MILTON, ON - OCTOBER 4: Goaltender Ethan Kowatsch #1 of the Milton Menace tracks the puck in the third period at the Milton Memorial Arena on October 4, 2024 in Ontario, Canada (Photo by Michelle Malvaso / OJHL Images)
The Milton Menace had an up and down weekend.
On Friday, October 4th, the team welcomed in the Buffalo Jr. Sabres to the Milton Memorial Arena. It started off with a goal for Buffalo just five minutes into the game. The Menace would answer back with Luke Hampel scoring his 5th of the season, assisted by Cole Semeniuk and Nathan Catalano. The Sabres would then score immediately after, taking a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
The second period was all Milton. Gavin Sheehan scored his 2nd goal of the year, assisted by Hampel and Gabriel Ciarallo. The Menace were then able to turn a powerplay opportunity into a lead. Ciarallo potted one home, with 16-year-old Ryder Cali and captain Graeme MacAuley got the assists. It was 3-2 Milton after two periods of play.
In the final frame, Buffalo would tie things up quickly. But the Menace wouldn’t that stop them as Madden MacDougall would net his 3rd of the season, assisted again by Cali and MacAuley. The Menace beat the Sabres 4-3.
In net for Milton was Ethan Kowatsch. He stopped 39 of 42 shots for a .928% save percentage to get the win.
The team then stayed home for a second game over the weekend, as the Haliburton County Huskies came to town on Sunday, October 6th.
It was a rough start for the Menace, as the Huskies jumped out to a three goal lead in the first 12 minutes. It was the Captain who stopped the bleeding, as Graeme MacAuley scored his 3rd of the year, assisted by Luke Hampel and Ryder Cali. Milton was down 3-1 after 20 minutes of action.
In the second period, the Menace would give up another goal before finding their offensive footing. Gabriel Ciarallo scored his 9th of the year as his red hot start to the season continues. It was assisted by Madden MacDougall and Alexandr Siletskiy. Right before the end of the period, Tristan Tremble would net his first goal of the campaign, with help from Markus Hicks and Madden MacDougall. It was 4-3 Huskies after two periods.
The Huskies would score a dagger in the third period, which they needed after Ciarallo reached double digit goals on the season. His 10th was assisted by Cali and Siletskiy. The Menace would lose 5-4.
Austin McKillop started the game in net for the Menace. After letting in four goals on 14 shots, he was replaced by Ethan Kowatsch, who stopped 12 of 13 shots.
Next up for the Menace is a road game to Leamington to face the Flyers. It’s a rematch after the Flyers knocked the Menace out of the OJHL playoffs last year. Game time at the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre is set for 7:10 p.m.
The Menace return home on Friday, October 18th against the Oakville Blades. Buy your tickets for any/all home games here.
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