ROANOKE, VA – The Macon Mayhem would be set for some Saturday night hockey against the reigning champion Roanoke Railyard Dawgs in the Berglund Center.
With both teams making long overnight trips from Alabama to Virginia, the game would get off to a slow start. Macon’s Mitchell Hale would inject some life into the contest after his bout with Brendan Pepe. Each team would only muster 6 shots in the opening frame and would remain deadlocked at 0-0 heading into the break.
Coach Nick Niedert and the Macon Mayhem would come out of the locker room with a clear plan, to get shots on net. However, it would be the Railyard Dawgs who would break through first as Jacob Kelly beat Josh Boyko. Macon would answer less than a minute later. The Mayhem’s leading scorer CJ Hayes would strike off of assists from Jarret Kup and Michael McChesney. Roanoke would then strike back on their first powerplay of the game with a CJ Stubbs goal. The Mayhem would continue to pepper Brody Claeys, outshooting Roanoke 15-9 in the middle frame.
Macon would continue to rain shots at Claeys at the start of the third in search of the equalizer. Josh Boyko would stand on his head a few times to keep the Mayhem’s deficit at one. After the Mayhem were assessed a penalty with less than 4 minutes left, their penalty kill unit would stand strong. After killing off the penalty, Macon would draw one of their own. Coach Nick Niedert would immediately push all his chips to the center of the table by pulling Boyko for the extra attacker, and his gamble would pay off with just 23.4 seconds left in the game. Macon would once again pepper shots at Brody Claeys, and it would be Michael McChesney to break through and tie the game off an assist from Jake Goldowski. Macon’s relentless effort would earn them a point and a chance to win it in overtime.
Unfortunately for Macon, it would be Roanoke’s Xavier Filion getting loose on the breakaway to win the game for the Railyard Dawgs. Macon will surely be disappointed to not grab the extra point but should be able to hold the heads high with a scrappy and persistent effort to grab at least one point.
The Mayhem will turn their eyes towards the Pensacola Ice Flyers for their lone contest next weekend. The Mayhem will finally head back to the Macon Coliseum on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for a tilt with the Ice Bears on Scooby Doo Night. Then Sunday, November 26th, the Mayhem welcome in the Pensacola Ice Flyers for a Sunday matinee. For tickets or more information, visit maconmayhem.com or call us at 478-803-1592.
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