Option 1

Hip Hurts was brought in to break down the 6 game loss in the playoffs against Maine. He wasn't too eager to talk about the series since it was a particularly tough outcome, but was still able to breakdown the matchup. He thought the team battled hard especially because he knows the teams were mismatched; the Timber came into playoffs with a top 5 offense and defense in terms of TPE, and the 3rd highest TPE overall. Nevada on the other hand was a bottom 3 team in both offense and defense TPE, ranking dead last overall as well, and without a single player above 350 TPE on the roster. Hurts mentioned how the NBB game plan revolved around their physical D core, which had the 1st, 3rd, and 4th place hit leaders among SMJHL defensemen this season. And that they more or less knew the only way they were going to win this one was with a generational playoff performance from their goalie Suzuki. For the first two games it looked like it could happen, with the goalie posting a 10 GSAA in just 2 games. But then reality set in and the Timber outscored Nevada 31-4 in the following 4 games to move on.