The Milton Menace may have dropped Game 1 of the Championship series 3-0 to the Trenton Golden Hawks, but the scoreboard doesn’t tell the full story.
At 5-on-5, the Menace set the tone — controlling 57% of puck possession, winning 55% of faceoffs, firing off more shot attempts at even strength. The team was fast, structured, and relentless in their pursuit of the puck, out-challenging Trenton across all three zones and dictating much of the play.
Milton logged over 10 minutes of offensive zone time at even strength (compared to Trenton’s 7 minutes), and generated 61 offensive zone possessions. The Menace also had more controlled zone entries (22 by stick handling) and 14 positional attacks, with 11 of those resulting in shots. In physical battles, Milton won 48% of total challenges and 69% in the defensive zone, showing grit in key moments to regain possession and shut down threats.
Defensively, the group blocked 19 shots, limited Trenton to just two even-strength goals, and consistently pushed the pace with smart puck movement and strong back checking support. That said, even the best even-strength team will wear down when undermanned or short handed. Netminder Carter Bickle was outstanding turning away 42 of 45 shots during the game. Many of which where the team was under pressure and was on the kill.
While the final result didn’t swing in our favour, there’s no mistaking which team drove play at 5-on-5. This group is built for playoff hockey — and ready to bounce back.
All statistics analyzed via Hudl-Instat.
