Mayhem’s strong weekend ends with loss to Pensacola

The celebration of a regular-season title will have to wait for the Macon Mayhem.

Coming off shootout wins on back-to-back nights, the Mayhem gave up four unanswered goals after taking an early lead in a 4-1 loss to Pensacola, which has now won six of its past seven games.

The loss capped off a strong weekend for the Mayhem in which it ground out two hard-fought wins against Roanoke and Huntsville and more importantly, earned four points in the standings to take advantage of second-place Fayetteville’s failure to pick up any points on the Mayhem.

Macon, which would have been able to clinch the regular-season crown and home ice for the playoffs Sunday, can now do so next Friday or Saturday against Roanoke. The Mayhem (35-13-6) will clinch the regular-season title with either a win or one overtime loss.

Peoria (31-12-11) is three points out of first place, having taken over second in the standings with a three-game sweep of Fayetteville (35-17-2). The FireAntz are still mathematically alive for the regular-season title, four points out of first.

Macon held the early advantage, taking a 1-0 lead 9:14 into the game on a goal by Nick Grasso. But the Ice Flyers mounted a comeback, getting a score in the final seconds of the first period to lead 2-1 and adding two more in the second period. Macon goalie Jordan Ruby was replaced following the second period of play by Troy Passingham.

Six who mattered

Grasso: His slap shot from the point gave the Mayhem an early lead 9:14 into the game as he put the shot on goal and Pensacola goalie Matt Zenzola was unable to stop it.

Ken Neil: He tied the game less than five minutes after Macon’s goal. Neil found a crease and beat Ruby with a backhand shot.

Aaron Clarke: With the Mayhem unable to account for him in an frenzied exchange in front of the net, Clarke shot the puck in the net off a rebound for the Ice Flyers’ first lead of the game.

Stephen Hrehoriak: His goal 11:24 into the second period made it a two-goal Pensacola lead.

Louis Belisle: Less than a minute after Pensacola’s third goal, the Ice Flyers leading scorer capped off the second-period scoring frenzy with his shot getting past Ruby.

Matt Zenzola: The Pensacola netminder turned in a sharp performance on Sunday. He stopped 28-of-29 shots to prevent Macon from rallying back as the game went on.

Turning point

The Mayhem were less than a minute from going into the first intermission with the score tied at 1. All of that changed when a defensive breakdown allowed Clarke to get in position to find an opening, and his goal gave the Ice Flyers momentum that they carried into the second period.

Observation

Out of juice: The Mayhem traveled back home late Saturday night from Huntsville after their second shootout win in as many nights. The wear and tear reared its head as the Mayhem never seemed to get that extra burst of energy to put it over the top. Pensacola, on the other hand, had played the previous two nights at home, winning by three goals the night before.

Worth mentioning

Echeverri placed on IR: Defenseman Daniel Echeverri, who was injured during Friday’s win against Roanoke, has been placed on the 14-day injured reserve by the Mayhem. The team has since signed Michael Holland, who was released from a three-game tryout earlier this week, to a regular contract.

Two returners: Macon head coach Kevin Kerr and left winger Stathis Soumelidis returned from suspensions stemming from the previous weekend in Huntsville. Sunday was the final game of right winger Dennis Sicard’s suspension.

Race for eighth: The Mayhem’s likely opponent appears to be Columbus in the first round of the SPHL playoffs should the Mayhem enter the postseason as the top seed. The Cottonmouths lead Roanoke for the final playoff spot by five points. A win by Columbus when the two teams play Tuesday would clinch a postseason berth.

They said it

Grasso on the weekend, where the Mayhem picked up four points in the standings: “Four points out of six is nice. It would have been nice to take care of all six and lock in first place. We worked hard for the first two, we were real tired. The legs were shot, we got a lot out (Saturday) against Huntsville, it was a great win.”

Grasso on needing only an overtime loss to clinch first place: “It’s where we want to be, it’s one game at a time, and that’s really no different than it’s been for us the whole season.”

What’s next

Macon closes out the regular season next weekend, hosting Roanoke on Friday and Saturday.

This story was originally published April 2, 2017 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Mayhem’s strong weekend ends with loss to Pensacola."