The Conference championship series begins Friday on the road

If the regular season is any indication, local junior hockey fans are in for an intense third-round showdown.

The Milton Menace and Leamington Flyers, now set to meet in the OJHL West Conference final, split their four-game 2024-25 series. Both teams won their two home games, each scoring a total of nine goals in those matchups.

Their most recent encounter ended with a 1-0 overtime victory for the Flyers, with both teams resting their top players.

The Menace will be seeking revenge after falling to the Flyers in last season’s second round.

Leamington, finishing first in the West, remains unbeaten in the playoffs, having swept Niagara Falls and Buffalo in consecutive series. They will host the third-round opener on Friday.

Game two will take place Sunday at 6 p.m. at Memorial Arena.

The rest of the series schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, Apr. 8 in Leamington (7:10 p.m.)

Friday, Apr. 11 at Memorial (7:30 p.m.)

(If necessary) Sunday, Apr. 13 in Leamington (7:10 p.m.)

(If necessary) Tuesday, Apr. 15 at Memorial (7:30 p.m.)

(If necessary) Thursday, Apr. 17 in Leamington (7:10 p.m.)

Milton, coming off a dominant 4-1 second-round victory over last year’s champions, Collingwood, has scored a league-leading 43 goals this postseason.

Madden MacDougall has been leading the charge with an OJHL-high 11 goals and 19 points, while teammates Luke Johnston and Graeme MacAuley follow closely with 18 points each.

On the other hand, the Flyers have been nearly impenetrable in goal, allowing only 14 goals in eight playoff games — the fewest in the league.