Menace Analyst - Mikayla Guarasci

Milton Menace Preview: Menace at Pickering Panthers, Round 1 Game 3 - March 12, 2023

The Milton Menace are heading back to Pickering to play game three of their first-round series against the Panthers on Sunday. The Menace lead the series 2-0 after Friday’s win on home ice.

Milton’s 5-2 win in game two saw Aidan Hughes score the first playoff hat trick in Menace history. After going down 2-1 in the first period, the Menace found their offence in the second, scoring four unanswered goals to seal the win. In addition to the Hughes hat trick, Lucas Buzziol and Aidan Puley scored for the Menace. Hughes and Buzziol each finished the night with four points. Will Goumas stopped 28 of 30 shots for Milton.

Pickering went 0-6 on the power-play while the Menace scored two power-play goals, both coming from Hughes. The Menace’s penalty kill is yet to allow a goal against in this series.

Friday’s game was the first time the home team has won a game between these two teams this season. Although Pickering will look to make a streak of it and win in their building on Sunday, Milton has shown well there throughout the season, including in their game one win.

Sunday’s game three in Pickering has the potential to be a major turning point of the series. If the Menace can win, they’ll be heading home up 3-0. If the Panthers can find their first win of the playoffs, they will have momentum on their side and will be one step closer to evening the series.

While the Menace have shown they can come from behind and win when it counts, they will want to strike early on Sunday to build on their success from last game. The offence will need to continue to perform as it did on Friday in order for Milton to come out victorious once again.

Sunday’s puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm at the Pickering Recreation Complex. If you can’t make the trip to Pickering, the game will be available for streaming on Hockey TV.