REGINA — With one flick of his wrists, Brayden Point went from self-titled "little bugger on the team" to overtime hero.
The five-foot-six affiliate call-up scored 6:14 into the second overtime to give the Moose Jaw Warriors a 5-4 win over the Regina Pats in Game 4 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.
The Warriors lead the series 3-1. Game 5 is Friday (7 p.m., Mosaic Place) in Moose Jaw.
"It's the biggest (goal) of my career right now," said Point. "You have to play your game, work hard and the chances will come. Then you have to make sure on those."His teammates have welcomed him with open arms since he was called up after the Calgary Buffaloes were eliminated from their midget AAA playoffs. They mobbed him with open arms after he ended the game.
"They're great guys. They're awesome to me,” said Point. “I don't think it will change the way they look at me. I'll still be the little bugger on the team."
James Henry fed the puck in front to Point who was denied by Pats goalie Matt Hewitt before Point beat him high with a backhand on the rebound.
The Pats nearly got the job done in regulation when Eric Arnold tied the game with his second goal of the night.
With 7:16 left in the third period, Pats pest Dyson Stevenson picked up a five-minute major for hooking when he took the feet out from under Moose Jaw's Kendall McFaull as the Warriors captain was going into the corner to retrieve the puck.
The Warriors tied the game on Arnold's second power-play goal of the night. After a nice effort by Point to fight to the front of the net Arnold buried the rebound at the side of the net with Hewitt down and out.
"He's a pretty special individual," said Warriors head coach Mike Stothers of Point. "He has an uncanny ability to make plays and get open. I guess when you're only five-foot-two — or whatever he is — you've gotta find a way to contribute. He's not going to knock guys over, so he's pretty good around the net."
The Warriors opened the scoring when Justin Kirsch beat Matt Hewitt in close. Cam Braes forced Pats defenceman Colton Jobke into a turnover to help set up the goal. In each of the four games, the winning team has scored on their first power play chance.
James Henry used his hustle to get on the end of a lively bounce off of the end boards to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.
Jordan Weal got the Pats to within a goal before Arnold gave the Warriors a 3-1 lead when he was given the time to pick out the top corner before ripping his shot off the underside of the crossbar.
The Pats got a boost when Kyle Burroughs' scored with 30 seconds left in the second period to cut the Moose Jaw lead to 3-2.
The Pats roared back to take the lead when Martin Marincin scored two goals 1:32 apart in the third period.
