Spiders Play Like Dog Meat. Lose 3-2

March 19, 2011

The Spiders returned to St. Louis Park West for only the second time in C2 team history and first time being November 22, 2008. The last meeting between the Sled Dogs and the Spiders was one that left no love lost with the Dogs accumulating 28 minutes of their division-leading 172 penalty minutes. Tonight would not be much different with the Dogs making sure they did not lose the penalty minute leader position, finishing the night with twelve more minutes.

With first place on the line for the Spiders and a must-win for the Dogs, their desperation proved to be too much for the Spiders.

The Spiders tried something new tonight and jumped out to a fast start when Brian Armagost tapped the opening faceoff up to Aaron Bedessem who walked in for a breakway goal. That would be the last significant offensive opportunity they would see until midway through the second period. The absence of the maturity of Butalla, Bortnem, and C. Staples and the youth of Hilden put lines resulted in lines that had rarely been playing together most of the season. The lack of cohesiveness and overall sluggishness proved to be too much to overcome.

Dow was not quite as sharp as he has been and gave up two goals on two-on-one scenarios that he would have normally saved. With a 2-1 lead, the Dogs decided their best strategy for victory was to take penalties and turn their game in to an aggressive, physical game to keep the Spiders off balance.

Another costly turnover and lack of overall energy put the Spiders down 3-1.

It was the frustration of being slew-footed by Hatch (and he would later hammer Dow on the head with his stick for two more minutes) that pushed Thorson to take only his third penalty of the season. That was the spark that woke the Spiders up and put them into an offensive frenzy. The third period found the Sled Dogs with a consistent march to the penalty box and only managed to muster up five shots. The Spiders finally notched goal number two when Lindsley managed to find an opening past the sprawling Dog goalie.

The Spiders timeout with 1:30 remaining put Dow on the bench and six skaters out. The intensity was up and the Spiders ran out of time. Nearly the entire time was spent in the Dogs’ end with a number of opportunities just bouncing wide or blocked out front. Aaron Bedessem was a one-man forecheck and left bodies sprawling on the ice in his wake. An altercation at the end of the game found the Dogs clearing the bench and their goalie throwing equipment across the ice. Fortunately, calmer heads prevailed.

The Spiders have two more regular season games against the Jets and wrapping up with the Dogs. They are seeking to gain momentum into the playoffs with two solid wins. Had the team played the first half like the second half, the results would have been positive for the home team. However, they will most likely be encountering another grudge match from the Dogs as well as a desperate Jets team as both of their opponents do all they can to avoid being placed into the pool with the Fighting Piranhas.

The home team needs to steel themselves against rough, high-penalty minute teams since their current seeding places them into a pool with two of the four C2-leading penalty teams if they wish to carry strength and determination into the playoffs.

Attendance: 13