Three Stars: January 24, 2020
3RD STAR: COLE PERFETTI (SAGINAW SPIRIT) – 2G, 2A
Top NHL Draft prospect Cole Perfetti earned two goals and two assists as he helped his Saginaw Spirit claw back from a 4-0 deficit to a 5-4 win over the Kingston Frontenacs. The 18-year-old forward scored 4:24 into the third period for the first of five unanswered goals from the Spirit, as well as again at 12:23 to tie the game at 4-4. He picked up an assist on Damien Giroux’s game winning goal with 2.5 seconds left on the clock, and jumped to first among all OHL scorers with 81 points (27-54-81) on the season. Perfetti, the fifth overall pick of the 2018 OHL Priority Selection, recently received a fourth-overall ranking among North American draft eligible skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings.
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2ND STAR: DAMIEN GIROUX (SAGINAW SPIRIT) – 1G, 3A
Minnesota Wild prospect Damien Giroux also tallied four points (1-3-4) in Saginaw’s big 5-4 comeback win over the Frontenacs. With 2.5 seconds left in the game, Giroux found the back of the net to push the Spirit ahead and into the win column. In his fourth stint with the Spirit, the 19-year-old centreman has amassed 29 goals and 53 points. The Hanmer, Ont. native was a third round pick of the Spirit at the 2016 OHL Priority Selection and a fifth round pick of the Wild at the 2018 NHL Draft.
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3RD STAR: JAMES HARDIE (MISSISSAUGA STEELHEADS) – 2G, 1A
James Hardie put up his second three-point showing in just three games, notching a pair of goals in the Mississauga Steelheads’ 4-3 edging of the Peterborough Petes. The 2020 NHL Draft eligible forward scored early in the opening frame for a 2-0 lead and again midway through the final period to make it 4-2. His 25 goals and 16 assists for 41 points places the 18-year-old Innisfil native third in Steelheads scoring. Hardie was scooped up eighth overall by the Trout in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection.
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