Mayhem post another dominant win over Fayetteville

The Macon Mayhem may have been donning ugly Christmas sweater-themed jerseys on Saturday night against Fayetteville, but there was nothing unsightly about the Mayhem’s performance from the start of the game to the end.

Macon (9-5-4, 22 points) ripped Fayetteville (5-11-4, 14 points) for a 9-0 win, one night after defeating the Marksmen 10-2.

The Mayhem blew the game open with five goals in the second period after leading 1-0 through the first 20 minutes. Goalie Greg Dodds, signed earlier in the week by the team, got his second win a row and first career shutout with Darren McCormick recording his first career hat trick.

McCormick and Ryan Salkeld each scored twice in the second period as Macon got on its way to the overwhelming win.

Five who mattered

Dodds: He continued to fit in nicely with the Mayhem on Saturday, stopping all 29 shots that he faced while also being well in sync with Macon moving the puck on its own defensive end.

McCormick: His slapshot 8:53 into the second period extended the Mayhem lead to 3-0, and his second goal of the game move the Macon lead to 6-0 as the forward played a key role in the offensive domination on Saturday. His score 1:17 into the third period gave him the hat trick.

Salkeld: Any chance of the Macon lead remaining at a single-goal advantage ended thanks to Salkeld. He knocked the puck past Fayetteville goalie Kent Patterson 5:23 into the second period, and the Mayhem lead was 2-0. He add another goal in taking advantage of a loose puck in front of the net for a 5-0 Macon advantage 7:38 into the second.

Stephen Pierog: His goal less than two minutes into the game triggered the teddy bear toss as fans hurled teddy bears onto the ice to be donated to the Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital, Navicent Health. Pierog also had two assists to give him a three-point night.

Turning point

Quick goals by McCormick and Paul Russell less than 35 seconds apart in the second period quickly doubled a 2-0 Mayhem lead to 4-0. The score all but vanquished the hopes of a Fayetteville win, frustrating the Marksmen.

Observations

Snagging the moment: On paper, this was setup to be a good weekend for the Mayhem to get better after not having a win in the month of December. Macon has one of the SPHL’s top scoring teams, and Fayetteville is one of the worst in the league defensively. But there was no loafing around or lack of effort from the Mayhem, who stayed aggressive on pucks through both games, and a pair of dominant wins were the result.

Getting testy: As is usually the case when one team is on the losing side of a lopsided score, frustration can kick in. That was the case for Fayetteville as two major altercations occurred between both teams in the second period. Macon’s Dennis Sicard and Fayetteville’s Kyle McNeil dropped the gloves with just over seven minutes to go in the second, and fights between Macon’s Seth Rosberg and Brad Drobot in addition to the Mayhem’s Jeff Sanders going toe to toe with Chris Stemke. Pierog also came out on the winning end of a fight with John Schiavo on the faceoff after the Mayhem led 6-0. The teams combined for 116 penalty minutes on Saturday.

Utility Man: With the Mayhem having just five defensemen in the lineup with Eric Shand on loan to the ECHL, forward Daniel Gentzler stepped in to take some shifts on defense.

They said it

Mayhem head coach Kevin Kerr on the weekend’s wins: “Two great wins, we dominated from start to finish in two complete games. That’s a team that I like, that’s a team that’s going to win games. We kept playing and kept playing and that’s how you win.”

Kerr on Gentzler’s versatility: “He’s a utility guy. We had him on the backend last year and his first year. He’s a guy that can also step in and score goals, too. That’s why he’s our captain.”

What’s next

Macon hosts Pensacola on Friday.

This story was originally published December 17, 2017 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Mayhem post another dominant win over Fayetteville."