(BURLINGTON, ON) July 2, 2025 — The Toronto Beaches came out on top of their second matchup of the year against the Burlington Blaze, winning 13-8 at Central Arena on Wednesday night.
Willem Firth led all Beaches players, posting a pair of goals and six points in the win, while Josh Mills had four goals and an assist — marking his most productive game to date with the Beaches.
Tyler Francis-Renner pitched in with four points, as did Liam Aston. Hunter Lubiniecki also added three helpers.
Thomas Kiazyk helped his team to a victory with a 40-save performance on the road.
The Beaches inked the scoresheet first, with a goal from Aston opening things up just 51 seconds into regulation. Nate Laycock knotted the game back up a few minutes after, but Josh Mills got Toronto back into the lead under a minute later with his first of the evening. Firth followed that up with his first, and despite a Sawyer English marker to make it a one-goal game again, Owen Tasse and Liam MacLeod connected for a transition marker, making it a 4-2 Beaches advantage at the first intermission.
The teams continued to go back and forth in the second stanza, but it was Tasse contributing once again, this time grabbing a loose ball and hammering a shot far-side to increase the lead. Bodhi Gillies got that goal back at the 17:07 mark, but a two-goal run for Toronto — courtesy of Mills and Firth — made it 7-3. Nate Watson and Francis-Renner traded goals before Burlington got a pair from Ben Wittich and Watson, cutting the Beaches’ advantage to 8-6.
But another pair of goals helped Toronto quell the host’s momentum. Francis Renner ripped a shot five-hole, and Mills scored on a short-side shot, sending the Beaches into the locker room up 10-6.
From there, the Beaches were able to find offence to seal the game while holding Burlington without consecutive goals in the final frame. Seth Martineau got his first with the Beaches to open the third. The Blaze got another from Gillies at the 6:48 mark, but Mills quickly answered it on the power play. Adam Ponting and Jack Woynarski traded goals and the end of regulation, but the Beaches ultimately walked out with their seventh straight victory.
The Beaches now sit at 12-5 on the year. They’ll head home Thursday to wrap up the Crombie Cup against Mimico at Ted Reeve Arena. Face-off is at 8:00 pm ET.