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Moose Jaw Warriors’ Justin Paulic, Halifax Mooseheads’ Jonathan Drouin lead Wednesday’s 3 Stars

Neate Sager

No. 1 star: Justin Paulic, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

Wild: the Edmonton Oil Kings' 22-game win streak ended at the hands of a goalie with a whole 60 minutes' experience in the league. Paulic made good on Warriors coach Mike Stothers' intuition to turn to his 16-year-old reserve goalie with his team down 3-0 to Edmonton in the Eastern Conference final. The native of Thompson, Man., stopped 28-of-29 shots, helping the Warriors avoid elimination with a 3-1 victory.

Paulic wasn't overly busy, but he did come up with a big save on Edmonton's Martin Gernat when a goal might have spurred the Oil Kings to a comeback. The combination of him having only one previous start in the WHL and the Warriors being on the edge of the abyss makes it a first-star effort. And Paulic will start Game 5 on Friday in Edmonton, as the Edmonton Journal's Chris O'Leary related:

It is worth noting Paulic's formative years in northern Manitoba meant often playing behind underdog teams. He once made more than 65 saves in a game at the provincial bantam AAA championship. He also faced an average of 38.6 shots per game this winter in midget with the Norman Northstars, who have more gruelling road trips than a lot of junior teams. Despite that, Paulic put up a 3.33 average and .914 save percentage. It's fun to think he was made for such a moment.

No. 2 star: Jonathan Drouin, Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

The 17-year-old sparkplug assisted on all three Mooseheads goals in their series-tying 3-1 road win over the Rimouski Océanic, giving him 24 points in 15 playoffs games. An injury that forced Nathan MacKinnon out of the game was a downer for Halifax but it doesn't detract from their self-assured performance. Drouin facilitated the big goal of the game, starting a three-way passing play in tight confines that saw the puck go from his stick to MacKinnon's to Vancouver Canucks draft pick Alexandre Grenier for the winning goal. He also set up Konrad Abeltshauser for a one-timer that Cameron Critchlow deflected in for an insurance tally in the final frame.

The Mooseheads expect MacKinnon to play in Game 5, which will be Sportsnet's Friday Night Hockey contest.

No. 3 star: Mac Carruth, Portland Winterhawks (WHL)

Carruth let in the first credited shot when the Tri-City Americans' Adam Hughesman. However, the Chicago Blackhawks draft choice stopped the next 38 shots to back Portland to a 3-1 victory over the Americans and a 3-0 lead in their semifinal series. The 20-year-old native of Shorewood, Minn., did a superb job of shaking off the early goal on a night where the Winterhawks did a good job of keeping their composure against a rival trying to play with an edge. Carruth came up a big breakaway save on league scoring champion Brendan Shinnimin that helped quash the Americans' chance of a comeback.

St. Louis Blues prospect Ty Rattie's playoff-best 17th goal with 8:39 left to play stood as the winner.

Honourable mention: Olli Määttä, London Knights (OHL)

Määttä scored a short-handed goal and also had two primary helpers in the 4-2 Knights win that sealed their sweep of the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL Western Conference final. The 18-year-old Finn has 19 points in 14 playoff games, which compares favourably with older top prospects such as Kitchener's Ryan Murphy, Niagara's Dougie Hamilton and Ottawa's Cody Ceci.

Honourable mention: Andrew Agozzino, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)

The captain's two goals each erased Ottawa 67's leads, spurring the 'Dogs to a 5-2 Game 4 win that puts them one win away from their first league final since moving to St. Catharines in 2007. Agozzino, who's often been a 67's killer throughout his junior tenure, showed great hands on his first goal when he flicked a rebound out of midair after Petr Mrazek made a fine kick save on Freddie Hamilton (1G-3A). Agozzino then tied the game early in the third period, taking a pass from fellow fifth-year player Alex Friesen and waiting out Mrazek before beating him with a forehand move.

(Game recaps here.)

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.