Moose Jaw Downs Hitmen 4-2 in Game 1

Hit of the Game

Hitmen defenceman Giffen Nyren plasters Warriors forward Thomas Frazee into the glass just inside the Warriors blue line 8:35 into the first period. The hit led to a great scoring chance for the Hitmen when Joel Broda was stoned on a point blank chance by Moose Jaw goaltender Jeff Bosch.

Frazee would later go on to score the Warriors third goal, 6:44 into the 2nd period.

Saves of the Game

At the 8:17 mark of the second period Jeff Bosch makes a wicked glove save off Matt Mackenzie to deny the Hitmen defenceman his second goal of the game.

Jones makes two great stops on the penalty kill midway through the second period. First he robs Frazee and then turns away Moose Jaw Captain Jason Bast on the rebound.

Bosch makes flurry of saves during a 5 on 3 in the second period to keep the Warriors ahead. Shots were 30-14 with 3:40 seconds left in the second.

Bosch makes a left pad save on Misha Fisenko midway through the 3rd period, which was a timely stop as it kept the Warriors up by three.

Tonight's Quirky Stat

The Hitmen outshot the Warriors 18-0 in the third period.

Quotable Quotes:

Hitmen Co-Captain Michael Stone gives his thoughts on the game that was.

"We took too many penalties. We had our chances but their goalie played really strong. They capitalized on their powerplays and that was the difference. "

Where do you go from here?

"We’re just looking to bounce back. We’re not hitting the panic button or anything like that. We’re gona come out with a strong effort on Saturday and take it from there.

Is there any point in complaining about penalties?

"They thought they were penalties obviously, and we’re maybe not happy with it at the time but that’s the way it goes."

Facing adversity at an early stage?

"We didn’t have adversity until the finals last year, so let’s get it out of the way early and bounce back. "

Is it easy to get frustrated in a game like this?

"Little bit, I think we did a pretty good job of it though. Obviously it’s the heat of the battle, so we’re gonna get frustrated but I think we kept our composure and got our chances, we just have to bury them."

Thoughts on the Powerplay tonight

"They did a really good job on the penalty kill tonight. They were blocking shots, getting in passing lanes and their goalie was their best penalty killer tonight. Once we get a few I think it will start to roll though."

"Quicker movement on our feet, lots of guys were standing and looking for the pretty play and we gotta move and get shots to net and get greasy goals. That’s what playoff hockey is all about. Let’s just get pucks at the net."

WHL Leading scorer Brandon Kozun on tonight's loss

"We were hot and cold, I thought we did some good things and we did some bad things as well. Obviously we had 50 shots, we gotta make sure we put a couple of those in. Anytime you get 50 shots you should have more then two goals and we didn’t have that and they won the game and that’s what it comes down to."

Hitmen Head Coach Mike Williamson on the loss

"You have to adjust to the officiating. I didn’t think it was a standard we’d seen much this year. I don’t know if we adjusted really well. It was a bit frustrating, but that’s … there’s always going to be something that comes up, whether it’s frustration there or a hot goalie. I think we’ve got a mature and experienced enough team that we should be able to play through that."

"We knew that there was going to be adversity … a tough loss, backs against the wall. Sometimes in playoffs, if you’re going to play for a long time, that situation’s going to come up. Certainly, ideally we would have come out and got off on a better foot and got a win tonight. That wasn’t the case and we’re just going to have to regroup and be better next time out."

Moose Jaw Head Coach Dave Hunchak on the Warrior Win

"Important victory for our team. I thought we did a lot of little things real well. We were really committed to winning the hockey game. Our powerplay obviously was on fire tonight. We’re gonna need that for us to have any chance in the series. Certainly it’s a long ways from being over but to get that first one is important."

How big was that 5 on 3 kill for your team?

"I think it changed the momentum of the game. You could sense it building a little bit in their favour after we had scored. Another changing point was the goal right after the non goal, I thought it was a real important part of the game as well too. Full marks to our guys for doing the little things right and getting ourselves the victory in game 1."

Can an 8 seed beat a 1?

"Belief is important at this time in the year. Our group is a group that is still very young. We dress nine 92’s on any given night and we’re still in a situation where we’re in our process of building. You know, to get that first playoff victory with essentially 17 guys that haven’t played a playoff game is important, that’s what you’re building on."

What can you say about the play of your goaltender Jeff Bosch, who faced 50 shots!

"Well, Bosch has been solid for us all year. He’s a guy that enjoys the workload. Certainly we don’t want to be giving up that many shots, but I do think that our guys did a very good job of letting him see the puck and any shots form outside and any second or third chances that were there, we did a good job of getting rid of them."

Source of Photos: http://www.whl.ca/ & http://kingscast.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Brandon_Kozun.jpg