SPHL Macon Mayhem

Mayhem Edged in Tight Battle with Rivermen to Close Season

Published on April 6, 2019 under SPHL (SPHL)
Macon Mayhem News Release


Playing a hard-fought game to wrap up the regular season, the Mayhem's leads slipped away from them against the Peoria Rivermen and they fell by a 5-3 decision.

Just 1:49 into the tilt, Danny Cesarz sliced into the left corner and drew the attention of a horde of Rivermen. He then fed a pass into the slot for Larry Smith, who ripped a wrist shot inside the left post to beat Stephen Klein. The goal was his first with the Mayhem, and gave his team a 1-0 lead.

On a Macon power play, Derek Sutliffe redeemed himself after a pair of close missed chances from the previous night. He gunned down a loose puck which fluttered into the left circle after Zach Urban chipped it into the Peoria zone. Sutliffe roofed a shot over Klein's glove into the top right corner of the net, giving the Mayhem their first Country Financial Insurance Lead of the weekend. However, it was short-lived as Peoria returned the favor with a power play goal, scoring off a fluky deflection in which the puck ricocheted off Jake Faiella's stick and past Kevin Entmaa. The Mayhem again entered the first intermission with a 2-1 edge over the Rivermen.

Joe Kalisz, who has been Entmaa's Achilles' heel throughout the weekend, scored 8:07 into the second period. Pijus Rulevicius flung a puck at the net from the right point. It dropped right on top of the crease, where Kalisz whacked it past Entmaa to tie the game. However, less than three minutes later, Macon responded with another power play goal. John Siemer fed the puck to the goal line for Caleb Cameron, who twisted a backhand pass across the crease into the wheelhouse for Jake Trask. Macon's top goal-scorer fired a one-timer into the net to regain Macon's lead.

Shortly after going ahead, the Mayhem were forced to kill a long four-minute double-minor penalty called against Cameron for high-sticking. The team hunkered down defensively and successfully killed off the long disadvantage. It appeared as though they would head into the second intermission with a 3-2 lead, but Beau Walker snapped a shot past Entmaa from the right circle with 29 seconds remaining in the period, re-tying the game at 3-3.

A neck-and-neck battle ensued in the third period, with each team jostling for the go-ahead goal. Entmaa had been replaced with Ian Sylves due to an equipment issue. With less than eight minutes remaining in regulation, Dennis Sicard raced the puck into the Macon zone. He left it for Alec Hagaman, who smacked the puck past Sylves give Peoria its first lead of the night. Austin Vieth iced the game with an empty-net goal.

Entmaa halted 31 of Peoria's 34 shots on goal, while Sylves stopped 3 of 4. Klein denied 4 of 6, while Phaneuf stopped 12 of 13 in relief. The Mayhem will begin the 2019 President's Cup Playoffs next week. The dates and opponents will be determined tomorrow night. The Challenge Round Show will air live on the SPHL's Facebook page and will run from 7:30-8:30 pm ET. Stay tuned on Mayhem social media for the latest updates.

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