It was a complete beatdown from start to finish.
The Winnipeg Ice scored four goals in the first period, and struck for five more in the second, as they cruised to a 10-1 blowout win over the Prince Albert Raiders in Game 3 of their playoff series.
Mikey Milne recorded the hat trick and added one assist to lead the way for Winnipeg as they took a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Zachary Benson also had a big night with four points including two goals and two helpers.
Owen Pederson, Connor McClennon, Jakin Smallwood, Conor Geekie, and Skyler Bruce had the other markers for Winnipeg.
The Ice weathered an early storm from the Raiders in the first few minutes, but it was all Ice the rest of the way as they chased Raiders starting goalie Tikhon Chaika from the net in the second period after he allowed five goals.
READ MORE: Winnipeg Ice take 2-0 series lead over Prince Albert after 5-2 rout
Raiders backup Max Hildebrand couldn’t stop the bleeding as the Ice scored four times in the span of just three and a half minutes to close out the middle frame.
“I felt a lot of the goals we scored were just pure work ethic,” said Ice head coach James Patrick. “I thought we forechecked real hard, we lifted sticks from behind, we stopped and went into the attack mode, and that was the thing I liked most about our game.”
The Ice scored three powerplay goals on five opportunities with the man advantage.
“I thought the power play got us going right off the bat,” Patrick said. “Power play has been the difference in the series.
“A team that wants to be real physical and is really physical in this building. They took the early penalty and we scored right away and that does take a bit of that aspect of their game out of play.”
The Ice are now 7-for-12 with the extra attacker in the series.
It was Winnipeg’s seventh straight win overall after closing out the regular season with four consecutive victories.
Ice leading scorer Matthew Savoie missed a second straight game after getting injured in the series opener.
READ MORE: Ice win Game 1 of first-round series over Prince Albert, Savoie leaves game with injury
The Ice can advance to the second round of the playoffs with another victory in Game 4 on Wednesday again in Prince Albert.
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