Red Deer’s Rhyse Dieno, Windsor’s Jaroslav Pavelka lead Thursday’s 3 Stars

No. 1 star: Rhyse Dieno, Red Deer Rebels (WHL)

Dieno (3G, +2) got his first WHL hat trick to help Red Deer score a big Central Division win over the Edmonton Oil Kings, winning 4-1. The contest was dead even with 11:40 to play when Dieno, a 19-year-old Davidson, Sask., native who was playing Junior A this season, got behind the Oil Kings defence to take a pass from Scott Feser and beat goalie Laurent Brossoit. Tanner Elson delivered a backbreaker goal six minutes later to put away the Oil Kings. Dieno, who also got the empty-netter, has 26 points in 25 games for Red Deer since being called up. That point total is double what he had in his first two partial seasons int the league.

No. 2 star: Jaroslav Pavelka, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)

Pavelka maintained his hot streak by stopping 32-of-33 shots for the Spitfires, who maintained their zero in the regulation-loss column since the trade deadline by shading the Mississauga Steelheads 2-1. The 19-year-old Czech, who has let in only five goals on 143 shots during this recent Spitfires roll, was at his best and busiest in the second period. He made 18 saves during that frame, robbing Craig Hottot on a redirect and twice stoning Spenser Cobbold, once with a glove save while sprawled out in the crease. With the win, Windsor is just four points out of a playoff berth.

No. 3 star: Mathias Niederberger, Barrie Colts (OHL)

Niederberger came out on top in a goalie duel with towering 6-foot-5 Oshawa Generals youngster Ken Appleby, helping Barrie win 3-2 in a shootout. The 20-year-old Niederberger stopped 37-of-39 shots across 65 minutes of hockey, then went 4-for-4 in the shootout, giving Oshawa shooters such as Michael Dal Colle and Cole Cassels almost nothing to look at it as they sought to find an opening to score. Those saves helped Niederberger get even for Cassels and Dal Colle solving him for the Generals goals.

Honourable mention: Brock McGinn, Guelph Storm (OHL)

McGinn (2G, +2) helped Guelph post a 5-3 win at Peterborough with his second multi-goal game of the season. The 18-year-old Fergus, Ont., native scored in the first to give Guelph a 2-0 lead by the time the game was six minutes old, then got his career-high 13th of a terrific centring feed off the rush by 17-year-old NHL draft prospect Jason Dickinson.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.