 overtime win over the visiting Rimouski Oceanic. Kris Hodge beat Philippe Desrosiers 31 seconds into the extra frame, with Felix-Antoine Bergeron drawing the second assist. Bergeron paced the offence for the Cataractes Friday night, with a goal and two assists.

Bergeron also went 14-for-17 at the dot and was one of eight Cataractes players to register a team-high of three shots on goal. The Cataractes started the game down 2-0, but fought back to take a 3-2 lead and probably should have hung on after Samuel Morin took a misconduct with two minutes to go. Michael Joly scored shorthanded to force the game to OT, delaying Shawinigan's first win on the season for just that much longer.

No. 3 Star - Connor McDavid, Erie Otters (OHL)

The Otters are heating up, which is bad news for the rest of the OHL. They've won six straight in the month of October and out-scored the opposition 32-14 since the five-game road trip to start their season. Connor McDavid earns the Star honours, earning the primary assist on all four Erie goals in a 4-3 win over Belleville. Also of note… two goals by Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Connor Brown and two by the undrafted Dane Fox.

Belleville staged a late rally, scoring two third period goals so Oscar Dansk wound up having to stop just 18 shots on the night out of 21 Bulls attempts. Nothing incredibly scary, as the Otters had out-shot the Bulls 26-16 through two periods. Incidentally, all four of McDavid's assists were primary, as the likely 2015 first overall pick has four consecutive multi-point games, and 19 points so far in his first 11 games.

Honourable Mention - Nikolaj Ehlers, Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) - Sure, teammate Brent Andrews got a hat-trick in the reigning champs' 5-2 win against Val-d'Or, but the 2014-eligible Ehlers recorded two goals, two assists, was a +4, had seven shots on goal and his third period fight with Phil Pietroniro gave him the Gordie Howe hat-trick. Presumably, this is the first time a Danish-born player has ever recorded a Gordie Howe hat-trick in the QMJHL. This may warrant further investigation.

Honourable Mention - Henri Ikonen, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) - You can not stop the Kingston Frontenacs, 6-2 winners at the Aud in Kitchener tonight. You can only hope to contain them and their skilled forward Ikonen, who recorded his second four-point night of the month Friday. He also was the inspiration for what is, on record, the worst pun of the 2013-2014 season:

Potent Notables: A pair of assists for Charles Hudon in a Chicoutimi loss to the Titan… a 30-save shutout for François Brassard and two points for Leaf prospect Fabrice Herzog paced the Remparts 3-0 over Moncton… After Anthony Brodeur allowed 3 goals on 9 shots, Robert Steeves came in and stopped 28 shots and Gatineau wound up winning 4-3 in Drummondville. In the OHL, Flyers prospect Scott Laughton recorded a hat-trick in Oshawa's win at London… Zach Nastasiuk had two goals and an assist in an Attack win over the Sting… three points as well for Anthony DiFruscia for Niagara in a high-scoring, 5-4 win in Guelph… 2014-eligible Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 43 of 45 Sudbury shots. To the WHL, Nic Petan, Brendan Leipsic, Alex Schoenborn and Derick Pouliot all had two-point games for Portland… Mitch Holmberg provided half the Spokane offence (shocker, right?) in a 4-2 win over Everett… Eric Comrie stopped 37 of 39 shots in a win over Victoria… two goals for Chandler Stephenson for Regina in a 3-2 win against Medicine Hat… son of Cliff Ty Ronning was one of five Vancouver goal scorers in a 5-1 win over the Blazers… rookie showcase in Seattle, as Mat Barzal recorded two assists and Jansen Harkins scored a goal and an assist in a game that wound up going to a shootout... Jordan Tkatch (Gesundheit!) wound up getting the winner for the Cougars.