Spiders keep division lead with 4-2 win over Warriors

Jan. 22, 2011

Hockey is a game with many clichés — “take it one game at a time” (cousin to “take it one shift at a time”), “we have to go out and play our game,” “put shots on the net,” etc. The cliché that was applicable on Saturday for the Spiders and should serve as a warning for future games is “we have to play a full 51 minutes.”

The Spiders had jump early in the first period and peppered the Warriors goalie from the drop of the puck. Brad Butalla got the Spiders on the board first at 13:06 of the period with a deft deflection of a shot from the top of the right circle by Matt Adelmann.

At this point the Spiders had an 11-1 advantage in shots on goal and the route seemed to be on. Defenseman Josh Cagle obviously thought so as he made his first goal of the season one for the highlight reel. Bruce Gustafson picked up a loose puck on the boards in the Spider zone and shuffled the puck to Cagle streaking out of his own end. Cagle split the defenseman and broke in alone before freezing the goalie and pulling the puck to his backhand and sliding the puck past the helpless goaltender.

Another hockey cliché is “a two goal lead is the worst lead in hockey.” It seemed to be true on this night as the Warriors finally started having some success breaking out of their own end and put some pressure on the Spiders and woke goaltender Brian Dow out of his slumber. The first period came to an end with the Spiders up 2-0 and out shooting the Warriors 14-10.

The second period was evenly played but Mark Bortnem extended the Spiders lead on another pretty play. Bortnem picked up a loose puck above the circles and displayed some impressive “dangle,” stickhandling around a couple Warriors, before patiently waiting…waiting…and waiting for the goalie to commit before making one final move and putting the puck in the net past the out of position goaltender.

Is a 3-0 lead also supposed to be a bad lead according to the clichés? Because the Warriors again picked it up and forced Brian Dow to be on his game. Some high effort backchecking by the forwards and good positional play by the defensemen kept the score at 3-0 at the end of the period.

The Spiders then decided to take a few trips to the penalty box just to make things interesting and the Warriors capitalized. With Mark Bortnem serving a two minute stretch for roughing, a centering pass deflected off a Warrior forwards chest and then knee (which the referees assure was not used to kick the puck in) and into the net.

The Warriors decided it was time to get some work on their penalty kill. Warrior Nate Hancock dangerously shoved and Aaron Bedessem in the back while racing toward the boards and got a well deserved two minutes. Josh Cagle then drew a penalty as he was tripped while cycling the puck in the offensive zone. The Spiders weren’t able to capitalize on their 22 seconds of 5-on-3 time but put one on the board before the power play ran out. Chris Stalpes received a pass from Mark Bortnem just above the left circle and powered a slapper under the pad of the Warriors goalie to extend the Spider lead to 4-1 with 7:32 left in the game.

Now it was the Warriors turn to go on the power play and it only took them five seconds to score on a seeing-eye shot from the point that Dow never saw through two screens. 4-2 Spiders and back to the dreaded two-goal lead.

The ice definitely seemed tilted in the Warriors favor and another Spiders penalty late didn’t help. The Spiders were able to keep the Warriors to the perimeter and close out the 4-2 win.

At times the Spiders looked truly dominant but at other times they gave away too many chances with inability to clear the puck from the zone. The Warriors are a team that can make you pay for those mistakes but the Spiders came away with the win. Against the best teams in the division such as the Jets, Sled Dogs, and Fighting Piranhas those mistakes will end up as goals. In the future, “we have to play a full 51 minutes.”

With an unequal number of games played, the best way to determine the standings is by points lost and the Spiders still have the division lead with four points lost. The Fighting Piranhas and Jets sit just a half-game back with five points lost.

The Spiders have a short turnaround and will take the ice again on Tuesday in Richfield at 9:15pm against the Admirals.