Week at a Glance: Mayhem Take Aim at Second Place
Published on February 19, 2018 under SPHL (SPHL)
Macon Mayhem News Release
Macon Mayhem celebration
(Macon Mayhem)
MACON, GA- The Macon Mayhem won both games this past weekend, and they will now look to take second place in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) with a pair of road wins over the Evansville Thunderbolts and Knoxville Ice Bears on Friday and Saturday.
WEEKEND RECAP
Macon took all four possible points from this past weekend against the Birmingham Bulls and Knoxville. The weekend started on Friday, as the Mayhem held on to defeat Birmingham 3-2. They scored one goal in each of the three periods to take a 3-0 lead, but Birmingham stormed back and made it close. The Bulls scored with eight seconds left to make it 3-2, and Charlie Finn held strong on a flurry in front of the net in the final seconds to hold on for victory.
Saturday was a much different win, as they hit the road to take on Knoxville. Knoxville led three different times in the game, but the Mayhem answered each time. The Ice Bears led 4-2 with just over 10 minutes remaining, when Darren McCormick started the comeback. He scored on a breakaway, which started a scoring onslaught of three goals in a four-minute span. Brandon Pfeil tied the game with just over seven minutes left, and McCormick scored his second of the game 34 seconds later to give the Mayhem the 5-4 lead. It was their only lead of the game, and they held on to take the 5-4 victory.
WEEKEND PREVIEW
The blue sweaters hit the road for two more games, as they travel to Evansville to take on the reeling Thunderbolts on Friday and are back in Knoxville to play the Ice Bears on Saturday.
Evansville Thunderbolts Preview
2017-2018 Team Record (as of February 19th): 19-17-6 (44 points; 6th Place)
Season Series (Last Meeting): Mayhem 3-1-1 vs. Evansville (3-2 overtime win on January 5th)
Leading Scorer: John Scorcia (42 games played, 15 goals, 28 assists, 43 points - 7th in SPHL)
Goaltending Situation: Jonah Imoo (20 GP, 5-10-3 record, 3.99 goals against average, .881 save percentage); Ryan de Melo (with Evansville: 3 GP, 0-2-1 record, 4.57 GAA, .889 SV%/Overall: 15 GP, 2-7-3 record, 4.44 GAA, .885 SV%)
Evansville started out the season hot and were near the top of the standings entering the month of January, but they have free-fallen in the standings. Goaltender Tomas Sholl was loaned to the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL on January 24th, and the Thunderbolts have not won a game since. They went on an eight-game regulation losing streak before losing in overtime on February 16th, and they are 0-10-1 over their last 11 games. Goaltending has been a major problem over their 11-game slide, as they have allowed 5.55 goals per game during that stretch - compared to the 3.10 they have scored per game.
Knoxville Ice Bears Preview
2017-2018 Team Record (as of February 19th): 22-14-4 (48 points; 5th Place)
Season Series (Last Meeting): Mayhem 2-0-1 vs. Knoxville (5-4 win on February 17th)
Leading Scorer: Berkley Scott (40 GP, 20 goals, 26 assists, 46 points - T-2nd in SPHL)
Starting Goaltender: Zoltan Hetenyi (28 GP, 14-13-1, 3.02 GAA, .910 SV%)
After falling to the streaking Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs on Sunday, Knoxville has now dropped two straight and fallen to fifth place in a tight SPHL race. The team is toward the middle of the pack in both goals per game and goals against per game. They rank fourth in goals for per game at 3.63 and rank fifth in goals against per game at 3.23. Knoxville excels on the penalty kill, as they rank first at 88.62%, and they shut down all five Mayhem power plays on Saturday. Even after dropping their last two at home, the Ice Bears are still one of the best home teams in the league at 12-6-1 this season.
The Mayhem are back home on Thursday, March 1st against Knoxville for College Spring Break Night. For ticket information, visit MaconMayhem.com or call the Mayhem Front Office at (478) 803-1592.
Images from this story
 Macon Mayhem celebration |
SPHL Stories from February 19, 2018
- Ice Flyers Announce Rescheduled Games Due to Ice Conditions - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Week at a Glance: Mayhem Take Aim at Second Place - Macon Mayhem
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