AHL Roundup: Da Costa's hat trick caps weekend

Each Monday, NHL.com will take a look back at the weekend that was in the American Hockey League with an emphasis on the young stars and top prospects that are continuing their development. Here are some of the highlights from the past few days in the AHL:

FRIDAY

FIRST STAR

Jason Zucker, Houston

Zucker had two goals and an assist to help the Aeros defeat Oklahoma City. Houston is without the Minnesota Wild's top two prospects -- forward Mikael Granlund and defenseman Jonas Brodin -- because of injury, but Zucker has starred in their absence. A second-round pick in 2010, Zucker leads the team with 11 goals and is second with 18 points. Defenseman Justin Schultz (Edmonton, signed as free agent in 2012) had two assists for the Barons. Schultz leads the AHL with 31 points.

SECOND STAR

Matt Frattin, Toronto

Frattin had a pair of goals to help the Marlies win at Rochester. A fourth-round pick by the Maple Leafs in 2007, Frattin now has seven goals in seven games for the Marlies this season after missing the beginning of the season because of an injury. He split time between the Marlies and the parent club last season, but he had 24 goals in 36 AHL games, including 10 tallies in the Calder Cup playoffs.

THIRD STAR

Jacob Markstrom, San Antonio

Markstrom stopped 37 of 39 shots for the Rampage in a 6-2 win at Lake Erie. A second-round pick by Florida in 2008, Markstrom is one of the top goaltending prospects in the AHL. He has appeared in eight games for the Panthers. Markstrom has allowed two goals in each of his past four outings, and posted a .915 save percentage in eight November contests.

NOTES: Beau Bennett (Pittsburgh, first round in 2010) had a goal and an assist to help Wilkes-Barre/Scranton knock off Syracuse. … Mike Hoffman (Ottawa, fifth round in 2009) had a goal and two assists for Binghamton in a win against Adirondack. Jakob Silfverberg (second round, 2009) added a goal and an assist. … Zach Redmond (Winnipeg, seventh round in 2008) had the lone goal in a 1-0 win for St. John's at Albany. … Alex Chiasson (Dallas, second round in 2009) had a goal and an assist to help Texas win at Grand Rapids. … Matt Calvert (Columbus, fifth round in 2008) had a goal and an assist for Springfield in a win at Manchester. … David Rundblad (traded to Ottawa in 2011) had a goal and an assist and Mark Stone (sixth round in 2010) had two assists to help Portland defeat Worcester. … David Warsofsky (Boston, fourth round in 2008) had the game-tying goal and assisted on the winner in a comeback victory for Providence against Connecticut. … Anton Rodin (Vancouver, second round in 2009) had two assists in a loss at Milwaukee.

SATURDAY

FIRST STAR

Richard Panik, Syracuse

Panik scored twice in the third period to help the Crunch rally from a three-goal deficit and defeat Connecticut in overtime. After Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay, signed as free agent in 2011) scored his league-leading 14th goal to cut the Whale's lead to 3-1, Panik scored twice 35 seconds apart to force overtime. Panik, a second-round pick in 2009, is second to Johnson on the Crunch with 11 goals and 20 points. Johnson scored again Sunday to increase his AHL-best total to 15 in 20 games.

SECOND STAR

Emerson Etem, Norfolk

Etem scored twice for the Admirals in a win against Hershey. A first-round pick in 2010, Etem has six goals in 20 games for Norfolk in his first season as a professional. A Long Beach, Calif., native, Etem had 61 goals in 65 regular-season games last season before adding seven more in seven postseason contests for Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League.

THIRD STAR

Cedrick Desjardins, Hamilton

Desjardins stopped all 24 shots he faced in a 3-0 for the Bulldogs against Abbotsford. The goaltender's career has been knocked off course by injury, but he did have a .932 save percentage when healthy last season for Lake Erie in the AHL and played well in his only two games in the NHL two seasons ago. Desjardins has a 2.28 goals-against average and .915 save percentage for Hamilton in four games since making his season debut Nov. 16.

NOTES: Nazem Kadri (Toronto, first round in 2009) had two goals, including the winner in overtime, to help the Marlies top Rochester. Matt Frattin had two assists. … Nino Niederreiter (N.Y. Islanders, first round in 2010) had a goal and an assist for Bridgeport in a shootout loss to Worcester. He leads the Sound Tigers with 10 goals and 20 points in 19 games. … Jeremy Morin (traded to Chicago in 2010) had a goal and an assist in Rockford's win at Charlotte. Jimmy Hayes (traded to Chicago in 2010) and Adam Clendening (second round in 2011) each had two assists for the IceHogs. … Riley Sheahan (Detroit, first round in 2010) had two assists in a win for Grand Rapids against Texas. … Colby Robak (Florida, second round in 2008) had a goal and an assist in San Antonio's loss to Lake Erie. … Erik Gustafsson (Philadelphia, signed as free agent in 2010) had a goal and an assist for Adirondack in a loss to Albany.

SUNDAY

FIRST STAR

Stephane Da Costa, Binghamton

Da Costa, who hadn't played since Nov. 3, had a hat trick and an assist to help the Senators to a 5-2 victory against Syracuse. Da Costa was a high-profile college free agent signing in 2011 after two years at Merrimack, and he had three goals and five points in 22 games for the Senators as a rookie last season. He was more productive with Binghamton (13 goals, 36 points in 46 contests), and now has five points in seven contests this season.

SECOND STAR

Harri Sateri, Worcester

Sateri made 50 saves for the Sharks in a 3-2 win at Providence. It was Sateri's third straight victory after five losses to open the season. A fourth-round pick by San Jose in 2008, Sateri's slow start put him behind Alex Stalock on Worcester's depth chart, but he has stopped 112 of the 120 shots he's faced during his modest winning streak.

THIRD STAR

Frederik Andersen, Norfolk

Andersen stopped 32 of 33 shots for the Admirals against Bridgeport -- one night after turning aside 29 of 30 in a win at Hershey. He had allowed 13 goals in his previous four appearances before the strong weekend. Andersen was originally drafted by Carolina in the seventh round of the 2010 NHL Draft, but after not signing he went back into the pool and Anaheim selected him in the third round in June. He has a 2.52 GAA and .923 save percentage in 12 games for Norfolk.

NOTES: Jake Gardiner (traded to Toronto in 2010) scored twice for the Marlies in a win against Lake Erie. The defenseman now has seven goals on the season, which ties him with Frattin and veteran Ryan Hamilton for the team lead. He also has 14 points in 21 games. Spencer Abbott (signed as a free agent in 2012) also had three assists for the Marlies. … Mark Visentin (Phoenix, second round in 2010) stopped 21 of 21 shots he faced in relief of Chad Johnson to help Portland win at Manchester. … Reilly Smith (Dallas, third round in 2009) had a goal and an assist for Texas in a win at Peoria.