Mayhem well-equipped to handle absence of key players
The Macon Mayhem will continue to defend their lead atop the SPHL standings this weekend with a pair of home games at the Macon Coliseum, and will do so with some missing faces compared to the team that it put on the ice two weeks ago.
Since that time, starting goalie and reigning SPHL MVP Garrett Bartus has been called up to the ECHL. The team’s top two scorers, Collin MacDonald and John Siemer have also been called up as well.
And while a player’s time at the next level can either be for short or long periods of time, the Mayhem are forging ahead heading into the weekend, when they’ll host Pensacola on Friday and Mississippi on Saturday, both at 7:35 p.m. Saturday’s matchup will match two of the league’s top four teams.
The team will also don “ugly Christmas sweater” jerseys on Saturday with fans also being encouraged to bring a new teddy bear to toss onto the ice following the Mayhem’s first goal. The teddy bears will be donated to the Children’s Hospital Navicient Health following the game.
The Mayhem (12-1-2) split a pair of overtime games last weekend against Fayetteville, both of which had a final score of 3-2.
“It’s a team thing, everybody’s got to rally behind and pick up the pieces when guys are out and they did a pretty good job of that last weekend,” Mayhem head coach Kevin Kerr said.
Macon, which has lost just once this season in regulation, is well equipped to handle players being unavailable, thanks to leadership from the likes of Matt Johnson, Matt Summers, and Dennis Sicard.
“Momentum’s a funny thing; you want to keep it going all the time,” Kerr said. “It’s not easy, it’s hard. With the leadership we have here, I don’t think our older guys and captains allow guys to take days off. They make my job easy.
“At times, we have light-hearted practices. With the guys we have, we’re serious and working hard to get things on point. Right now, things are going our way and we want to keep momentum going.”
Johnson’s recent play showed as much during the final moments on Friday’s 3-2 loss to Fayetteville when he netted a late goal to force overtime.
Daniel Gentzler will also look to carry forward his recent play of two goals in his previous three games. Gentzler actually leads current Mayhem players in points and assists with 13 and 9 while Jake Trask’s five goals tops that category for current players.
Mark Rivera also enters the weekend on a roll coming off last Saturday’s overtime game-winning goal.
“Mark Rivera stepped up the other night, he’s playing better than he has in the past couple of weeks and is a guy who’ll have to step in,” Kerr said. “Matt Johnson, that’s a guy coming off an injury early in season. Its almost like he wasn’t even hurt.”
Losing players is less a less than desired circumstance for any team. But it’s also a product of the quality of players being attracted to play for the Mayhem as some get the call and a chance to play in the ECHL, hockey’s equivalent to the Double-A level of minor league baseball.
“Any time you are moving players to the next level, that’s what it’s all about,” Kerr said. “We hate to lose players. We have conversations with them all the time about how we think about call-ups. At end of the day, we want the best for the player and that’s what it’s all about. You’re not holding your players back, you’re giving them the information that they need to make right decision for what they want to do.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 9:18 PM with the headline "Mayhem well-equipped to handle absence of key players."