Sarnia Sting’s Taylor Dupuis thwarts Windsor with 48 saves: Thursday’s 3 Stars

No. 1 star: Taylor Dupuis, Sarnia Sting (OHL)

Dupuis made a memory in his Sting debut, discombobulating the Windsor Spitfires by making 48 saves in a 3-1 divisional win. Here's one juxtaposition that hopefully portrays what it was like at the WFCU Centre: the only time Dupuis ever got a moment's peace was on a couple Sarnia penalty kills. The Spitfires, whose lineup includes two NHL first-rounders in Slater Koekkoek and Kerby Rychel, levelled 49 shots but failed get any during two of its power plays. Talk about a tipoff that Dupuis had them frustrated.

The 19-year-old from New Liskeard, Ont., came to Sarnia in a trade on the eve of the season after being the odd goalie out with the Sudbury Wolves, who went with overage Franky Palazzese and promising 16-year-old Troy Timpano. Dupuis got settled in with a 14-save first, with Bryan Moore (1G-1A, +2) and first-rounder Nikita Korostelev (2A, +2) helping author the game's first goal. By the middle of the second, with Dupuis staying square to the puck and locked in on the shooters, Sarnia was up 3-0 despite being outshot 23-6.

Dupuis held in during some frantic flurries around the net in the third period. Windsor didn't score until its 46th shot of the night; by then, it was too late to mount much of a comeback.

No. 2 star: Kyle Farrell, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)

Consider this a team selection since the Eagles, who finished with a CHL-worst 14 wins last season, took down the country's No. 4-ranked team by outlasting the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 5-4. Farrell (1G-1A, +2, 12-of-18 on faceoffs), who missed half of last season with an injury, was named first star at Centre 200.

Farrell, a native Caper, helped the young Eagles gain confidence by snapping in a power-play goal just 1:50 after Baie-Comeau had opened the scoring. The 19-year-old also had the apple later in the period on a goal by Julien Pelletier, a 17-year-old rookie who's already snapped in four goals in five games. Farrell's faceoff work was also integral, since he won 66.7 per cent of his draws while his teammates only won 33.3% (16-of-48).

Coach-GM Marc-André Dupont might have needed some hard hats to pass out in the dressing room afterward. St. Louis Blues second-rounder William Carrier put the Eagles ahead for good late in the second period and captain Stephen Woodworth (1G-1A, +1) scored the game-winner.

No. 3 star: Brandon Devlin, Peterborough Petes (OHL)

Devlin (2G-1A, +2) and NHL draft prospects Nick Ritchie (2G) and Eric Cornel (1G-2A, +1) formed the crest of the maroon cyclone that swept up the Plymouth Whalers during an 8-5 Petes win. The Petes spotted Plymouth a two-goal lead after 20 minutes, but Devlin put some wind into their sails with a goal early in the second period. The 19-year-old defenceman also wiped out the last of Plymouth's lead with a well-placed point shot for the 3-3 goal midway through the frame. A few minutes later, Stephen Pierog put the Petes ahead for good with a well-placed strike, moments after an earth-rattling clean check by new Petes captain Connor Boland.

The offensive outburst was Devlin's first two-goal game in the OHL. It also came 11 months to the day of his only previous three-point night. Not bad for a normally defensive defenceman. The Whalers' No. 1 netminder, Alex Nedeljkovic, was away at the All-American Prospects Game in Pittsburgh. That takes nothing away from Peterborough's showing, since it's plausible that backup Riley Corbin would have got a start during Plymouth's three-game out-of-conference weekend road trip.

Potent notables — Colorado Avalanche second-rounder Chris Bigras had three points in his season debut for Owen Sound, which lost 7-5 at Barrie. Colts sophomore Brendan Lemieux scored two goals ... Plymouth D Xavier Rathgeb scored his first OHL goal.

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.