COLUMN: Mayhem hockey is back with a vengeance

Any sports fan knows there is more to a contest than its final score.

The Macon Mayhem lost their home opener 3-2 against the Huntsville Havoc on Oct. 26, certainly. The team played a close game, matching the Havoc blow for blow until they ultimately came up short in the final few minutes.

What the box score and statistics might not reflect was the
atmosphere.

The fans showed out for Macon’s hockey team at the first in-town game of the year. What they got on the ice was something special, a physical game filled with momentum swings, slapshots, saves, scuffles and sequences of intense back-and-forth action.

It felt like an entirely new brand of Mayhem hockey.

There were many chants of ‘Let’s go Mayhem’ — at first they were prompted by the arena announcer, but eventually they started on their own as spectators grew more invested — along with penalties, broken sticks and even a hit laid on a goalie.

The Macon squad appeared transformed. The offense, while it could not match Huntsville’s shot count on the night, looked born anew. Even after a scoreless first period, the fans could sense that the tension in the Coliseum was rising.

Then the Mayhem gave up two goals in about three minutes, and the air threatened to leave the building.

A momentum turn like this, had it stayed that way the rest of the game, would not have been entirely unexpected. While the Mayhem had a solid enough defense last season and quality goaltending, they struggled to score and finished last place in the league in goals.

It became clear that this team would not be so sedentary on offense when the Mayhem scored their first home goal of the year, a sweet slapshot off the stick of Alex Cohen, with about 11 minutes left in the second period.

As the piped-in goal horn sounded and the lights shut off again in the Macon Coliseum, an already riled-up audience got louder.

The energy only got better from there. It was a bruising second period, with more than 10 penalties between the two teams and even an ejection. Across the dingy bleachers of Macon’s classic sports venue, you could feel it — the fans knew that this game was turning into a real battle. 

Then Connor Witherspoon netted his second shot of the season with about five minutes left in the period. The Coliseum went nuts again with the game tied, lights flickering and Chuck Norris gifs — references to the team owner, who shares a name with the iconic “Walker Texas Ranger” star — flashing on the jumbotron.

The rest of the game was a nail-biter as well. Both teams threatened to score regularly, with the Mayhem appearing to get more quality looks than the Havoc. But it was Huntsville that got the last laugh, scoring with less than 10 minutes left and ultimately taking the win even after Macon rallied in the final minutes with several shots.

The clamor of the crowd fizzled with the loss, yes, but the fact remained — Saturday night felt different. Fans flocked to the Mayhem’s Facebook page after the game, discussing the team’s grit in the home opener.

“We did lose, but it was an amazing game. We played so well. Big difference,” one fan commented. Several fans commented on how much more physical the Mayhem looked. “An entirely different team from last year,” another fan wrote.

The newly-minted mentality of the Mayhem was visible from every seat in the arena, but it was perhaps on best display right next to the ice, where sticks shattered and slapshots stung goalie pads with shocking volume.

Goalie Josh Boyko made 36 saves, each effort somehow seeming more impressive than the last. He acknowledged fans on the glass with a nod and a raise of his gloved hand. Those same fans smacked on the glass with fervor whenever a Huntsville player skated by.

More often, those Huntsville players did not skate by but instead flew by, or were pressed against the glass with intense force during body checks and fights for the puck. The only thing more abrupt than the bodies hitting the boards was the sound of the puck rocketing off the rink, a sound not unlike a gunshot that startled folks close to the ice even well into the third period.

“You get used to it, but even then sometimes it still gets you,” said a security guard who works down by the glass nearly every game. “Every now and then one pops and you’re not ready for it.”

For every thrilling occurrence on the ice, there was an equally endearing fan interaction. An adorable kiddo in an Elsa dress from “Frozen” dropped the puck before the game. Moms and dads hoisted babies for the jumbotron. Some lucky patrons played a game on the ice where they raced down the rink by repeatedly flopping onto air mattresses.

And, through all the in-between activities and comedic moments, the Mayhem put on a show — and the crowd knew it, matching the energy on the ice with raucous support. Even the aforementioned security guard agreed.

“They’re into it more than they were last year. This is a good one,” he said.

There’s little doubt, it seems — the Macon Mayhem found their footing Saturday as the new season began.