Oshawa's Ken Appleby, North Bay's Jake Smith lock up in goalie duel: Saturday and Sunday's 3 Stars

Co-No. 1 stars: Ken Appleby, Oshawa Generals and Jake Smith, North Bay Battalion (OHL)

The two undrafted goalies probably crashed Thesaurus.com during the Generals' breathless 1-0 Game 2 overtime win that squared the Eastern final 1-1. Appleby, a 6-foot-4 goalie who is started to get some attention from NHL clubs, rebounded from a mercy pull in Game 1 with a 33-save shutout. With Battalion fans seated to his right in his ear, the North Bay native had a big 10-stop first period, pumping up his team and a crowd of 5,659 with some extra flourish after glove saves. Appleby's biggest stop came when he gloved a top-corner try from Kyle Wood. Despite allowing six goals on Friday, Appleby has a 2.39 average and .918 save percentage in 12 playoff starts.

"He made some huge saves early and made every one he had to make," Generals coach D.J. Smith told Rogers TV Durham. "He's been very good at bouncing back every time he's had an average game. He wants to be a pro, he wants a contract, and there was no doubt in my mind he was going to have a good game."

Jake Smith looked equally unbreakable, defusing several Generals odd-man rushes in the first. The Oakville, Ont., native had successive 15-save periods as Oshawa gradually took over the game. The undersized 5-foot-11 goalie had no chance on Dakota Mermis' decider at 1:01 of OT, where a Michael McCarron shot from the high slot caromed off the end boards and landed right on Mermis' stick.

"Jake Smith's the most underrated goalie in the league," Battalion coach Stan Butler said. "It just kills me, with these NHL teams. They've got to have a 6-foot-2 plus goalie. Let's not grab a goalie that can stop the puck on a consistent basis and win. Hopefully Jake will continue to play as well as he can and someone will give him a chance."

No. 2 star: Ryan Graves, Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

The New York Rangers prospect is already guaranteed of playing in his second Memorial Cup, but Graves (1G, +1) is intent on doing it as a league champion again. The defenceman contributed a goal and some in-your-face marking of Moncton stars Ivan Barbashev and Conor Garland as Quebec took another win on the road with a 4-3 win on Saturday for a 2-0 lead in the QMJHL semifinal.

Graves, who helped Val-d'Or win last season's President's Cup, scored 11:32 into the game to quell some early Wildcats momentum. He was also indefatigable, logging heavy minutes to keep up with Barbashev (1G-1A) and Garland (1G-1A). 

No. 3 star: Frédérik Gauthier, Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)

When a centre is named first star of a shutout win without recording a point, you know he had a nice night defensively. Freddie Faceoff went 21-of-33 on the dot during the Océanic's 3-0 win against the Val-d'Or Foruers, who were absolutely smothered in managing just 19 shots on goal, including only three classified as dangerous. Gauthier, the Toronto Maple Leafs first-rounder, helped keep Foreurs attacker and Philadelphia Flyers draftee Nicolas Aubé-Kubel to just two shots. Louis-Philip Guindon logged the shutout.

Honourable mention: Nic Petan, Portland Winterhawks (WHL)

The Winnipeg Jets pick was named first star after scoring the late second-period game-winning goal in Portland's 3-2 road win at Kelowna, which knotted the WHL Western final at 1-1. That was Petan's eighth of the post-season.

Potent notables — WHL Eastern Conference player of the year Tim McGauley (2A, +1) set up Saturday's OT winner for Brandon, which leads Calgary 2-0 in its semifinal series ... In the OHL, Connor McDavid scored his 17th and 18th as Erie edged Sault Ste. Marie 3-2 to open a 2-1 lead in the Western final.

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