{"id":548766,"date":"2026-04-09T14:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/548766\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T14:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:04:16","slug":"playoff-hockey-returns-to-middle-georgia-mayhem-trying-for-first-title-in-10-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/548766\/","title":{"rendered":"Playoff hockey returns to Middle Georgia, Mayhem trying for first title in 10 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Macon, Ga. (WGXA) \u2014 Playoff hockey is back in the heart of Georgia.<\/p>\n

For the first time in five years, the Macon Mayhem clinched a spot in the SPHL Playoffs; they’re looking to capture their first President’s Cup in almost a decade.<\/p>\n

“Playoff hockey, anything can happen,” defenseman parker Allison told WGXA Tuesday. <\/p>\n

For the entire season, “patience” was the word that defined the Mayhem. <\/p>\n

Just ask forward Jake Goldowski, who’s worn the Mayhem sweater for 171 career games.<\/p>\n

“It’s been a long journey,” the alternate captain said “We’ve been such a tight group and everything that it’s just been surreal.”<\/p>\n

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They finished the year 26-26-6, clearing the 9th place Quad City storm by just three points to be the last time in the dance.<\/p>\n

In fact, they didn’t clinch a playoff spot until game 57 of 58.<\/p>\n

Head coach Dave Pszenyczny played in the SPHL for the Mayhem’s first round opponent – the Peoria Rivermen.<\/p>\n

“Macon’s been pretty good when I was a player, right?” he said. “(It) kind of went the other way, and now we’re on the rise… we’re really excited about this opportunity. <\/p>\n

Despite the season-long adversity, Allison says he’s ready for the opportunity. <\/p>\n

“You never know who’s going to be the hero each night,” Allison said. “I know we have the guys who we can lean on each and every night.” <\/p>\n

Goldowski mentioned the acquisitions of forwards Michael Herrera and Khaden Henry, who tacked on a combined 24 goals for the team. <\/p>\n

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Macon, however, lit the lamp the fewest times out of all 10 teams. <\/p>\n

If you ask Pszenyczny, he thinks defense wins championships. <\/p>\n

“I think right now, hockey’s a polished sport,” he said. “It’s starting to go back the other way, with the 90s and early 2000s grittiness.”<\/p>\n

The Mayhem finished tied for fourth in fewest goals allowed. <\/p>\n

For 60 minutes Thursday night, red, white and blue jerseys will be flying across 200 feet of ice. <\/p>\n

It’s all-out mayhem, as these 20 players chase those championship dreams. <\/p>\n

Macon drops the puck against the Rivermen in Game 1 at the Macon Coliseum tonight.<\/p>\n

The game starts at 7:00, but team officials recommend arriving early for a chance to get some special postseason giveaways. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Macon, Ga. (WGXA) \u2014 Playoff hockey is back in the heart of Georgia. For the first time in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[377],"tags":[5],"class_list":{"0":"post-548766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-hockey"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116375130350800416","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}