Macon Mayhem get assist from junior hockey program to gain practice time
When the Macon Mayhem open their first road trip of the season Friday at Mississippi, they will have gone five days in between games, making time on the ice to stay fresh crucial.
But like many other hockey teams in the SPHL, the Mayhem have the task of sharing their home arena with other events, meaning that finding venues to practice can be a challenge, as there is a shortage of ice rinks in the South.
And with the Macon Coliseum hosting Christmas Made in the South this weekend, the ice at the arena is unavailable.
"It's something you have just got to do; we're not the only team with this problem. There are rinks all over the place with concerts and shows and what not," Mayhem goalie Garrett Bartus said. "We're not the only team that deals with it; you've just got to be a pro."
Enter the Atlanta Junior Knights. The youth and junior hockey program sent its team bus to pick up the Mayhem on Wednesday morning and permitted the Mayhem to use organization's home rink, the Marietta Ice Center, for practice Wednesday before the team departed for Mississippi on Thursday for a light practice to prepare for Friday's game against the RiverKings.
"It's definitely good to get on the ice; we haven't been on in a few days. We'd like to get on it two times a week before a pretty important weekend," said Macon forward Connor Toomey, who leads the team with two goals. "We're pretty much getting out legs back into it going into a pretty important weekend."
There's a connection between the Mayhem and the Atlanta Junior Knights. Macon head coach Kevin Kerr coached the junior team during the 2008-09 season.
"We're really grateful to the Atlanta Junior Knights program and the Marietta Ice Center; it's a program that I've worked for in the past that basically donated their bus to us to come get us and give us ice time," Kerr said. "It's one of those things where it's good for us and good for them. It's a good thing for our guys; our guys get to relax on a bus and get on the ice."
The Mayhem (1-2-1) are banking on a strong week of practice to harness the momentum from picking up their first win of the season Saturday against Columbus, a game in which Bartus posted a shutout.
Macon faces league-leading Mississippi (3-1) on Friday and travels to Columbus (0-3-1) on Tuesday. Macon will then return home for next weekend's slate of games against Mississippi, Pensacola and Columbus.
Mississippi's Mark Pustin is one of two players in the league with three goals. The RiverKings also lead the league with 12 goals.
"You can't win a season in the first few weeks of the season, but you can definitely lose one," Bartus said. "We're starting to learn to play together, which is good. Hopefully we'll keep it rolling and down the road become a dangerous team."
This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 8:47 PM with the headline "Macon Mayhem get assist from junior hockey program to gain practice time ."