Menace Analyst – Mikayla Guarasci
Milton Menace Preview: Menace vs Buffalo Jr. Sabres – January 5, 2024
The Milton Menace are kicking off 2024 with a home game against the Buffalo Jr. Sabres on Friday night. They will look to make it eight straight wins and extend a streak that dates back to December 3rd.
In their last game before the holiday break, the Milton Menace visited the Niagara Falls Canucks and took home a 5-2 win. The Canucks struck first, but the Menace were able to get a power play goal from Aidan Puley and a second first-period goal from Alexander Siletsky to go into the intermission ahead. Although Niagara Falls scored again in the second, Puley and Connor Driscoll each added power play goals to extend the Menace’s lead. Madden MacDougall scored at the end of the game to secure the 5-2 win. Ariel Zaslaver picked up his eighth win of the season.
Driscoll is looking to become just the 11th player in the league to hit 50 points this season. He sits at 49 with 18 goals and 31 assists in 30 games. The Menace captain recorded a four-point night against the Canucks and has the eighth-best points per game average in the league with 1.63. Driscoll, along with Graeme McCauley, was named to the OJHL All-Star Game. Glen Crandall was named an alternate, and Gavin Sheehan was selected as a Top Prospects All-Star Game alternate.
The Jr. Sabres played Thursday night against the Brantford 99ers and won 4-2. Thursday’s game was their first since their pre-break 5-3 loss to the Menace in Buffalo, NY. Their 21-13-0-2 record has them sitting fourth in the West Conference, 10 points behind Milton, who are in second.
Milton will be looking to sweep the season series between the Jr. Sabres and Menace on Friday. The three past meetings have all been close games, one of them even needing overtime to find a
winner. The Menace will want to start the second half of the season with a strong effort against this skilled opponent and continue the success they saw in 2023.
Be sure to join the Menace at Milton Memorial Arena for their first game of 2024. Friday’s game begins at 7:30 p.m. If you can’t make it to the rink, the game will be available on FloHockey. The Menace’s social media accounts will also provide game updates.
