Early trade set stage for Macon Mayhem's SPHL playoff run
Way back in the early stages of the season, the Macon Mayhem was an SPHL expansion team laden with youth and players getting their first taste of professional hockey.
And after mounting three wins in their first 17 games, the Mayhem went shopping for talented experience by way of a trade. So on Dec. 13, Macon pulled the trigger on a deal that acquired defenseman Nick Grasso and forward Jake Trask from Peoria. To get them, however, the Mayhem had to give up one of their top young scorers, Connor Toomey, who scored three times in the first 17 games of the season.
Both the Mayhem and Rivermen continue to reap the fruits of the early deal as they brace for a first-round matchup in the SPHL President's Cup Playoffs. The best-of-three series begins Wednesday at the Macon Coliseum, with Game 2 -- and Game 3, if necessary -- taking place Friday and Saturday at the Owens Center, a municipal rink in Peoria pressed into use because of a scheduling conflict with Carver Arena.
"They've been huge assets," Mayhem head coach Kevin Kerr said. "When we were struggling early in the year, we brought in two players. You have to give up a great player, and Connor Toomey's a great player in this league. In order to get something, you have to give up something. The trade's worked out very well for both teams, they've added leadership and experience, and as an expansion team in the league we needed guys who have been there and can help the young guys and first-year pros."
Whether by coincidence or not, the Mayhem went on a season-best winning streak of five games immediately after the trade, and those points went a long way in helping the return of professional hockey to Macon include a playoff appearance.
Trask has been one of Macon's top impact players offensively. His rounded offensive effort of 47 points from 17 goals and 30 assists ranks him second on the team in all three categories behind only Shawn Skelly, who ended the regular season ranked third in the SPHL in scoring.
He also brings seasoned experience in the SPHL, having played the previous two seasons with Louisiana and Peoria.
Despite missing 30 games during the season due to injury, Grasso has powered through, giving the Mayhem some sound defensive muscle on its back lines. And despite the missed time, he is second among Macon's defensemen in assists with 11.
As for Toomey, his 44 combined points with Macon and Peoria ties him for the Rivermen lead in scoring with Adam Stuart.
"In order to give up a good young kid like Connor Toomey who's a heck of a player, you have to get some good players," Kerr said. "That's what we got in Trask and Grasso."
Trask, Grasso and Toomey aren't the only common threads entering the first-round matchup. David Jacobson, who began the season backing up Macon goalie Garrett Bartus, ended up being waived by the Mayhem in December and was picked up by Peoria. As Kyle Rank's backup, he has gone 14-4 with a 2.18 goals-against-average, filling for and complementing Peoria's starter, who ended the season at 21-6-3 and with a 2.15 GAA.
As for the Mayhem, they pounced on Peoria winger Matt Summers after a late-season release, and he joined Macon in time for the regular-season finale against Columbus.
PLAYOFF TICKETS
In a change from an earlier announcement, the Mayhem will put all Game 1 playoff tickets on sale at 9 a.m. on Monday.
Tickets for Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. contest will be available at the Mayhem office at the Coliseum. For more information, call 803-1592.
AROUND THE SPHL
In other first-round series, No. 2 seed Pensacola will take on seventh-seeded Huntsville, No. 3 Mississippi will take on No. 6 Louisiana and No. 4 Fayetteville will face No. 5 Knoxville.
Game 3 of the Pensacola-Huntsville series, if needed, will take place Sunday at the Columbus Civic Center because of a facility conflict in Pensacola.
This story was originally published April 10, 2016 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Early trade set stage for Macon Mayhem's SPHL playoff run ."