Macon unable to take advantage of chances against Knoxville
Despite the chances to do so, the Macon Mayhem couldn't quite get their shots to find the back of the net at the right time on Saturday night at the Macon Coliseum, falling 3-2 to Knoxville.
The defeat came despite outshooting the Ice Bears (7-11-2) 33-22. Knoxville took the lead for good 3:07 into the third period and held on, staving off an extra attacker by Macon in the final 1:41 as goalie Bryan Hince stopped 31-of-33 Mayhem (4-10-3) shots.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Daniel Gentzler: Left wing registered a point for the fourth straight game, assisting on Macon's two second-period goals. The first by Connor Toomey with 16:27 to go on a wrist shot the scored at 1-1 and the second by Shawn Skelly with 5:01 left in the period gave the Mayhem a 2-1 advantage that Knoxville matched 3:05 left in the second on a goal by Andrew Bonazza.
Skelly: His second-period goal was his second in the past three games for the Mayhem, and he is now second on the team lead in scored behind Gentzler. Skelly's acquisition by Macon after starting the season with Saturday's opponent, Knoxville, continues to pay dividends for the Mayhem.
David Jacobson: Playing in his fourth game of the season, the Janesville, Wisconsin native kept the Mayhem in position to tie the game from the goalie position, but Macon was unable to cash in on the offensive end of the ice. He held the Ice Bears to one goal through the game's first 27 minutes. Jacobson stopped 19-of-22 shots, reinforcing Macon's depth in goal behind Garrett Bartus, who had started all but three of Macon's games entering Saturday.
TURNING POINT
With the game tied entering the final period, Knoxville got the go-ahead goal and made it stand up just more than three minutes out of the second intermission. A crossing pass got between Macon's defense and Jacobson, and Knoxville's Corey Fulton tapped it in for the deciding score.
OBSERVATIONS
As the season grows deeper, teams tend of find out who their go-to scoring threats are. The Mayhem appear to have found that with Skelly and Gentzler, who have emerged as Macon's prime scoring threats. The Mayhem have gotten at least a goal or assist from each in the past four games.
The flip side of that, however, is the dearth of contributions from Macon's other scoring lines, something that continues to plague the Mayhem from an offensive standpoint.
THEY SAID IT
Macon head coach Kevin Kerr on Jacobson's play: "He put us in position to win. We had a breakdown in front of him on the third goal, and that's a huge issue. He put us in position to win, but we've got to find a way to win. You've got to put pucks in the net. Obviously, Hinze is a good goalie and you've got to get traffic in front of him and get pucks in the nets."
Kerr on the play of the scoring line with Skelly and Gentzler: "That's a solid line. They score a majority of our goals. We need other guys to contribute, you need other guys scoring your goals, the other lines have to chip in. Relying on one line to score all your goals, that's not going to get it done."
UP NEXT
The Mayhem are at home Friday and Saturday of next weekend, taking on Fayetteville both nights. The Mayhem won't play again at the Macon Coliseum until New Years's night against Louisiana. Knoxville hosts Huntsville on Friday and Saturday.