Ice Flyers Continue Quest to #Ascend; Face Macon in Semifinal
April 19, 2017 - SPHL (SPHL)
Pensacola Ice Flyers News Release
Ice Flyers Continue Quest to #Ascend; Face Macon in Semifinal
(Pensacola Ice Flyers)
Looking at the results from their first round respective series, most might have assumed the Macon Mayhem, winners of the 2016-17 regular season championship, to be the ones to win in a sweep and the Pensacola Ice Flyers to have to battle back after losing Game One and being pushed to the brink of elimination in overtime in Game Two. In actuality, the roles were reversed.
The Ice Flyers used a dominant 3-1 performance in Fayetteville, N.C., before closing out the series last Thursday in a dramatic 2-1 win with the game winning goal scored by rookie Stephen Hrehoriak with 1:32 remaining in the third period.
Macon on the other hand, ran into a hot goalie in Columbus' Mavric Parks. After being shutout 1-0 in Game One, the Mayhem needed 14:59 of bonus hockey to win the game in OT and even the series up. Things opened up in the third and final game as Macon saw five different players score six goals to win the game 6-3.
Game One of the SPHL Semifinal series will be played tonight, April 19, at 7:05 p.m. Central Time in the Pensacola Bay Center. The series will shift to the Macon Coliseum in Macon, Ga. Game Two will be played on Friday, April 21, at 6:35 p.m. CT. If necessary, the third and deciding game will be played in Macon on Saturday, April 22, with a 6:35 p.m. CT puck drop.
In the regular season, Macon decidedly won the series against the Ice Flyers with Pensacola going 2-5-1 against the league leading Mayhem. That includes a 0-3-0 record in the Pensacola Bay Center and 2-2-1 in the Macon Coliseum. Despite the lopsided series outcome, the goal differential is just +5 in favor of Macon in the eight-game set.
Goal scoring will be at a premium as the Mayhem averaged only 2.125 goals per game and the Ice Flyers averaged 1.5.
Who's hot?
Stephen Hrehoriak, RW, Pensacola: 2 G (2 GWG), 0 A, +2 in series against Fayetteville
Jeremy Gates, D, Pensacola: 1 G, 1 A, +2 in series against Fayetteville
Massimo Lamacchia, C, Pensacola: 1 G, 1 A, E in series against Fayetteville
Dennis Sicard, RW, Macon: 1 G, 2 A, +1 in series against Columbus
John Siemer, C, Macon: 0 G, 3 A, +1 in series against Columbus
Jordan Ruby, G, Macon: 2-1, 1.24 GAA, 0.956 SV% in series against Columbus
In the Nets
Pensacola:
John McLean: 2 GP, 0-2-0, 2.04 GAA, 0.915 SV% against Macon
Matt Zenzola: 6 GP, 2-3-1, 1.65 GAA, 0.937 SV% against Macon
Macon:
Troy Passingham: 3 GP, 2-0-0, 0.83 GAA, 0.976 SV% against Pensacola
Jordan Ruby: 6 GP, 4-1-0, 1.75 GAA, 0.949 SV% against Pensacola
Regular Season Series Leaders
Goals: Matt Johnson, Macon (3)
Assists: John Siemer, Macon (6)
Points: John Siemer, Macon (7)
Special Teams
During the regular season series, as you might expect in a low scoring series, the Macon penalty kill was incredibly effective. The Ice Flyers scored just one power play goal in 25 attempts for a success rate of just 4.00%. The Ice Flyers played well at even strength and they'll need that to continue while also staying out of the penalty box. The Mayhem were four for 29 with the man power advantage (13.79%). While that's more success than the Ice Flyers have had, Pensacola did manage to hold Macon well under their season average of 18.09%.
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 Ice Flyers Continue Quest to #Ascend; Face Macon in Semifinal |
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SPHL Stories from April 19, 2017
- Ice Flyers Fall 3-2 in Tight, Back-And-Forth Game One - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Mayhem Complete Late Third Period Comeback to Defeat Pensacola in Game One - Macon Mayhem
- Mayhem Complete Late Third People Comeback to Defeat Pensacola in Game One - Macon Mayhem
- Ice Flyers Continue Quest to #Ascend; Face Macon in Semifinal - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Kevin Kerr Named SPHL Coach of the Year - Macon Mayhem
- Macon's Kevin Kerr Named SPHL Coach of the Year - SPHL
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