(PEORIA, Ill.) –The Mayhem fought valiantly but just could not overcome the Peoria Rivermen, as the 4-1 game two loss eliminated the Mayhem from the playoffs.
The first period was full of action that started with an unexpected Rivermen goal by JM Piotowski who followed a dump in and threw a puck at Josh Boyko from behind the net and somehow found a hole that gave Peoria the early lead 3:13 into the period. The Mayhem would go to a power play that could not generate much. Then, off a Riverman rush, there appeared to be a Peoria goal but was quickly waved off for goaltender interference keeping the game knotted at 1-0. The Mayhem got some energy from the call that they used on another power play to build momentum. Back and forth the two teams traded chances. It seemed like Peoria was keen on giving Macon power play opportunities with 3 in the first period. On the last power play, Khaden Henry took the puck below the goal line and wacked one towards the goal that also found a way past Nick Latinovich. Henry’s revenge goal against his former team tied the game at 1 and was the first playoff goal for the Mayhem in 5 years. Josh Burke also received an assist on the goal which was his first career professional point. After the end of the period, a scuffle along the board saw Parker Allison send a man to the ice leading to a penalty being called and Peoria getting their first power play starting in the second period.
The second period had just about everything but a goal. The full 2 minute penalty was killed off by Macon but Peoria had many grade-A chances that Boyko stood on his head to stop. Another penalty was called on the Mayhem a little over a minute later. The Rivermen had 8 shots through the first 5:35 but no goals thanks to Boyko. Both teams were even the rest of the period. Both teams had good chances. The best late chance came after a Noah Roitman penalty that ended up being a 4-on-3 power play 1:47 later for the Mayhem. It was 4-on-3 for 17 seconds which turned into a 5-on-3 for 1:13 and a regular power play for 30 seconds. Including the penalty from the end of the first that was served entirely in the second, there were seven penalties in the second. The final penalty came at the hands of Michael Krupinski with 1:47 remaining in the seconds, 13 seconds of carryover. Including the carryover penalty, Peoria is 0-4 on the power play while Macon is 1-6 through the first two periods, 10 penalties in total.
The third period had the Mayhem stunned in the opening 2 minutes. 31 seconds into the period, after the Krupinski penalty expired, Peoria threw a puck from the point that Mike Gelatt redirected in front to give the Rivermen the lead. 1:13 later, there was heavy traffic around Boyko and a Kyler Fenton shot from the point found a way through to shock Macon with a quick 2 goal lead. This allowed Peoria to play shut down hockey for some time. Once Macon was able to re-group, more chances started to come. A power play with 5:17 remaining in the period gave the Mayhem the best opportunity to have a chance and the crossbar took the breath out of Macon on the power play. The Rivermen added an empty net goal for a final score of 4-1.
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