The Milton Menace managed to break even against two Halton rivals this past weekend.
The Menace went to Burlington on Friday night to take on the Cougars. The game started off promising as the Menace opened the scoring just 1:07 into the game. Aidan Hughes scored the goal, with Captain Owen Forester getting the lone assist. Burlington would then tie it up two minutes later, with Justin O’Donnell and the Menace recapturing the lead at the 9:15 mark. It was assisted by Jared Coccimiglio and Connor Driscoll. The Cougars tied the game one more time before the frame ended at 2-2.
Dylan McFadden opened the scoring in the second period, potting a powerplay goal with help from Myles Perry and Hughes. Burlington then scored two unanswered goals to make 4-3 Cougars after 40-minutes of action.
It was quickly 5-3 in the third period, as Lucas Buzziol managed to pull the game within one 4:18 into the final frame. It was assisted by Forester and Driscoll. That would be all for both teams, as Burlington would win 5-4.
In net for Milton was Forbes Anderson. He stopped 30 of 35 shots, giving him a .857 save percentage.
The second game of the weekend for the Milton Menace was against the Oakville Blades.
The afternoon game took place at the Milton Memorial Arena ahead of the Super Bowl. Things looked rough to start for Milton as they struggled to get out of the gate. Oakville took a 2-0 lead, including a shorthanded goal. The Menace then got one back when Lucas Buzziol scored at the 15:38 mark. It was assisted by Myles Perry and Aidan Hughes. It was 2-1 after 20-minutes.
It was much of the same in the second period. Oakville scored back-to-back goals to go up by three. The Menace then got one back to keep them in the game. It was Justin O’Donnell on the powerplay, with Connor Driscoll and Jared Coccimiglio getting the assists. Oakville led 4-2 after two periods.
The third period was all Milton as the Menace scored five unanswered goals in the frame:
- Milton – Owen Forester (power play) (Lucas Buzziol, Myles Perry) 5:36
- Milton – Bradley Banach (Aidan Puley, Dylan McFadden) 6:58
- Milton – Jared Coccimiglio (short handed) (Lucas Buzziol, Cory Liu) 8:32
- Milton – Aidan Hughes (short handed) (unassisted) 9:36
- Milton – Aidan Hughes (empty net) (Lucas Buzziol, Joseph Meleca) 18:40
That would be it for the game, as the Menace beat the Blades 7-4.
Will Goumas was the Menace netminder for Sunday. He faced 30 shots, facing 26 of them. That gives him an .866% save percentage for the night.
The playoff bound Milton Menace are now 28-16-1-2 through 47 games this season. That gives them 59 points and places them in fourth in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) North/West Conference. They’re one point up on the Pickering Panthers (though the Panthers have a game in hand) and eight points back of the third place Burlington Cougars (with Burlington having two games in hand).
Next up on the docket is a game on Friday, February 17th against the Trenton Golden Hawks. Puck drop at the Milton Memorial Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Milton Menace home tickets for this OJHL season can be found here.
The final regular season game for the Menace will be on Saturday, March 4th against the Collingwood Blues.
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