Joseph’s return well-timed for Mayhem on defense
The timing worked out well for the Macon Mayhem on defense.
The same day one of Macon’s top defensemen, Nick Grasso, became to latest player to be called up to the ECHL, Chris Joseph returned from the injured reserve, just in time to help Macon pull off a 2-1 win over Pensacola on Friday.
“It was just great being out there with the guys again and helping us get a win,” Joseph said.
Joseph had been on injured reserve since Dec. 10 due to concussion symptoms, and a recent bout with the flu made things worse for the defenseman. Joseph was moved from the ice during the games to watching from the stands, a tough pill to swallow for any competitor.
“It’s tough. Just as an athlete in general, where you’re part of a team, you just want to be out there helping out as much as you can, in general,” Joseph said. “Sitting up in the stands and having to watch, you get a new perspective on it and different point of view. It just makes you want to be out there even more.”
With Joseph joining Ryan Michel in Macon’s top defensive pairing, the Mayhem now head into a grueling portion of their schedule with the task of staying near the top of the SPHL standings. Macon’s past five games against Pensacola, Fayetteville and Roanoke were matchups with teams no higher than fifth in the standings. That changes starting this week with games Friday and Saturday at fifth-place Peoria before traveling to SPHL-leading Huntsville and hosting fourth-place Knoxville next week.
Macon (18-3-3) trails Huntsville (20-4-1) by two points, and the Mayhem lost out on a chance to gain two points Saturday when their scheduled game against Pensacola was postponed due to weather. It has been rescheduled for March 5.
“It’s a big test for our team. When you’re playing the top teams in the league, it kind of shows where you stand,” Joseph said. “We want to show we’re the real deal, and it’s not been a fluke, and we’re a team that’s going out every night and dominating play.”
Macon and Huntsville are in position to make the SPHL standings a two-team runaway. Third-place Mississippi is five points out of second place with Knoxville having an eight-point deficit for the second spot. Huntsville has won eight straight and earned points in 12 games in a row.
“This is a huge week for us, a major week for us. I think it’ll tell us, these next three or four games where we are as a team,” Mayhem head coach Kevin Kerr said. “We’ve been playing some good teams that are near the bottom of the league. Every team in this league I believe is good. We’ve played teams trying to chase the pack, and they’re good teams, but now we’re starting to get into the part of the season where we are playing Peorias, Huntsvilles, Mississippis and Knoxvilles, and it’ll tell us where we are as team.”