MacDonald follow lifts Mayhem in overtime

Collin MacDonald slapped a rebound puck into the net to lift the Macon Mayhem to a 3-2 win in overtime over Huntsville at the Macon Coliseum.

The Mayhem got on the board first, as Matt Johnson scored on a one-timer past Havoc goaltender Tyler Steel. Johnson came flying off the bench, got a pass from Jake Trask, and blasted it past Steel.

“It was huge to get the first goal in the game,” Macon head coach Kevin Kerr said. “After the way we played last time against these guys, it gave us confidence, and we always try to start fast. So, that was great to see.”

Macon took a 2-0 lead late in the second period off of another one-timer. This one came off the stick of Daniel Gentzler, assists to Johnson and MacDonald.

Huntsville answered in the third period with two goals in 20 seconds from Johnny Daniels and Stuart Stefan. There was no more scoring, forcing overtime.

Overtime was a battle until inside a minute. Jake Trask came in on a break, but his shot was saved by Steel. MacDonald was following the play, however, and poked the puck into the net for the win with 48 seconds left.

“This was a huge win for us,” said Kerr. “To get a win against this (first-place) team and with the way things have gone recently, we are extremely happy to get this win, and hopefully this is the start of great things to come.”

MacDonald recorded a goal and two assists after just one point in his past seven games. Johnson also had two points, and Trask had two assists.

Macon’s next home game is Feb. 17 against Mississippi.

This story was originally published February 5, 2017 at 1:05 AM with the headline "MacDonald follow lifts Mayhem in overtime."