The Calgary Hitmen are on to the second round of the 2026 Western Hockey League playoffs, and a big reason for that is thanks to forward Ethan Moore.
Thursday night, Moore became the first player since 1996 to score four game-winning goals in a single playoff series.
The 6’1″ right winger from Okotoks had five goals and 1 assist through Calgary’s four-game series against Brandon.
https://x.com/TheWHL/status/2040143574218788944Moore’s first game-winning goal ended Game 1 in the third overtime on March 27 in Calgary.
On March 29, the Hitmen and Wheat Kings went to overtime again, this time tied 5-5. Once again, Moore would end up scoring the winner, with his second goal of the game.
In Game 3 in Virden, Manitoba, Moore would end up scoring for the Hitmen in the second period. The Hitmen would go on to add an empty and Moore’s goal would once again be marked as the game-winner.
Thursday night in Game 4, Moore would again be the hero for the Hitmen, scoring the team’s third out of four unanswered in a come-from-behind victory to sweep the Wheat Kings.
Since 1996, several players have scored four or more game-winning goals in the playoffs, including the Kamloops Blazers’ Jarome Iginla in 1996 and the Hitmen’s Derek LeBlanc in 2007, Brett Stone in 2009, and Adam Tambellini in 2015.
The Hitmen are the only team in the WHL’s Eastern Conference to advance to the second round as of Thursday night, so they’ll wait to find out who their second-round opponent is once the other three series — Prince Albert vs. Red Deer, Edmonton vs. Saskatoon, and Medicine Hat vs. Regina — conclude.