Recent history is distant for Macon, Peoria

If it’s recent series history being sought to size up this weekend’s SPHL President’s Cup Finals matchup between Macon and Peoria, there’s not much of it to be found.

The best-of-three series begins Friday in Peoria before the second game Sunday in Macon with the third game, if needed, Monday also in Macon.

The Mayhem practiced in Columbus earlier this week before heading to Peoria to ensure they were able to get ice time prior to heading to Illinois for the start of the finals.

“The guys are really upbeat about it; they feel they have one series to go, and this is what we came to do,” Mayhem head coach Kevin Kerr said. “Now, it’s up to execution and doing the things we need to do. Hopefully, we come out of it with a championship.”

The Mayhem and Rivermen have met four times this season with each game decided by a goal and Macon going 1-2-1 in those matchups. The most recent matchups came Jan. 13-14 with the other during the second weekend of the season, way back when Garrett Bartus was Macon’s starting goalie before his call up to the ECHL which also included a stint in the AHL.

Since that time, Macon asserted itself as one of the top teams in the SPHL, claiming a William B. Coffey Trophy as the league’s top regular-season team. Peoria, on the other hand, used the early stages of the season as an extended training camp. After surrendering 11 goals in the opening weekend of the season, the Rivermen cut both of their goalies: Storm Phaneuf and Shannon Szabados.

But Phaneuf has returned to play a key role for Peoria. After signing back with the team near the end of December and being released less than two weeks later, he joined the team for good Jan. 24 and has bolstered a late-season run that has extended into the postseason.

Peoria won seven of it final eight games, including a three-game sweep of Fayetteville, which played a major role in preventing Fayetteville from passing Macon for first place in the regular season. The momentum continued in the postseason with a two-game sweep of Knoxville followed by a 7-3 Game 3 victory over Huntsville in the second round.

Phaneuf has gotten the start in all five of Peoria’s playoff games, posting a 2.12 goals against average. This weekend will be Macon’s first time going up against him this season since he was not with the Rivermen during any of the four matchups.

“We didn’t play them for a while; they have changed a lot and we have changed a lot,” Kerr said. “I’ve always been a firm believer that if we do what we need to do, we should be OK. It should be a great series. I try not to change too much because I want them to adapt to what we do, too.”

One major key for Macon will be to contain the Rivermen’s scoring lines led by Cody Dion (24 goals) and Jeff Jones (20 goals). Dion finished the regular season with 24 goals, which was good for fifth in the league, and his four postseason goals rank second behind the six of teammate Connor Gorman.

“I think our defensive play and defensive zone and positioning to take on their opportunities and our back checking — those things are going to be very important through this series,” Kerr said. “I’m a big believer of defense winning championships; that’s what we’ve been able to do so far in the playoffs.”

This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Recent history is distant for Macon, Peoria."