Dodds looking to keep up strong play in goal for Mayhem
Among the many components for success in hockey, one of them is finding the right players to put on the ice at the right time.
The Macon Mayhem are looking to continue to do that again this weekend at the goal-tending position. A little more than a week ago, Greg Dodds joined the team as the third goalie on the team’s roster. He took advantage of the chance to show what he can do. In a pair of games, Dodds gave up two goals along with posting his first professional shutout.
“It feels great, obviously, it’s been a change of scenery” Dodds said. “Everyone here, the guys the coaches and fans have been great.”
Macon (9-5-4) will look to make it three wins in a row on Friday when first place Pensacola (13-4-1, 27 points) comes to town. Macon wraps up its pre-Christmas stretch on Saturday by hosting Fayetteville, a team that the Mayhem outscored by a combined score of 19-2 in two games last weekend.
Although the sample size is small for Dodds with just two games in Macon, his .967 save percentage tops the same figure for the other two goalies on the roster, Troy Passingham and Charlie Finn.
“It’s been great — to play like that last weekend, that brings a lot of confidence,” Dodds said. “I knocked off some rust (Friday). It’s was quite the first weekend.”
Macon isn’t the first go-round in the SPHL for Dodds this season. He was with Pensacola earlier this season, posting a 2.62 goals against average through six games before being let go Nov. 27. Macon scooped him up on Dec. 12, a move that so far has paid off.
“He was the type of guy who we thought could help us win games and play free and play how we want to,” Mayhem head coach Kevin Kerr said.
For now, at least, the Mayhem appear to be keeping three goalies on the roster — listing either Passingham or Finn as a healthy scratch when Dodds gets the start. Macon currently has that flexibility due to having just five defenseman on the roster with Chris Joseph still with Jacksonville of the ECHL and Eric Shand still with Rapid City. With one extra roster spot available, there’s more time for the Mayhem and their coaching staff to give a longer look on what goalie to retain when the time comes to add a defenseman if or when Joseph returns or if the team adds another player at that position.
“They’ll be tough decisions,” Kerr said of the upcoming roster moves, ”but they know what we’re here for, we’re here to win.”
Cameron, Gentzler loaned to ECHL
The Mayhem this week lost two of their top scorers to the ECHL this week while also adding a forward. Caleb Cameron, the team’s third-leading scorer with 19 points, was loaned to Greenville of the ECHL. Not only that, but second-leading scorer Daniel Gentzler (21 points) is now also on loan to Toledo.
The help make up for two forwards being placed on loan to the ECHL within a week’s time, Macon acquired Chris Izmirlian earlier this week. In 15 games this season for Knoxville, he has registered 12 points, nine on assists.
As it stands now, five players from Macon’s final roster at the end of training camp are now on ECHL rosters.
This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 7:22 PM with the headline "Dodds looking to keep up strong play in goal for Mayhem."