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Tyler Wong rights shaky Hurricanes with his first WHL hat trick: Saturday’s 3 Stars

neate sager

No. 1 star: Tyler Wong, Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)

Lethbridge finally has a crooked number in the win column following Wong's career-high five points (3G-AA, +3) in their 8-5 win over the Saskatoon Blades. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound sophomore wing helped the 'Canes flip the Blades early, scoring 6:38 in on a power play and getting two primary assists before the first period mercifully expired for Saskatoon.

The Cochrane, Alta., native built on his career night with a late second-period strike that pushed the lead to 7-0. Saskatoon made a run to within 7-5 before overage Brady Ramsey (4A, +2) slipped the puck to Wong to allow him to complete his first Western Hockey League hat trick.

No. 2 star: Coleman Vollrath, Victoria Royals (WHL)

Just to cleanse the palate, let's sandwich Vollrath's valiance in between a pair of five-point games. Royals coach Dave Lowry decided to throw his 18-year-old backup, who hadn't started in nearly three weeks, at league-leading Spokane. That might sound like the Boston Red Sox choosing Ryan Dempster to start Game 1 of the World Series. Vollrath responded by handling several Grade-A chances among a 41-save night to help the Royals beat the Chiefs and overage scoring sensation Mitch Holmberg 4-1.

No. 3 star: Sergey Tolchinsky, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)

Everything was happening in Peterborough on Saturday — a wedding proposal and the 'Hounds and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds scoring like Don Draper. Tolchinsky, the pint-sized Carolina Hurricanes free-agent signing, had five points (2G-3A, -1) and factored into all four 'Hounds goals in a 5½-minute span of the second period after some controversial Petes penalties.

The 18-year-old Muscovite has nine goals and 19 points in his first 10 games this season. That included Saturday's outburst, where he struck for power-play salvos 55 seconds apart, then had the decorum to wait a whole 27 seconds before setting up Soo D-man Mac Clutsam's first OHL marker.

Honourable mention: Maxime St-Cyr, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)

The Halifax Mooseheads keep running in place and teams keep taking advantage. St-Cyr (2G, +2) and Mathieu Lemay (3A, +3) helped Rouyn-Noranda get payback for the 2013 playoffs with a 5-3 win, with the 19-year-old St-Cyr scoring the eventual game-winner late in the second before getting the clincher in the final frame.

Honourable mention: Eric Brassard, Charlottetown Islanders (QMJHL)

Brassard, the goalie displaced in Gatineau by the arrival of the anointed Anthony Brodeur, made 34 saves for his major junior shutout to help the Islanders beat the Chicoutimi Saguenéens 3-0. The Charlottetown faithful knows it has one of the league's best No. 1 goalies in Toronto Maple Leafs pick Antoine Bibeau, but the 18-year-old Brassard is a less known quantity. Saturday, he made 17 saves in the third period to nail down two points for Charlottetown, which is second overall with an .808 point percentage.

Honourable mentions: Connor Brown, Dane Fox and Connor McDavid, Erie Otters (OHL)

The Erie Connors (not a typo — Ed.) won their seventh consecutive, rolling 6-2 over the five-defenceman Ottawa 67's. McDavid (1G-1A, +1), Brown (4A, +3) and Fox (2G, +2) combined for eight points on the evening. Fox, who had his second two-goal game in a row, now has 13 in 12 games for the Western Conference-leading Otters.

Potent notables — Columbus Blue Jackets third-rounder Oliver Bjorkstrand now has 13 goals in 11 games for Portland, which octupled Tri-City 8-1 ... Austin Lotz's 23-save shutout helped Everett shade Kamloops 1-0 ... former No. 1 overall pick Jake Virtanen was first star in Calgary's win at Red Deer ... Regina's Dawson McAuley stopped 37-of-39 shots in a road win at Moose Jaw ... Hudson Elyniuk, 16, scored his first WHL goal to lift Kootenay over Edmonton in a Sam Reinhart (1A, -1) vs. Griffin Reinhart (1A, +1) matchup ... In the OHL, Nick Baptiste (Buffalo Sabres, third round) and Connor Crisp (Montreal Canadiens, also third) each scored twice to lift Sudbury over Mississauga 6-5 ... Nineteen-year-old goalie Brandon Hope made 46 saves to help Owen Sound edge Eastern Conference-leading Kingston in OT ... Niagara's Brent Moran stopped 35-of-36 shots in a win over Belleville ... In the QMJHL, New York Rangers draftee Anthony Duclair (1G-1A, +1) was first star in Quebec's five-different-goal-scorers win at Saint John ... Montreal Canadiens sixth-rounder Jérémy Grégoire (3A, +3) helped Baie-Comeau blank Victoriaville 7-0 ... Calgary Flames first-rounder Emile Poirier (1G-1A, +1) helped Gatineau deal Blainville-Boisbriand its first regulation loss.

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.