Mayhem lose late lead, drop fifth in a row
Glory is fleeting. And in hockey, so is momentum.
The Macon Mayhem saw a two-goal lead in the final 10 minutes evaporate Friday at the Macon Coliseum against Pensacola, losing 3-2 on an overtime goal by Nathan Bruyere after a pair of third-period scores by Roger Tagoona tied the game.
Macon, which snapped a two-game scoreless streak Friday, got goals from Junior Harris and Matt Summers, with the Summers goal giving Macon a 2-0 lead with 10:20 to play.
The momentum didn’t last long, however, as the Ice Flyers got on the board 67 seconds later on Tagoona’s first goal before tying the game to send it to overtime.
Macon (18-6-5) has now lost five games in a row, earning two points during that stretch.
Four who mattered
Harris: Playing in his first game with the Mayhem, he ended a Macon scoring drought that had lasted two games, blasting a slap shot past Pensacola goalie Matt Zenzola for the first goal of the game 8:05 into the second period.
Summers: Summers showed why he is one of the team’s captain’s when he gave the Mayhem what appeared to be an insurance goal 9:40 into the third when he hustled his way into position to redirect a shot from the point by Daniel Sobotka.
Tagoona: He single-handedly erased a two-goal Mayhem lead, punching one loose puck in off a backdoor pass 10:47 into the third period and tying the game four minutes later.
Bruyere: His shot from the center slot in overtime completed Pensacola’s come-from-behind win in overtime as the puck got past the left side of Mayhem goalie Jordan Ruby.
Observation
Finishing move lacking: With 10 minutes to play, the game was setting up for a low-scoring Mayhem win and possible shutout by Ruby. But Macon was unable to close the game out, especially on the defensive end as a pair of breakdowns led to a pair of Ice Flyers goals. If there’s one point of focus moving forward, it’ll be the importance of playing a full 60 minutes of a game.
Worth mentioning
Ceremonial puck drop: Telegraph publisher Don Bailey took part in a ceremonial puck drop before Friday’s game as part of it being Telegraph night.
Roster moves: The Mayhem’s roster was shuffled a bit heading into Friday. Forward Collin MacDonald was serving a one-game suspension for an incident Jan. 21 against Knoxville and defenseman Ryan Michel was placed on the 21-day injured reserve. The Mayhem this week released forward Joel Whetmore and signed defenseman Marc Thompson and Harris. Both players came from the FHL, a league regarded as one step below the SPHL. Harris played for Pensacola last season.
They said it
Mayhem forward Dennis Sicard on losing the two-goal lead: “Halfway through the game, we kind of took over the game and let them come back, and that’s what happens. It’s a tough loss for us, but you can’t think about that stuff. You have to move forward, (Saturday) is a new day.”
Sicard on the team’s biggest detriment right now: “It’s just putting out a full 60-minute game. We threw out 30, maybe 40 for a few nights here or there, but it takes a full game to make things happen.”
What’s next?
The Mayhem travel to Pensacola on Saturday before hosting Huntsville Friday and Feb. 4.
This story was originally published January 27, 2017 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Mayhem lose late lead, drop fifth in a row."