Mayhem Edged by Knoxville in Shootout
December 27, 2018 - SPHL (SPHL)
Macon Mayhem News Release
Macon Mayhem vs. the Knoxville Ice Bears
(Macon Mayhem, Credit: Bryan Meeks)
Despite a rapid third period comeback to force overtime, the Mayhem's four-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday night as they were defeated in Knoxville by a 3-2 final in the shootout.
Knoxville had been riding high, coming off an impressive 5-2 victory over the red-hot Birmingham Bulls. Still, it was Macon who dictated the scoring chances in the early going, forcing save after save from Ice Bears goaltender Hayden Stewart.
Stewart faced 14 shots in the first period. The Cornell University grad stood his ground and made enormous first period saves on John Siemer, Alexander Taulien, and Derek Sutliffe, all of whom had scored a goal the previous weekend against Pensacola.
Lucas Bombardier potted his 10th goal of the season 8:52 into the second period. He raced down the left wing on an odd-man rush and sniped a shot over Ian Sylves' shoulder, putting Knoxville on the board for the first time.
The Mayhem dropped their first power play of the game in the middle stages of period two. With only four seconds remaining in the middle frame, following a turnover at center ice, Bombardier rushed down the right side and roofed the puck inside the near post to double the Ice Bears' lead heading into the second intermission.
Twice in the past two weeks, the Mayhem managed to score just 20 seconds into a period. They did so again on Wednesday night, as Stathis Soumelidis broke in on goal and buried the puck through Stewart to cut Macon's deficit in half.
Just 50 seconds later, Taylor Love ripped a shot from the right point which was redirected by Sutliffe. Out of a goal-mouth scramble, Mike Chemello spotted the loose puck and knocked it past the goal line, tying the game early in period three.
Late in regulation, Taulien was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for spearing. The penalty resulted in the Mayhem facing a long Knoxville power play which carried over into extra time and turned into a 4-on-3. Macon endured the disadvantage brilliantly and returned to full strength with two minutes remaining in overtime.
Despite a glorious shorthanded opportunity to win the game, the Mayhem were stumped by Stewart, who forced a shootout with his superb play in goal.
Macon was again held off the scoresheet entirely in the shootout, and Knoxville's David Higgs was able to bury his attempt as the fourth Ice Bears shooter. Sylves was dealt his first defeat with the Mayhem despite stopping 40 of 42 shots on goal. Stewart earned his fourth victory of the season, halting 31 of 33 shot attempts. The Mayhem will travel to Fayetteville on Friday and Roanoke on Saturday night to close out 2018. Puck drops at 7:00 pm ET both nights.
Images from this story
 Macon Mayhem vs. the Knoxville Ice Bears (Bryan Meeks) |
SPHL Stories from December 27, 2018
- Mayhem Edged by Knoxville in Shootout - Macon Mayhem
- Three Stars of Week 10 - Fayetteville Marksmen
- Perfection on Power Play Lifts Marksmen in 'Sellout' - Fayetteville Marksmen
- Storm Hit with Suspensions - Quad City Storm
- Ice Bears Defeat Top Ranked Macon in Shoot Out - Knoxville Ice Bears
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
