Yahoo Sports 
Marcotte leads the way for Gatineau in important win over Victoriaville: Sunday’s 3 stars
No. 1 star: Louick Marcotte, Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
Marcotte had a whale of a game offensively for the Olympiques in a wild 9-5 win over Victoriaville, in a game that could go far in determining the final seeds in the Q.
His two goals and four assists, and his impressive +7 rating, keeps Gatineau four points above Victoriaville for the final playoff spot in the league. The Olympiques leap-frogged Chicoutimi into 14th spot in the league.
Marcotte and linemate Yan Pavel Laplante, who had four goals and an assist, were the dominant forces for the Piques with 11 points between them. Add in Alex Dostie’s three assists, and Valentin Zykov’s goal and two assists, and the Olympiques had a well-rounded attack on Sunday.
The game was close until the third period, as the game was tied at one and three, and Victoriaville cut the Olympique lead to 5-4 at one point.
Marcotte won’t equal his century mark from last season in Val-d’Or, but his 74 points lead the team heading into the final week.
Samuel Blais got a hat trick for the Tigres, while Angelo Miceli had a goal and three assists. Chase Marchand took the hard luck loss, stopping 15-of-18 in the third period in relief of Olivier Tremblay. François Brassard got the win in net, making 36 saves.
No. 2 star: Thomas Foster, Vancouver Giants (WHL)
Foster set the pace for the Giants in Victoria, where his goal and two assists helped Vancouver to a 4-1 win.
He answered to an early Royals goal midway through the first stanza, then assisted a Jakub Stukel goal just a minute and a half later that stood up as the winner. He added an assist on a second period goal to complete the three point night. His three points pushes his season total to 46, nearly doubling his previous career-high of 24.
Stukel added an assist and Dmitry Osipov matched the goal and assist to help Vancouver jump to 27-40-1-2 and keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Victoria dropped to 38-28-3-1, 27 points back of league-leading Kelowna, but 17 points up on Prince George in the B.C. Division. Vancouver is four points back of a wild-card spot with two games to play.
Cody Porter got the win in net, stopping 30 shots, while Justin Paulic earned the loss, steering aside 25 pucks.
No. 3 star: Layne Bensmiller, Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
Bensmiller was a sharpshooter from the blue line for Calgary, burying two of his three shots as the Hitmen overcame the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-1.
He found the back of the cage twice, evaporating a Lethbridge lead and counting the go-ahead marker in the third to cue the Hitmen daggers. Adam Tambellini scored an insurance marker into an empty net, and counting two helpers to secure the win.
Bensmiller’s two goals jumped his season total to six in his 31 games. It was his first ever multi-point effort in the WHL for the rookie blueliner from Rocky Mountain House, AB.
The Hitmen improved to 42-22-1-4, moving one point ahead of Medicine Hat, who lost in overtime Sunday. Brendan Burke got the win, with a 27-for-28 performance.
Stuart Skinner took the hard-luck loss, stopping 42 pucks, and the Hitmen fired 20 shots in the pivotal third period. He earned a well-deserved third star. Lethbridge fell to 20-41-5-3.
Honourable mention: Anthony DiFruscia, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
DiFruscia led the way for the IceDogs in their 8-4 doubling of the Spitfires. He scored a hat trick and added a helper in the win, adding a fight in the third period to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick, and he was named first star.
Niagara scored the first five goals, including all three from DiFruscia, in just over the first 22 minutes. Windsor scored their first marker at 5:47, but Niagara led 7-2 after 40 minutes.
Vince Dunn had a goal and two assists in the win, while Carter Vernaeghe, Johnny Corneil and Josh Ho-Sang each had a pair of helpers. Brent Moran made 27 saves in the victory.
Lucas Venuto had a goal and two assists in the loss, while Brendan Johnston took the loss, giving up five goals on 19 shots in the first 22 minutes, while Alex Fotinos stopped 27 shots in relief.
Honourable mention: Liam Stewart, Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
Stewart, the son of Rachel Hunter and crooner Rod Stewart, buried a hat-trick and added an assist, though the Chiefs coughed up a 5-3 lead after two to drop a 7-6 loss to Portland.
Stewart scored three of the Chiefs’ first four goals, setting them up for a solid two-goal lead heading into the final frame. He scored all of his goals on special teams, including two down a man. Spokane went 4-for-8 on the man advantage, and went even with Portland, each team scoring twice on the Winterhawks’ six powerplays.
Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal nad added three assists in the come-from-behind win for the Winterhawks, who improved to 40-21-2-4, four points back of division-leading Everett with two games in hand. Paul Bittner added a goal and two assists in the win.
Calder Brooks had three helpers in the loss, which dropped Spokane to 34-29-3-1, but still have a guaranteed wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Notables: Matt Mistele (2G, 1A), Cole Cassels (1G, 2A) and Dakota Mermis (3A) led the way for Oshawa as they whitewashed Kingston 9-1. They scored five goals in the first, and two each in the final two frames. Only three Generals failed to register at least a point. … Marc-Antoine Bouillon had a goal and two assists to lead the Blainville-Boisbriand offence to a 6-1 win over Drummondville. Miguel Picard and Nikita Jevpalovs each had a goal and an assist. … Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists, linemate Alex DeBrincat scored twice and Remi Elie had three helpers as Erie demolished Kitchener 5-1. … Tim Weiser scored twice and added an assist as Sherbrooke railroaded Rouyn-Noranda 5-1. Cameron Darcy had a goal and two helpers in the win. … Tye Felhauer and Jesse Barwell each scored twice, with Felhauer adding a helper as Saginaw doubled up Plymouth 6-3. … Simon Stransky scored the winner in overtime while Matteo Gennaro and Colton Heffley had two points apiece as Prince Albert edged Medicine Hat 4-3. … Mike Amadio scored the winner in the shootout as North Bay edged Belleville 4-3. Jordan Subban scored a goal and added an assist in the loss.
