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Kelowna Rockets' Dillon Dube part of dethroning in the Dub: OHL & WHL 3 Stars

KELOWNA, CANADA - JANUARY 14: Dillon Dube #19 of Kelowna Rockets celebrates his ninth goal of the season against the Tri City Americans on January 14, 2015 at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)
KELOWNA, CANADA - JANUARY 14: Dillon Dube #19 of Kelowna Rockets celebrates his ninth goal of the season against the Tri City Americans on January 14, 2015 at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)

No. 1 star: Dillon Dubé, Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

Several Rocket men had hands in Kelowna dashing the Drive For Five with an 8-4 road win (with two empty-netters) to close out a six-game triumph over the Portland Winterhawks. The 16-year-old rookie Dubé (2G-1A, +2) came up big over the final two victories as Kelowna refused to be denied by a team that's vexed them for years and also overcame the absence of injured 48-goal scorer Rourke Chartier.

The Cochrane, Alta., native scored 4:12 into the second on a setup from Gage Quinney (2A, +2) to pare Portland's lead to 3-2. At 6:58 of the third, Dubé also made a great pass out of the corner to linemate Tyson Baillie (1G-2A, +4) to give the Rockets their first lead at 4-3. The teams traded tallies once more, with Justin Kirkland restoring the Rockets' lead off a setup from Nick Merkley (2A). Then Rockets captain Madison Bowey (2G, -1), who'd scored a short-handed goal in the second, jarred the puck loose from Layne Vivieros. The Rockets broke away and Cole Linkaker put a shot just under the crossbar for a two-goal lead. Dubé then chipped in an empty-netter.


Rockets backup goalie Michael Herrington came up big in relief after Jackson Whistle was removed after allowing three goals on eight shots. For Portland, Winnipeg Jets pick Nic Petan (2A, -2) had a pair of points during his 88th and final Western League playoff game.

Bowey, for those wondering, did not pick up the Western Conference championship trophy.

No. 2 star: Alex DeBrincat, Erie Otters (OHL)

The rookie of the year contributed a hat trick effort during the Otters' 7-3 win that closed out the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. DeBrincat (3G, +1) had a go-ahead goal during an extended power play in the second, then got the last two of the night by finishing off a tic-tac-toe passing play with Connor McDavid (1G-4A, +1) and Dallas Stars prospect Remi Elie (3A, +2), then by getting an empty-netter. The 17-year-old has eight goals in the playoffs.

No. 3 star: Josh Brown, Oshawa Generals (OHL)

The captain was a constant across all three periods of the Generals' 2-1 win at North Bay that wrapped up the franchise's first trip to the conference final since 1997. Brown (+2), a Florida Panthers signing, used all of his savvy and strength to help keep Battaion's bevy of big forwards from scrumming the net. Brown also helped Oshawa kill off 4-of-5 Battalion power plays to finish with a 90.5 per cent penalty kill rate in the series.

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