MACON, GA – The Macon Mayhem would have a chance at revenge on Saturday night as they welcomed the Birmingham Bulls back inside the Macon Coliseum. The Mayhem would take full advantage.
Macon would start the contest off with a bang. From the trapezoid, CJ Hayes would find Tommy Munichiello streaking in from the bench to the slot. With his first touch of the puck in the game, Munichiello would rocket one by Hayden Stewart just 45 seconds into the game. Jarret Kup would turn in a captain’s effort of his own from the point later in the frame to grab Macon a 2-0 advantage heading into intermission.
Jake Goldowski would steal it away from Birmingham and stick handle around two defenders to set up a Mayhem scoring opportunity. Alex Laplante would pounce on the excellent pass from Goldowski and tuck the puck home on the far post. The Bulls would not go down that easy, however. On their first powerplay of the game, Scott Donahue would grab the Bulls’ opener. Drake Glover would pull another back for Birmingham to make it 3-2 Macon at the break.
The Mayhem would maintain their narrow lead well through the middle part of the third frame, but the Bulls would pull back even courtesy of Carson Rose. Each team would have chances to win it but were met with excellent goaltending by both Stewart and Josh Boyko. At the end of 60 minutes, each would grab a point in the standings heading into overtime.
Goaltending would rule the overtime period as each team had their share of chances to win the contest, but the game was destined to end in the shootout. Josh Boyko would stop 33/36 shots on goal through 65 minutes of play.
Boyko took over in the shootout for Macon, stopping the first three Birmingham attempts. In the bottom of the third, Alex Laplante would slow Stewart down before launching home the eventual game winner. Boyko would stand tall in the fourth and fifth frames to win it for Macon.
Macon will welcome in the Knoxville Ice Bears next weekend as the two sides will battle for control of the final playoff spot, albeit very early in the season. It’ll be Military Appreciation Weekend where the Mayhem will honor America’s finest with special ticket discounts throughout the weekend. For tickets and more information, visit maconmayhem.com or call us at 478-803-1592.
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