Menace Analyst - Mikayla Guarasci

Milton Menace Preview: Menace at Collingwood Blues, Round 2 Game 1 - March 24, 2023

The Milton Menace’s quest for the 2023 Buckland Cup will continue on Friday night when they head to Collingwood to take on the Blues in game one of their second-round series.

The Menace are coming into the second round off a 4-1 series victory over the Pickering Panthers. Game five saw a 6-2 Menace win in Pickering last Friday. After the first round, Aidan Hughes is tied for second in the league in goals, scoring six in five games. Jared Coccimiglio is tied for third in the league in points with nine.

The regular season North/West Conference Champions, Collingwood, swept their first-round series against the Stouffville Spirit. Their post-season goal differential so far is 17, and they have allowed the least amount of goals against, with just five total over their four playoff games.

Milton and Collingwood’s special teams operated at very similar paces throughout the first round. Milton’s power play scored five goals in the opening series, putting them at 27.78%, while Collingwood scored four with the man advantage, leaving them at 25% after one round. They rank fifth and sixth respectively, league-wide in playoff power play statistics. It will be vital for the Menace to continue to have success in this area if they want to beat the Blues.

The teams met five times this season, with Collingwood taking the season series 3-2. The Blues won the first two games in Milton, and the Menace won the next two in Collingwood. The Blues took the Menace’s final meeting of the season 2-1. Nick Wereha scored the lone Menace goal in that game on Mar. 4. Four of the five meetings between these teams were won by one goal, so these opponents are no strangers to tight games. If the regular season is any indication, every game will be close, meaning each goal is that much more important to the win.

The puck will drop on game one of the second round at 7:00 pm on Friday from Eddie Bush Arena in Collingwood. If you aren’t making the road trip, check out the live stream on Hockey TV to cheer the Menace on.