Mayhem Week in Review
January 5, 2021 - SPHL (SPHL)
Macon Mayhem News Release
MACON, Ga. - The Macon Mayhem of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) went 1-1-1 last week to open the abbreviated 2020-21 season. The team picked up a hard-fought 2-1 victory in Huntsville last Monday night, dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Birmingham in the home opener Saturday night, then were defeated 3-0 by Knoxville on Sunday. The Mayhem have a chance for quick revenge against the Ice Bears as they face them on the road in Knoxville's home opener Friday night. Macon returns home on Saturday to close out the weekend with another game against Huntsville.
CURRENT RECORDS AND STATS
Record: 1-1-1, 3 pts (T-3rd, SPHL)
4 GF, 7 GA
16.7% PP (2nd, SPHL); 100.0% PK (T-1st, SPHL)
LAST WEEK'S TRANSACTIONS
12/30 - F Alex Kromm loaned to Tulsa (ECHL)
1/1 - F Brian Bowen signed
1/4 - F Dominick Sacco placed on 21-day injured reserve
1/4 - D T.J. Dockery waived
1/4 - F Andrew Durham waived
UPCOMING GAMES AND PROMOTIONS
Friday, January 8 - Macon at Knoxville, 7:30 PM EST (Season Series vs. KNX: 0-1-0)
The Mayhem will travel to Knoxville to face the Ice Bears on Friday night. It's a delayed home opener for Knoxville as the Ice Bears were scheduled to host Macon on December 31 before the game was postponed out of an abundance of caution due to COVID-19. For the Mayhem, it will be a chance for a little "get-back" as the Ice Bears notched the league's first shutout on Sunday in a 3-0 win in Macon. Jeremy Brodeur, the son of Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur, turned away every shot on goal he faced for the clean sheet.
Saturday, January 9 - Huntsville at Macon, 6:35 PM EST (Season Series vs. HSV: 1-0-0)
PROMOTIONS: It's Margaritaville Night! The team will be wearing specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off following the game.
The Huntsville Havoc will make the trip down to the Macon Centreplex to face the Mayhem on Saturday night. The Mayhem's lone win on the season so far came against the Havoc in a 2-1 season opening victory on Monday, December 28. Since then, the Havoc split a home-and-home series against Pensacola last weekend, with each team winning in their home city. The Havoc sit one point ahead of Macon in the standings but have a game in hand on the Mayhem; they defeated Knoxville 3-2 in their season opener on December 26.
MAYHEM WEEK IN REVIEW
Monday, December 28 - Macon 2 at Huntsville 1 (Attendance: 2,445)
Despite the rookie-laden roster for the Mayhem, it was returning players Jimmy Soper and Stephen Pierog who lit the lamp for Macon in their 2-1 victory over the Havoc. After a scoreless first period, the Havoc broke through with a goal before Soper, then Pierog potted the two goals to give Macon the lead. Both teams played to a scoreless third period with the Mayhem's Jake Theut and Huntsville goaltender Max Milosek matching each other save for save. The Mayhem outshot the Havoc 32-29 as Theut stopped 28 of 29 in net for Macon and Milosek made 30 saves on 32 shots in goal for Huntsville. Neither team scored on the power play as Macon was 0 for 2 with the man advantage and the Havoc were 0 for 4.
Saturday, January 2 - Birmingham 3 at Macon 2 (OT) (Attendance: 1,331)
Just as the third period closed in Huntsville on Monday night, the first two periods Saturday in the Mayhem's home opener were a duel between opposing goaltenders. This time, Jake Theut and the Bulls' Hayden Lavigne were the two netminders keeping the pucks out of their respective nets. Birmingham finally broke through with a goal in the third period before Logan Coomes knotted the score on the power play for the Mayhem. The Bulls reclaimed a 2-1 lead late in the period, but Gabe Guertler tied the game at 2, forcing overtime. Tanner Froese scored an unassisted goal in the extra 3-on-3 frame to give Birmingham the extra standing point and the win. Theut made 18 saves on 21 shots, while Lavigne stopped 40 of 42 in net for the Bulls. Macon was 1 for 2 on the power play while the Bulls were 0 for 3.
Sunday, January 3 - Knoxville 3 at Macon 0 (Attendance: 612)
SPHL Player of the Week Nick Master single-handedly earned his award on Sunday afternoon in a 3-0 Knoxville victory at the Centreplex. He scored both goals in the second period, then assisted on an empty-netter in the game's final five seconds to secure the first win of the season for the Ice Bears. Goaltender Jeremy Brodeur did the rest, stopping all 31 shots on goal he faced for the first shutout in the SPHL this season. Ryan Ruck acquitted himself well in net for Macon, however, making 24 saves on 26 shots in his first start of the season. Only three power play opportunities were handed out during the game as Knoxville failed to score on its lone chance and the Mayhem finished 0 for 2.
THREE STARS OF THE WEEK
1. G Jake Theut - Theut was a big reason the Mayhem picked up their opening night win in Huntsville, turning away 28 of 29 shots on goal. Theut's best saves came in the first period, when the Havoc were outshooting Macon 7-1 at one point; and in the third period, when Huntsville outshot the Mayhem 10-5 in their futile effort to tie the game.
2. F Logan Coomes - Coomes scored the Mayhem's only special teams goal of the week with a power play marker on Saturday in the OT loss to Birmingham. He also took 16 shots on goal during the three games, which has him tied with Pensacola's Alex Hagaman for the most shots by a player in the SPHL.
3. F Gabe Guertler - Guertler assisted on the first goal of the game in Huntsville and scored the game-tying goal to force overtime Saturday at home against Birmingham.
SPHL Stories from January 5, 2021
- Havoc Add Defenseman Cook - Huntsville Havoc
- Mayhem Week in Review - Macon Mayhem
- Knoxville's Nick Master Named Warrior Hockey/SPHL Player of the Week - SPHL
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