Garrett Bartus picks up second shutout Mayhem's win over Fayetteville

Goalie Garrett Bartus turned away visiting Fayetteville time after time for his second shutout of the season to lead Macon to a 2-0 win Friday.

Austin Daae added an empty-net goal in the closing minute for the final margin as Macon continued its mastery of one of the top teams in the SPHL.

The Mayhem (5-10-3) have collected three of their five regulation victories against the Fireantz (11-4-2), who entered Friday second in the league standings.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Bartus: He stonewalled the Fireantz all night, turning away all 22 shots that he faced, including a shot from in front of the net by Josh McQuade with 4:57 to play and a Brad Drobot slapshot with 8:06 remaining. Bartus also kept one of the SPHL's top scorers off the board, rendering Nick Lazorko, who had 10 goals prior to Friday, scoreless.

Matt Robertson: His first-period goal staked the Mayhem to an early lead that turned out to be all they needed. His slapshot from the right side off an assist from Daae and Nick Grasso gave Macon early momentum in the form of the lead.

Parker Van Buskirk: Fayetteville's goalie lived up to his reputation as one of the top goalies in the SPHL. He held Macon scoreless other than Robertson's score.

OBSERVATIONS

Scoring depth: Following last Saturday's loss to Pensacola, Macon head coach Kevin Kerr pointed at a need for offensive production from beyond the top scoring line that features Daniel Gentzler and Shawn Skelly. That need was met with Macon's first goal by Robertson.

Impact by newcomers: Despite not being with the team on opening night, a handful of players proved their worth Friday against Fayetteville. Grasso, one of two players acquired from Peoria earlier this week in a trade for Connor Toomey, assisted on Macon's first goal. Also assisting on the first goal and scoring an empty-net goal was Daae, signed by the Mayhem on Nov. 25. As is the case in the SPHL, there was some familiarity between Daae and the opposition. He played in all 56 games for Fayetteville last season and the first four this year. The other player in the Toomey trade, Jake Trask, assisted Daae on the game's final goal.

WORTH MENTIONING

While Macon and Fayetteville are on opposite ends of the SPHL standings, competition between the Mayhem and Fireantz has been anything but uneven. Macon has now won three of four meetings between the two teams, including being the only opponent to beat Fayetteville on its home ice this season.

THEY SAID IT

Kerr on the win: "We played hard for 60 minutes. We had breakdowns, but they had breakdowns, too. Every team had breakdowns, but we played a good 60 minutes and I thought the new guys contributed and were a big part of it. That's all we're asking for."

Kerr on the play of Bartus: "It's a huge advantage. If we make mistakes, he is there to back it up. He did a great job. There was two, three or four that he came up big on. That's what he does. He stops pucks."

Kerr on getting the early lead: "Us scoring first was a huge momentum thing. You score the first goal at home and carry some momentum and carry that into the third period. Going into the third with a one-goal lead, the last thing we wanted to do was just hang on, and we didn't. We kept going and chipping away, pressured them and made some chances."

UP NEXT

It'll be a short turnaround for both teams, as Macon and Fayetteville will battle again at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Coliseum.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 11:23 PM with the headline "Garrett Bartus picks up second shutout Mayhem's win over Fayetteville ."