MACON, Ga. – 20 days after last taking the ice, the result was the same for the Macon Mayhem. A road victory over Knoxville.
Sidelined for nearly three weeks due to the SPHL’s safety and return to play protocols, Macon trekked up to Knoxville and held on to beat the Ice Bears 2-1.
A pair of second-period goals were just enough for the Mayhem, and both came in the final four minutes prior to the second intermission with Dean Balsamo scoring unassisted and also helping on a score by Gabe Guertler. The pair of goals put Macon (3-1-1) up 2-1, and it ended up being sufficient enough for Jake Theut. The Macon goalie turned away multiple scoring chances by Knoxville, which was 0-for-4 on the power play, a bump in the road for a team whose power-play percentage of 18 percent still ranks second in the SPHL.
Jacob Benson got the game’s first goal for Knoxville (3-5-0), getting on the board 19:15 in the first period.
Three Stars:
Dean Balsamo – One goal, one assist
Gabe Guertler – His second-period goal ended up being the game-winner
Jake Theut – Stopped all but one of the 19 shots that he faced
Stat of the Game:
14- Macon’s shots on goal advantage in the second period as it outshot Knoxville 15-1. Overall for the game, the Mayhem held a 30-19 advantage.
Ice Chips:
Macon has played Knoxville more than any other team this season. In three contests, the Mayhem have won two of them…Thursday was the Mayhem debut for forward Mason Baptista, who put three shots on goal…Jake Theut’s 1.98 GAA and .915 leads all goalies in the league that have played more than one game.
What’s Next?
Knoxville travels to Huntsville on Friday for a 7 pm CST puck drop. Macon goes to Pensacola on Saturday night for a 7:05 p.m. CST start.
