REGINA — Max Paddock didn't find out he was starting for the Regina Pats until the day before the start of the tournament, but he looked more than comfortable on the big stage on Friday night.

The 17-year-old goalie turned away 31 shots and Nick Henry scored with 33 seconds left to lift the Pats to 3-2 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs in the opening game of the 100th Memorial Cup at the Brandt Centre.

"I just went out there and played my game, stuck to the game plan and did my normal routine as I would for any other game… It's the Memorial Cup, so I was obviously nervous, but it was just like any other game for me," said Paddock after the win.

Paddock was stellar down the stretch in the regular season for the Pats, but an injury just before the start of the playoffs kept him out of Regina's seven-game loss to Swift Current.

Much like the rest of his team, Paddock showed no rust in his first game back in the lineup, and on the biggest stage of his career.

"Max was awesome, we see it everyday in practice and it's no surprise for us in the room there, he made some big saves when we needed him and he was a huge part of our win tonight," said Pats defenceman Josh Mahura, who had a goal, two points and seven shots in the win.

It was a Paddock save that helped set the stage for Henry's game winner as the young goalie made a huge cross-crease save on Hamilton forward Brandon Saigeon late in the third that kept the game tied.

"(Paddock) made some big saves at some big times, so he had a good game," said Hamilton star forward Robert Thomas, who opened the scoring for the Bulldogs just 7:49 into the game.

"Anytime you it's really tough, but we just didn't play well. We've all got to hold ourselves accountable and be better next game."

Hamilton led twice in the game, but they feel that they let a chance to secure a big tournament opening win slip away.

"The good news for us is that we've got a couple of days here to reset and get back to being who the Hamilton Bulldogs are and we respond all the time," said Bulldogs head coach John Gruden.

"I thought we turned the puck over way too many times, our decision making coming out of our own end wasn't very good, but all-in-all, we will be better."

The Pats entered the tournament off a 46-day layoff, but didn't look like they missed a step throughout the contest as they skated right with the OHL champion Bulldogs.

"In this kind of tournament there's not much room for error, so it was a big win," said Pats head coach John Paddock. "I thought we got somewhat stronger after the first period and it was a battle, it was two real good teams going really hard."

Despite having four power play opportunities in the opening frame, the Pats trailed 1-0 after one. Their fourth power play carried over to the second period and they broke through when captain Sam Steel let a one-time blast go to tie the game at 1-1 only 19 seconds into the second.

The two teams would trade goals later in the frame with Marian Studenic restoring the Bulldogs' lead at 13:14, but only 2:16 later, a great individual effort from defenceman Josh Mahura tied the game heading into the third.

With overtime looming, both teams were generating chances as they pressured to end the game, but it was a bounce in the slot that found the stick of Henry for him to win the game and give the Pats the win.

"It was just excitement, at that point in the game, you're just trying to put pucks towards the net and get one to go and it was nice to get one to go," said Henry, who finished with a goal, two points and six shots on net.

Henry also put together a stellar game at both ends of the rink with a few key blocked shots, which is something that Regina did a lot of in the win.

"It's a big stage and you've got to play your best, so that was a good game," said Henry.

Getting the opening win after their lengthy layoff, there was definitely some good feelings around the Pats after the win, but they know its just a start.

"We've been working for this for a long time, whenever it got tough, we reminded ourselves that this is what we're working for and it got easier, so I didn't expect any other effort out of us tonight," said Steel.

"We started off with our legs underneath us, it's just the little things like getting timing back, this is fast hockey, they're a fast team, so it took a bit, but once we found our stride, we played really good."

Regina will get Saturday off before they return to the ice on Sunday to face the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Hamilton gets two days off before taking on the WHL champion Swift Current Broncos on Monday.

Coming up on Saturday, the Broncos and Titan play their opening game of the tournament at 2 p.m.