(MACON, Ga.) – The Mayhem traded punches with the Birmingham Bulls all night, but couldn’t get the job done as they fell 4-3 in their first game of the season.
The Bulls were able to get on the board first with a goal from Michael Gillespie at 13:28 on a scramble drill in front of Josh Boyko’s net, but the Mayhem answered just a few moments later. After an interference call against Carson Rose, Amedeo Mastrangeli wired one across the grain to hit the top corner of Austin Lotz’s net. The first goal of the season, and of Mastrangeli’s professional career, came on the power play at 16:36. About two minutes later, Dan Winslow was called for a high stick which immediately resulted in a power play goal for the Bulls as Carson Rose scored on the man advantage to regain the lead for Birmingham at 2-1.
After the first intermission, the second period started off much slower than the first. At 14:01 in the period, Matteo Ybarra shot the puck over the glass from the defensive zone, but the Mayhem were able to kill off the penalty. 31 seconds after the successful kill, Alex Cohen tied the game at two goals apiece following a hard-nosed forecheck from Tao Ishizuka. Ten minutes later, Brad Jenion was sent to the box for a cross check. Birmingham capitalized on the power play 40 seconds later, with a goal from Kolten Olynek assisted by the Belarusian brothers, Arkhip and Filimon Ledziankou, getting their lead back with a score of 3-2. It wasn’t a bad end to the period for the Mayhem though, as a high-stick from Drake Glover earned him a four-minute double minor with 49 seconds left in the period, helping Macon open the third on the powerplay.
After a rough start to the elongated man advantage, the Mayhem put together a strong shift and Tao Ishizuka tied the game at three on the powerplay with the help of some nice passing from Dan Winslow. A push by Birmingham followed the Ishizuka goal, and it resulted in Tanner Hopps committing a cross checking penalty at 7:13. Drake Glover took advantage of Birmingham’s power play, and gave Birmingham the lead back with a score of 4-3 at 7:32. It proved to be the eventual game winner, as Birmingham spoiled the Mayhem’s home opener with a final score of 4-3.
The Mayhem face off against the Fayetteville Marksmen next Friday at the Macon Coliseum at 7:00pm for the first game of College Weekend, presented by Visit Macon. Guarantee your tickets at maconmayhem.com
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