Mayhem forging ahead despite off-ice factors

Even with multiple off-ice distractions looming in the background, the goal remains the same for the Macon Mayhem: to win the regular-season SPHL title and claim the top seed for the playoffs.

Macon remains in position to do just that with six games remaining in the regular season.

On the heels of taking two of three games from Huntsville in a weekend matchup of league leaders, the Mayhem (33-11-6, 72 points) travel for a Tuesday game against Fayetteville (34-14-2, 70 points), the new second-place team in the standings, one point in front of Huntsville. Tuesday’s game will be Macon’s fourth in five days.

The Mayhem will be no worse than tied for first place going into the weekend when they host Roanoke on Friday and Pensacola on Sunday, sandwiching a road trip to Huntsville on Saturday.

“The days go by fast, but it’s hockey,” Mayhem forward Matt Johnson said. “This is what we signed up for. There’s still a job at hand. We can’t get caught up in all the ‘BS’.

“I just try to stick to our game plan and try to find a way to get a good outcome for our team.”

The Mayhem are still awaiting the final ruling from the SPHL following the indefinite suspensions of head coach Kevin Kerr and players Dennis Sicard, Chris Joseph and Stathis Soumelidis following the fight at the end of Saturday’s 6-3 win against Huntsville. The same punishments was handed down to Huntsville head coach Glenn Detulleo and players Justin Tateson, Nolan Kaiser and Scott Fellnermayr.

The final ruling on the length of the suspensions is expected later this week.

The postgame fracas began shortly after Detulleo had left the bench for the locker room as the game ended. Video from Hockeyfights.com showed Kerr’s face being touched by the blade of a stick being held by a Huntsville player, a factor contributing to the postgame scrum escalating.

There’s precedent from the SPHL for both coaches to be suspended regardless of their actions following the game, a measure to hold coaching staffs accountable for incidents involving their players. Earlier this season, Knoxville head coach Mike Craigen was suspended four games as a result of the Ice Bears’ Jason Price being suspended for shooting a puck into Huntsville’s bench area during a game.

“It was an unfortunate set of circumstances of trying to control players and get them off the ice,” Kerr said. “Glenn Detulleo had actually not left his bench and I think if we were both there, things would have been completely different.

“Emotions got the best of both teams. It’s an emotional game, but we have to think before we act and make sure we protect the integrity of our league. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. All I can do is learn from the mistake, personally, and move on.”

Although suspended, Kerr and the players can still be at the playing venue during games. During Sunday’s 3-0 loss, Kerr watched the game from seats high above the ice, giving him a unique perspective as assistant coach Leo Thomas called the shots from behind the bench.

“It was definitely weird, but I kind of enjoyed it,” Kerr said. “You can see a lot from up there and it was actually pretty good to see from up there.”

Mayhem won’t get to play at home in first round

If the Mayhem want to take the ice in the SPHL playoffs at the Macon Coliseum, they’ll have to win a first-round series to begin with.

Due to Disney On Ice being previously scheduled at the Coliseum for April 13-16, the Mayhem won’t be able to play there during that time, which is also when the first round of the playoffs is scheduled.

“It’s not necessarily going to be ideal, but sometimes you have to take what you get,” Kerr said. “It’s unfortunate, but we’re all professionals here and have to make sure we are ready to go wherever we play and make sure we are focused and ready to go.”

If the season ended today, Macon would play Columbus. Other possible first-round opponents are Roanoke, Pensacola and Knoxville. The Mayhem are finalizing plans for an alternate venue in the first round with the locations being looked at being the Cottonmouths home arena, the Columbus Civic Center, as well as the Duluth Ice Forum.

The facility in Duluth is located 106 miles from the Macon Coliseum and is the former practice facility of the Atlanta Thrashers and is the current practice facility for the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators.

“It’d be great to go up to Duluth,” Kerr said. “Obviously up in Duluth, we would attract some fans, and with a smaller building, have a great environment. “We’re looking at all those things and hope we can come to a resolution here and make a decision by the middle of next week.”

The Mayhem’s home ice conundrum is hardly foreign to SPHL teams. Last year, Peoria was unable to use its home ice in the first round of the playoffs against Macon, but was able to host at a smaller municipal arena in Peoria with less seating.

This story was originally published March 27, 2017 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Mayhem forging ahead despite off-ice factors."