(MACON, Ga.) – The Mayhem earned a big win for their playoff hopes on Pirates and Princesses Night in a 2-1 thriller against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs.
Over five minutes into the game, Roanoke’s Cory Doney shot the puck out of play and was given two minutes the penalty box. While the Mayhem could not capitalize on the power play, the Rail Yard Dawgs were able to get on the board nine seconds after the penalty ended with a CJ Valerian wrist shot. While Roanoke was assessed a tripping penalty to Carson Gallagher, the Mayhem were not able to get the puck in the net there either. Roanoke went into the first intermission with the lead, 1-0.
The Mayhem wound up on the power play just over a quarter of the way into the second period via a Matt O’Dea trip. This time however, Macon was able to get on the board with the man-advantage with Parker Allison’s third goal of the season, tying the game 1-1. Tempers began to flare throughout the frame and came to a head as there were triple-zeros on the clock. With punches being thrown, Jake Maynard and Bryce Martin were both given 10-minute misconducts for continuing an altercation. Matteo Ybarra and Corey Doney would be in the penalty box for the first two minutes of the third period for roughing.
Just as Ybarra and Doney’s penalties concluded, Ybarra immediately went to the puck after Zach Nazzarett had a chance on net, and got past Austyn Roudebush for the Mayhem’s first lead of the night. With a Nazzarett interference penalty at 10 minutes, the Mayhem held their ground and prevented the Rail Yard Dawgs from doing any damage. Though, things did get a little scary once Roudebush was pulled at 17:36 and Justin Kelley was sent to the box for high-sticking shortly after. However, with nearly a minute and a half remaining in regulation, it looked like Roanoke tied the game up with an O’Dea goal. Once the puck crossed the line and hit the back of the net, the referee immediately signaled no goal for goaltender interference. The Mayhem kept the lead at 2-1 as the clock expired. Bailey Brkin stopped 26 of 27 shots en route to his 10th win of the season.
The Mayhem end their weekend series versus the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs again tomorrow night, Saturday, March 15th at 6:00pm in the Coliseum for Margaritaville Night. Guarantee your seat by purchasing tickets at maconmayhem.com
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