Cameron bolstering Mayhem’s offensive firepower

With the start of any season in the SPHL, the perpetual question always centers around who’ll be the next to step up.

Each team sees turnover from year to year due to players pursuing other opportunities both on and off the ice, leaving holes to the filled.

For the Macon Mayhem, the question of filling a scoring void from the loss of Colin MacDonald, who scored 17 goals and registered 42 points a year ago, was a key need to be addressed when the season began, given the fact that he ranked in the top four on the team in both categories.

The Mayhem appear to have found their answer.

Caleb Cameron has clearly cemented himself as one of the team’s scoring leaders. His 13 points and are good for the third most on the team. Not only that, his seven assists are tied for third on the Mayhem roster with his six goals being the second-most on the team.

“He’s a solid player, he’s continued to get better and develop,” Mayhem head coach Kevin Kerr said. “He’s been a pleasant surprise for our hockey team.”

Being paired on the same scoring line with the Mayhem’s top two scorers, Daniel Gentzler and Jake Trask hasn’t hurt Cameron either.

“We’re a team where a lot of guys gel together. For me in particular, I came right in from the get go and was put on a line with Trask and Gentzler. Those two have treated me like I was a teammate last year and like I wasn’t a new guy. Coming in and playing with them has definitely made the transition easier. I don’t care who I play with, but I definitely hope I play with them more as the season goes on.”

Cameron’s been a model of consistency since getting on the ice for the Mayhem this season. In 10 games, he has at least one point in seven of them, registering multiple points four times. Cameron’s also has a pair of three-point games to his credit as well.

Thanks to Cameron’s play, the Mayhem (7-4-3, 17 points) continue to be a juggernaut offensively. Macon’s 52 goals scored continue to lead the league, and that offensive firepower will be sought once again this weekend when the Mayhem return to the ice for a pair of games. First up is a Friday road trip to Evansville (7-5-2, 16 points) before starting a five-game homestand on Saturday night against last place Birmingham (1-8-1, 3 points).

“Coming up in these last few weeks before Christmas is very crucial,” Cameron said. “Every game counts and every point we can get before Christmas is unbelievably crucial going into the second half.”

Friday’s game will pit a pair of teams in a wide open race for the top of the SPHL standings with the gap between Mississippi (10-3-0, 20 points) in first place and sixth-place Evansville being just four points.

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency, especially going into the holidays. We have five out of our last six at home starting this weekend,” Kerr said. “We’ve got to play better, we’re not playing the way we can. We’re in our last 12 games..7-2-3, but we’ve got to play better as a team and stick to what makes us go and what our identity is, we haven’t really done that in the past few games.”

This story was originally published December 5, 2017 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Cameron bolstering Mayhem’s offensive firepower."