Fans watching Menace hockey (OJHL Images)
The Milton Menace have jumped out to a quick lead in the first-round playoff series.
On Friday, March 8th, the Menace welcomed in the Burlington Cougars for game one of their seven-game series. Heading into the playoffs, the Menace and Cougars split the four games they played in the 2023-2024 OJHL regular season, each team getting two wins apiece.
It was the Menace who got on the board first, with Jonathan Mead scoring in front of 527 fans in attendance. His first period goal was scored at the 17:40 mark and assisted by van Fabjan and Joseph Macchione. Milton led 1-0 after one period of play.
In the second period, Gavin Sheehan made it a two-goal game, scoring his first of the playoffs. It was assisted by Tristan Tremble and Nicholas Wereha. A few minutes later, Aidan Puley made it a three-goal lead, with help from Madden MacDougall and Isaac Barrett. The Menace led 3-0 after 40-minutes of action.
The Cougars were able to get one back in the third period, but that was all, as the Menace beat Burlington 3-1.
In net for the Menace was Forbes Andersen. He stopped 24 of 25 shots, giving him an even .960% save percentage.
Game two took place on Sunday, March 10th.
The Menace went into Burlington to try to get the two-game lead in the series. They got off to a good start, with Alexander Siletsky scoring first. His opening goal was assisted by Sett Ursomarzo and Isaac Barrett. It was the lone goal in the first period, with Milton leading 1-0 after 20-minutes of play.
No scoring took place in the second period.
In the third frame, Gavin Sheehan buried his second of the series, with assists from Markus Hicks and Tristan Tremble. Three minutes later, Nicholas Wereha got on the board, making it a three-goal game. His first of the playoffs was assisted by Johnathon Mead and Evan Grobanopoulos. Before the end of the period, Wereha was able to pot his second of the game, putting the puck on an empty net. Sheehan and Barrett got the apples. Milton beat Burlington again, this time winning 4-0.
This time, it was Glen Crandall in net for Milton. He was perfect, stopping all 22 shots that came his way.
The boys will have a few days to rest. Game three is scheduled for Wednesday, March 13th. Puck drop at the Milton Memorial Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for playoff games in Milton can be found here.
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