FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Nick Parody’s first professional goal propelled the Fayetteville Marksmen to a 4-1 comeback victory over the Macon Mayhem and led the team to a third-place standing in the SPHL at the Crown Coliseum, Sunday.
Macon opened the scoring with mere seconds left on their first powerplay opportunity of the game, and took a 1-0 lead at 5:23 of the first period, but Fayetteville answered soon after. At 7:01, Mike Mercurio potted his first as a Marksmen into a wide-open net off a rebound to tie the game with just under 13 minutes left in the period.
The go-ahead goal marked Parody’s first pro goal and gave Fayetteville a 2-1 lead at 6:39 of the second period when the defenseman joined a rush and finished off a pass from Ryan Nolan (19).
Trent Grimshaw (7) opened the third-period tallies with his second goal in as many games off a fantastic individual effort while the Marksmen were on a powerplay near the halfway point of the frame to extend the 3-1 score. Toward the end of the third period, Macon pushed the pace of play with an extra attacker on the ice, but Alex Ambrosio (2) sealed the deal and added to Fayetteville’s totals with an empty net goal from his own zone.
Sunday’s Marksmen win marked the fourth against Macon this season, and evened the head-to-head series through eight of twelve meetings during the 2024-25 campaign. Fayetteville will visit the Birmingham Bulls for a two-game set before returning to the Crown Coliseum on February 7.
Friday, February 7 marks “Racin’ Night” with a 7 p.m. puck drop, and is followed up by the annual $10 ticket night, Operation Sellout, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 8. Single-game tickets to “Racin’ Night,” Operation Sellout, and all 2024-25 Marksmen home games are available at marksmenhockey.com.