Mayhem not shaken by road series at Columbus

The scenario isn’t be the most ideal for the Macon Mayhem as they open the SPHL Presidents Cup Playoffs on Tuesday against Columbus.

Due to their home ice not being available because of a previously booked Disney On Ice event at the Macon Coliseum, all three games of their best-of-three series will be played on the road at Columbus (22-30-4, 48 points). Starting Tuesday.

And although the Mayhem (37-13-6, 80 points) won’t get to play in front of their home fans and have a short turnaround between the end of the season and the playoffs, it does not appear to be having an unsettling impact within the locker room. The Mayhem’s home record of 18-6-4 is nearly identical to its mark of 19-7-2 on the road.

Huntsville joins Macon as another SPHL team unable to use its home ice in the first round. The Havoc will play the home games of their first-round series against Mississippi at the IcePlex in Huntsville, with room for approximately 550 spectators.

Macon’s playoff opponent last year, Peoria, was also unable to use its home ice in the first round.

“I’ve been through it before. It is what it is, we can’t let it bother us,” Mayhem left winger Jake Trask said. “If it goes to three, we’ll be there for all three. We’ll have to learn to like it and move forward.”

There’s another element of motivation for the top-seeded Mayhem to knock out eighth-seeded Columbus in the first round. Macon as the top seed retains home ice advantage.

But first things first for Macon against a Columbus team that battled into the playoffs as the final seed. It’s a role that a handful of Macon players from last year’s team know well. The Mayhem were the eighth seed in last year’s playoffs, losing the series 2-1 to Peoria.

“We played Peoria toward the very end last year and gave Peoria a run,” Trask said. “Columbus is going to battle. They played us hard the last few times and we’re going to have to be ready.”

If there’s an advantage in confidence lately between the teams, Columbus has it. In a four-game stretch ending on March 18, Macon played Columbus three times with the Cottonmouths winning all three, by 5-4. 4-3 and 7-2.

That stretch put the Mayhem’s regular-season title hopes at a crossroads, putting them in make or break territory. Macon simply responded by winning seven of its final 10 games.

“We kind of sat down and said, ‘We have to be better,’ ” Trask said of the team’s unity after losing to Columbus. “They won’t make it easy on us, and we will have to do the same for them.”

Columbus is led by Keegan Bruce’s 51 points (27 goals and 24 assists) and Andy Bathgate’s four goals in as many games. Bruce’s 27 goals is second among all SPHL rookies. Mavrik Parks has given the Cottonmouths some much-needed stability down the stretch between the pipes, winning four of his final five games to end the regular season.

Macon counters with a scoring attack, which includes three players with at least 17 goals (Trask, John Siemer and Matt Summers) and the second-ranked goalie in the SPHL in multiple categories, Jordan Ruby (21-6-2, 2.32 GAA).

“We have a confident group. I don’t think we’re an overconfident group,” Mayhem head coach Kevin Kerr said. “We know we did not play very well against them. If we play as well as we (can), it’ll be a very good series, and hopefully we will come out on top.”

This story was originally published April 10, 2017 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Mayhem not shaken by road series at Columbus."