The Milton Menace punched their ticket to the next round with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Burlington Cougars on Wednesday night at Milton Memorial Arena.
Milton came out strong in the opening period, striking early as Pacheco opened the scoring just 2:20 into the game, finishing off a setup from Zhou and MacAuley. Burlington responded quickly, with Wong netting his first of the postseason at 5:21 to even things up. The deadlock didnāt last long, as Currie restored Miltonās lead at 15:22, capitalizing on a feed from Runco and Tremble to give the Menace a 2-1 edge after one.
The second period saw Milton add to their lead, as Pye buried his first of the playoffs at 7:40, extending the advantage to 3-1 with helpers from Apthorp and Vreugdenhil. The middle frame was filled with penalties on both sides, but neither team could convert on the power play.
Milton locked things down defensively in the third, holding Burlington off the scoreboard to secure the win and close out the series.
Despite being outshot 39-19, the Menace were backstopped by a stellar performance from McKillop, who turned aside 38 of 39 shots. On the other end, Vicente made 16 saves for Burlington.
Both teams went scoreless on the power play, with Burlington finishing 0-for-5 and Milton 0-for-4.
With the win, Milton advances to the second round, riding a strong defensive effort and clutch goaltending when it mattered most.
