Spiders Top Desperate Admirals 5-1

March 12, 2011

Saturday night presented a must-win game for both the Spiders and Admirals. The Spiders as they’re protecting a half-game lead over the Fighting Piranhas for the division lead. The Admirals as they were half-game out of the last playoff spot. While both teams had a lot to play for, it was obvious who the better team was from the drop of the puck.

While the Spiders outshot the Admirals 15-6 in the first period, they couldn’t put the puck past the Admiral netminder. Jay Hilden and Matt Adelmann scored goals early in the second period to give the Spiders a 2-0 lead. A short time later, veteran Spider sin bin visitor Jim Maietta got in a minor brouhaha in which the opposing Admiral had the nerve to shove his facemask into Jim’s hand. The refs rewarded Maietta’s restraint with matching minors for both parties plus an additional two minutes for roughing and 10 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct for the aggrieved Admiral.

Nothing was to become of the Spider power play and the period ended at 2-0. The Spiders had significantly slowed in the period, managing only five shots but they also held the Admirals to only four.

Jim Maietta scored early in the third period to extend the lead to 3-0 and the thought of a second straight shutout started creeping into the minds of the Spiders. The Admirals put an end to that with 8:51 in the game. An Admirals winger carried the puck deep down the right side, circled behind the net, and passed to an open teammate between the circles. A fluttering puck eluded a scrambling Brian Dow and the Admirals cut the lead to 3-1.

The Spiders refused to panic and Jim Maietta and Jay Hilden each added their second goal of the game to make the score 5-1. That’s the way the game ended as the Spiders outshot the Admirals 33-20.

Spider goalie Brian Dow lowered his goals against average to 1.71 and raised his save percentage to .932. Both are tops in C2.

The win guarantees the Spiders will finish 1st or 2nd in the division. The Spiders close out the season with games on Saturday, March 19th against the Sled Dogs, Wednesday, March 23rd against the Jets, and Saturday, March 26th against the Sled Dogs. See the schedule for details.