Ethan Moore had himself quite a series against the Brandon Wheat Kings in the opening round of the WHL playoffs. Moore scored the game-winning goal in all four games of the Hitmen sweep. This guy definitely needs a nickname – and Moore says he’s heard a few. “I’ve been hearing ‘Sudden Death Moore’ a bunch,” he said. “I guess sometimes, when you’re hot, you’re hot. It was a pretty cool feeling, and just being able to score those goals was pretty awesome.” Tough test Now, the Hitmen have to put that series on the shelf. The next round gets tougher; the Hitmen will go up against the Medicine Hat Tigers in Round Two. The Tigers don’t have many weaknesses, and forward Julien Maze knows it won’t be easy. “I think just play as a team again,” the 18-year-old said. “I think they’re such a great opponent and such a well-coached team – and their players are really good.” “I think it’s going to be another Brandon series; I think the games all going to come down to the wire but it’s going to be a tough series to beat and they’re such a great team over there. We’re just going to have to play our game.” The underdogs The Tigers dominated the Hitmen in the regular season going 7-1. But as they say, the playoffs are a whole new game. Hitmen head coach Dustin Friesen knows his team will go in as the underdogs. “I don’t thing it matters,” Friesen said. “We’ve just got to be us; we’ve got to play how we need to play to be successful.” “I think if you look at that, we’ve probably been underdogs the whole year, so I think we’re comfortable in that position… but I don’t think I look at it either way; It’s two good hockey teams.” The first two games of the series will be in Medicine Hat on Friday and Saturday. The series then shifts to Calgary for games three and four on Monday and Wednesday.
