Saginaw Spirit Locke and Lodge for wild win over Whalers: Wednesday’s 3 Stars

No. 1 star: Jimmy Lodge, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)

Lodge (2G-2A, +2 in Saginaw's 8-7 home win over Plymouth) had one multi-point game in his first 70 contests in the Ontario Hockey League. The Downingtown, Pa., native has now had four in his last six games after enjoying the most prolific night of his young junior career while helping Saginaw shade their state rivals in a scorefest. Lodge had a career high for points in a game by the 13-minute mark after scoring his second of the night off a setup from fellow Pennsylvanian Vincent Trocheck (2G-2A, +3). That new high didn't even live to see the end of the period before he reciprocated by setting up Trocheck, the Florida Panthers prospect.

All told, five players had multi-goal goals. Nineteen-year-old Eric Locke sniped two third-period goals that gave the Spirit just enough breathing room to hold off the Whalers. With Lodge and Trocheck each having four-point games and Stefan Noesen doing likewise for Plymouth, for its sake USA Hockey had better have been watching closely. Noesen and Trocheck were both passed over for Team USA last season during their age-18 years.

No. 2 star: Malcolm Subban, Belleville Bulls (OHL)

Subban just does not lose in shootouts. The Boston Bruins first-rounder has now been the winning goalie in his last nine, including four this season, after he and brother Jordan Subban secured the Bulls' 2-1 win over the Guelph Storm. Malcolm Subban made 35 saves through three periods and overtime as he and Toronto Maple Leafs pick Garret Sparks treated the Friendly City to a goalie clinic, as neither allowed an even-strength goal. The Bulls then went 2-for-2 in the shootout, while Subban made a sliding save on Winnipeg Jets pick Scott Kosmachuk to lock down the win.

No. 3 star: Vincent Dunn, Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)

The 17-year-old finished off the Drillers' strong road show by scoring the game-winner with 58 seconds left in a 3-2 triumph over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Dunn (1G-1A, +2), a centre who would not be eligible for the 2013 NHL draft if he had been born two days later, is making a name for himself as a smart, persistent two-way centre. With Wednesday's showing, the Gatineau, Que., native has already doubled his rookie-year point totals.

Honourable mention: Alexandre Lavoie, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)

Try not to shudder imagine what the 15th-place Screaming Eagles' record would be without Lavoie, who has scored or assisted on nearly 60 per cent of their goals. The overager maintained that ratio with his three-point effort in a 5-3 upset over the division rival P.E.I. Rocket. Lavoie assisted on the first goal of the game, sniped a power-play tally in the second period and sealed the win with an empty-netter.

Honourable mention: Petr Straka, Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)

Straka (3G-2A, +2) became major junior's second 20-goal man this season with his five-point effort in Baie-Comeau's 7-1 romp over the vastly overmatched Shawinigan Cataractes. (The calibre, of lack thereof, of the opposition keeps this from being worth a star, since the game was over by early in the second period.) The overage Straka was simply not going to be slowed down as the Drakkar ran their point streak to 13 games in a row by beating coach Éric Veilleux's former team.

Honourable mention: Brandon Robinson, Brampton North Bay Battalion (OHL)

Robinson (2A, +1) helped the Battalion treat fans from North Bay who travelled en masse up Ontario's Hwy. 17 to see their new hometown team beat the Sudbury Wolves 4-2. The 17-year-old was the only one of the Troops to record more than one point, setting up a Mike Amadio early in Period 2 that erased an early Wolves lead. Robinson also stole the puck to set up Matt McLeod's clinching goal with 5:58 to play.

Honourable mention: Scott Oke, Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)

Oke (1G-1A, +3) and Peter Trainor (1G-1A, +2) helped the banged-up Océanic take down the big boys from Quebec City by edging the Remparts 5-4. The pair set up Maxime Gravel for the eventual winning goal with 9:51 remaining. They also scored 21 seconds apart early in the second period to put Quebec in a 3-0 hole.

Potent notables — Vancouver Canucks first-rounder Brendan Gaunce scored in his first game back for Belleville since suffering a separated shoulder ... In the QMJHL, Quebec Remparts 18-year-old Nick Sorensen, who's been the odd import player out for the past few weeks, scored his first goal since Oct. 12 ... the P.E.I. Rocket's Josh Currie also got his 20th goal.

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