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Steelheads' Everett Clark crowns Knights with his first OHL hat trick: Sunday's 3 Stars

Mississauga's Everett Clark had 3 goals on Sunday (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)
Mississauga's Everett Clark had 3 goals on Sunday (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)

No. 1 star: Everett Clark, Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)

This meets the Alanis Morrissette definition of irony: the London Knights, captained by the son of a beloved Toronto Maple Leafs tough guy, were done in by someone wearing a blue-and-white sweater with CLARK 17 on the back. The 18-year-old Clark (3G, +2), who had never had a multi-goal game in 74 previous Ontario Hockey League contests, scored a natural hat trick to help the Steelheads sting the undisciplined Knights 6-2.

The Knights, up 2-1, took consecutive penalties just past the midpoint of the game and were burned overage Brandon Delvin buried to tie the game 2-2. Following another Knights penalty to St. Louis Blues draft pick C.J. Yakimowicz, Clark was on the spot to score and vault Mississauga into the lead. It took all of another 96 seconds before the Whitby, Ont., native struck again, exacerbating the Knights' fraying nerves. Clark scored again 1:51 into the third via a setup from Winnipeg Jets pick Jimmy Lodge (1G-1A, +1), who's been thriving since his inter-conference trade from Saginaw.


Knights captain Max Domi (1A, -1) became the third OHLer to reach the 50-point mark. The Arizona Coyotes pick has tallied in 22-of-24 games.

No. 2 star: Troy Timpano, Sudbury Wolves (OHL)

Timpano and the Wolves beat northern rival Sault Ste. Marie 2-1 and bucked two trends, their four-game losing streak and the Greyhounds' 10-game point streak. Timpano, who turned 17 two weeks ago and has performed gamely on a last-place team, stopped 39 shots in his best outing since the first game of the season.

“I felt like I was cutting the angles well and it's something I have been working on lately, getting out of the blue paint to the white and it has been helping me and working,” Timpano told the Sudbury Star. “The guys did a fantastic job of moving the guys out from in front and letting me see the puck.”

No. 3 star: Danick Martel, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL)

The overage Martel (3G-2A) was in on five consecutive B-B goals as they had enough juice to win 6-3 in Cape Breton to wrap up a Maritimes road swing. Martel, one of the more opportunistic veterans in the Quebec league, scored twice on the power play and also had the primary assists on two goals from Philippe Sanche (2G, +1), including a backbreaker with 7:21 to play. Martel completed his first hat trick of the season with an empty-netter.

Honourable mention:  Anthony Richard, Val-d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL

That is a a bounce-back. Richard (2G-1A) led Val-d'Or to a 6-4 home win over Halifax one night after his team was shellacked 11-1 in its own barn by the Victoriaville Tigres. The 17-year-old Richard scored two power-play goals in the second, giving him 19 overall on the year.

Special mention: Nikita Scherbak, Everett Silvertips (WHL)

After being out a week, Scherbak (1G-1A, +2) showed some star power during a 4-3 'Tips overtime loss to Kootenay. The Montreal Canadiens first-rounder is not on Russia's world junior preliminary roster, but he's rediscovered his form.

Potent notables — Sixteen-year-old Sahvan Khaira scored his first WHL goal and point during the Seattle Thunderbirds' divisional win over Spokane ...  Ottawa Senators prospect Nick Paul (2G, +2) helped North Bay double Niagara 4-2 in OHL play ... Buffalo Sabres signing Justin Bailey got his 15th goal of the year as Kitchener handed Ottawa its first regulation loss at home ... Toronto Maple Leafs first-rounder Frédérik Gauthier got the OT winner for Rimouski against Quebec in a matchup of QMJHL heavyweights ... St. Louis Blues second-rounder Ivan Barbashev (1G-2A, +2) got his 20th during Moncton's win over Charlottetown ... Nashville Predators pick Tommy Veilleux (2G, +1 in Victoriaville's 5-4 win over Rouyn-Noranda) has five goals in his last two games ... Spencer Smallman (2G, +2) scored goals 59 seconds apart during Saint John's shootout loss to Acadie-Bathurst.

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