LAKELAND >> The Walled Lake United Whitecaps stayed unbeaten in the Lakes Valley Conference with a 7-3 win over the Milford Mavericks Friday night.

The Whitecaps came out hot and opened the scoring just 1:27 into the game on a power-play goal by Kempton Barrett who snapped in a shot from the right circle.

That set a tone for the game. The Walled Lake United power play clicked three times on the night and was largely the difference in the game, which was close until a flurry of goals from both teams in the final four minutes blew open a matchup that had previously been tight throughout.

“The power play was on tonight. We had a couple nice shots. We were moving the puck pretty well, and what it comes down to a lot of games, special teams wins games,” Whitecaps head coach Collin Elkins said.

Milford’s own power play was inconsistent. The Mavericks went 1-for-5 on the advantage but struggled to generate shots, including a long five-on-three opportunity in the first period when they did not get a shot on goal.

“It’s difficult, especially when the nerves are high. It’s hard to make those adjustments, and looking forward we have takeaways to bring home and hopefully we come back stronger,” Milford head coach Cameron Evans said. “We didn’t move the puck very well. There were a lot of shots that we could have made better,” he added.

The Whitecaps also had a strong forecheck to dominate possession, often keeping the Mavericks pinned in their own zone. That helped Walled Lake United pile up a 41-19 edge in shots on goal.

“When you’ve got them on the ropes, you need to keep them on the ropes. So we like to keep a hard forecheck, and you’ve got to stick to your gameplan when it’s going right,” Elkins said.

Milford was dangerous in transition, however, and tied the score with 13 minutes to play in the first period when Craig Borges set up Alex Kozar in front. Kozar deked the goalie and backhanded the puck in to tie the score 1-1.

But the combination of Walled Lake United’s strong forecheck and timely scoring cut off any momentum that the Mavericks tried to build. Each time Milford scored, the Whitecaps had an answer within five minutes or even less to restore their previous advantage and get Milford back climbing uphill.

“You’ve got to give it to the boys. They were ready to answer the bell. Any time you get punched in the face, it’s how you react. Can you get back up and get back in the game? And the boys did a real nice job of doing that today,” Elkins said.Daniel Ciciretto gave Walled Lake United the lead for good with about eight minutes left in the opening period when he pounced on a loose puck in the slot. With his back to the goal, he flipped the puck backwards towards the net and snuck through the crowd, finding the back of the net to make it 2-1 Whitecaps.

Overall, United got big nights from several players. Alex Green led all scorers with five points on the night (one goal, four assists) for the Whitecaps. Cooper Auten (two goals, one assist) and Brady Frelich (three assists) each had three points for Walled Lake United, while both Barrett and Ciciretto scored twice.

Kozar had a pair of goals for the Mavericks, and Borges added one goal and one assist.

With the win, Walled Lake United improves to 3-4 overall and 3-0 in LVC play. The Whitecaps have a quick turnaround playing Lakes Area Saturday night. The game is also a charity event, featuring a toy drive.

Milford (3-4-1, 0-2-1 LVC) is off until next Wednesday when they will look to rebound against South Lyon Unified in another league game.

“It’s a difficult loss. There’s a lot of takeaways from it. It hurts,” Evans said. “But knowing my boys, they’re going to come back stronger. They’ve got the heart. They’ve got the momentum. It’s just sometimes it takes one loss to realize what you need to do right.”