Mayhem in strong position atop standings after weekend split

After an end to a streak, the Macon Mayhem are looking ahead.

A split of their games during the weekend — Friday’s overtime victory against Pensacola and Saturday’s 5-2 defeat to Mississippi — resulted in the Mayhem’s 13-game point streak coming to an end. Macon will have its eyes on rebounding this weekend with a home-and-home against Columbus, going on the road Friday with the Cottonmouths making the return trip to Macon on Saturday night. The Mayhem have won two of three against the Columbus.

Still, Macon (13-2-2) remains atop the SPHL standings, three points in front of Huntsville and four ahead of Mississippi. That position is bolstered as a result of Friday’s win, which followed a recent trend for the Mayhem — an ability to win close games. The victory was Macon’s second one-goal win in as many games. Jake Trask notched Friday’s overtime game-winner in the closing seconds of overtime to avoid to a shootout. Macon is 7-1-2 in one-goal games.

During practice this week, the Mayhem likely will look to rectify some of the issues which plagued them in the loss to Mississippi. A pair of powerplay goals, 30 seconds apart, turned a tie game at 1 into a 3-1 Macon deficit, and the Mayhem were unable to rally. Daniel Sobotka cut the Mississippi lead to 3-2 near the end of the second period, but Macon drew no closer as the Riverkings pulled away.

Macon heads into the week having stood strong against competition in all parts of the SPHL. Macon is now 2-2 against teams in the top three positions in the standings, splitting games against Mississippi and Peoria. The Mayhem do not play either of those teams until Jan. 13 and 14 when they visit the Rivermen in Illinois.

The Mayhem continue to be strong in goal even after last season’s SPHL MVP, Garrett Bartus, was called up to the ECHL.

Macon will prepare for Columbus with both goalies coming off time on the ice during the weekend. Despite having a tough night against Mississippi with four goals allowed, Jordan Ruby still leads the SPHL with a 2.09 goals against average with his six wins also tying for the lead among the league’s active goalies.

Troy Passingham, signed after Bartus was called up, shined in his SPHL debut Friday, giving up one goal.

This story was originally published December 11, 2016 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Mayhem in strong position atop standings after weekend split."