Defensemen getting into scoring act for Mayhem

The Macon Mayhem haven't just gotten improved defensive play as of late, they've also gotten an emergence of scoring from its defensive players.

After giving up four or more goals in six of seven games, Macon has since righted the ship, not giving up more than three goals in its past seven games.

Macon is coming off of a weekend sweep with its defensemen having chipped in on offense in 4-3 overtime road wins against Birmingham and Pensacola. Daniel Echeverri notched a pair of goals in Friday's win, including the game winner in overtime and also had an assist. In Saturday;s victory over Pensacola, Brandon Pfiel got the game-winning score in overtime.

What's next

Macon returns to the ice this week for a pair of games, hosting Roanoke on Thursday and Evansville on Friday before traveling to Huntsville. Roanoke has been a bit of a nemesis to the Mayhem this year, winning both meetings between the teams in overtime.

Make yourself at home

Chris Izmirlian is continuing the make the Mayhem's decision to acquire him pay off. His three points in Saturday's game gave him a point in all four games that he has played so far for Macon.

Carrying the load

With top scorers Stephen Pierog, Daniel Gentzler and Caleb Cameron loaned to ECHL teams, the onus has been place d on forward Jake Trask to continue to lead the way on the scoring lines. He has done just that as of late. Trask has eight goals and six assists for 14 points in his previous eight contests. For the year, he has 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points.

Alumni Update

Stephen Pierog, currently on loan to the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL, got his first goal as an ECHL on Friday night.

Garrett Bartus, the SPHL MVP two years ago with Macon as a goalie, remains with Fort Wayne in ECHL. He currently serves as the Komets backup goalie as is 6-2-0 with a 2.61 goals against average. Another player from Macon's inaugural season, Travis Howe is still with Utah in the ECHL, leading the team with 87 penalty minutes.

Chris Joseph, loaned to Jacksonville earlier this season, remains with the Icemen. In 11 games, he has three points, all via assists with the plus-five plus-minus rating. Another defenseman, Eric Shand has a plus-minus of minus-one in eight games with Rapid City. Daniel Gentzler has an assist through five games with Toledo with Caleb Cameron still seeking his first point with Greenville after five games.

This story was originally published January 1, 2018 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Defensemen getting into scoring act for Mayhem."