The Warriors salute the Mosaic Place crowd after knocking out Regina in the first round.

** This week we are taking a look back at the great local sports year that 2012 was with our Top 5 Local Sports Stories of the Year. **

The first season in Mosaic Place couldn't have gone much better for the Moose Jaw Warriors.

It started with a record number of season tickets being sold and then the momentum transferred onto the ice where a big Warriors team dominated their competition on the way to a franchise record setting season.

That all combines together to make the 2011-2012 Warriors season, the first in Mosaic Place, our Top Local Sports Story of the Year.

“All the work by the numerous people in the community for Mosaic Place to become a reality, and I think that the fact that the building was opened to rave reviews and the year the club had, it all came together for what was a successful year all around,” said general manager Alan Millar when looking back on last season.

The Warriors' front office assembled quite the squad for the debut season in the new barn.  The tribe went on to set franchise records in wins with 45, home wins with 30 and points with 98.  There also the attendance record thrown in for good measure as well.

The tribe rolled right into the WHL Eastern Conference Final for the second time in franchise history, but ran into an equally talented Edmonton Oil Kings squad that had the much hotter goalie in Laurent Brossoit.  Edmonton knocked Moose Jaw out in five games, ending their run.

The season wasn't all perfect from get-go though as Millar was busy working the phones right from the start of training camp as the team was striving to put a championship team on the ice.

“We felt we were competitive, we were building around some good players that were in that 1992 age group, we were able to complement them with some gritty, hard nose veteran players and that allowed us to have the success that we did,” stated Millar.

“We went into the season with the question marks in net and we addressed that early in training camp by bringing in Luke Siemens and as the year went on I think our team got better, I think our identity was that we were big and physical and we played hard under coach Mike Stothers and his staff.”

Kenton Miller led the Warriors in goals.A big deal for the team came a couple months into the season when the Warriors added 20-year-old centre Kenton Miller and forward Justin Kirsch in a trade with Calgary.  Kirsch was expected to be the big piece from the deal coming in as a sniper, but it was Miller that provided the biggest dividends.

Kenton Miller had scored 28 goals in his four previous WHL seasons and came to Moose Jaw with just three in 11 games for Calgary before the deal.  He would go on to lead the team in scoring, putting in 32 goals over the next 58 games.

“Kenton is a great story.  He had always been put in that checking role and with the opportunity that he got here and the way that he played, I just think that a lot came together for him,” said Millar.  “He earned everything he got in terms of where he played in the lineup, who he played with, opportunities he got on the power play and he certainly showed a nose for the net.”

The 2011-12 season is filled many amazing stories, but none might be more incredible than that of defenceman Morgan Rielly.  The highly touted draft prospect, who eventually went fifth overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer, was on fire to start the season, scoring a point per game pace with 18 in 18 games, but in that 18th game is when everything changed.

Rielly tore his ACL and required knee surgery, all but putting him out for the season and leaving a big hole in the Warriors backend.  The team filled the minutes with the likes of rookie Travis Brown stepping up as well as Joel Edmundson taking on a more offensive role.  While all this was happening Rielly continued to work and made an improbable return in the Eastern Conference Final.

“That night in November in the game against Calgary when Morgan got hurt, it was a tough few days following with the news of the surgery and possibility that he was out for the entire, and certainly a blow for the hockey club, but for a young man in his draft year, equally as difficult on Morgan as well,” said Millar.

“All the credit in terms of his mindset and how hard he worked on his rehab.  He worked very, very hard and he passionately wanted to help the team come playoff time and found his way back in the lineup for the Conference Final.”

On a team littered with experience WHL veterans, no one could have guessed that a 15-year-old kid would steal the show once the playoffs hit.  The Warriors called up

Brayden Point scored 7 goals in 14 playoff games at 15-years-old2011 first round Bantam pick Brayden Point at the end of the regular season and he made it onto the playoff roster.  Point cemented his place in Warriors history during that playoff run.  After getting one goal in five regular season games, Point was lights out in the playoffs, scoring seven goals, three of them game winners, and picking ten points in total.

Point's biggest goal came in Game 4 of the Warriors' first round series with the rival Regina Pats.  The two teams had battled through three regulation periods and one overtime already when just over six minutes into the second overtime period, Point picked up a rebound at the side of the net and fired a backhand past Pats goalie Matt Hewitt for the win.

“I think you look back on the history of the league and not a lot of 15-year-olds have come close to accomplishing what Brayden did when he came in during that playoff run,” said Millar.  “I remember looking at some statistics and guys like Evander Kane came in and played a number of games as 15-year-olds and didn't even record a point.

“Brayden came in and fit very nicely on that line with Quinton Howden and James Henry, and certainly helped him prepare for his 16-year-old season here.”

As much as the success on the ice drove the fan support, Millar added that it all wouldn't have been possibly without the great fans that the Warriors have, “I said it at the time that I was fortunate enough to be with the team in Guelph that hosted the Memorial Cup, but the atmosphere here come playoff time and the way the fan got behind us with the noise in the building, the signs around town and how Moose Jaw was painted red, black and white, was incredible.”

It all stacks up to a season that many in Moose Jaw will never forget and also our Top Local Sports Story of the Year.

Top 5 Local Sports Stories Of The Year:
#2 – Canada Cup of Curling Takes Over Moose Jaw
#3 – Keegan Arnyek Has Dominant Year In Football & Track
#4 – Mike Mintenko Goes Into The Saskatchewan Sports Hall Of Fame
#5 – Morgan Rielly Becomes The Highest Drafted Warrior Ever