Season Comes To An End With 3-2 Loss To Thunder Chickens

April 9, 2011

A quick check of the pool B standings showed the Spiders would win the pool and advance to the semi-finals with a win or tie against the Thunder Chickens. The Chickens were also aware they advanced with a win and this was sure to result in an intense, desperate game.

The Spiders got on the board less than a minute into the game as Tim Stalpes picked up a puck in his own end and set sail up the wing. Stalpes was able to turn the corner on the Chicken defenseman and beat the goaltender through the five hole.

The rest of the first period proved this fast start to be an anomaly as both teams tightened up defensively and settled into a grinding style of play - backchecking, blocking shots, clearing rebounds, etc. The Spiders seemed to get the best of it but couldn’t add to the lead. The Chicken goaltender gave up several rebounds but they bounced just over or just beyond the sticks of the waiting Spiders.

The big momentum swing happened on a defensive breakdown midway through the second period. With the puck in the Chickens defensive zone, a clearing attempt up the boards got by a pinching Spiders defenseman and led to a 2-on-1 break for the Chickens. The lone Spiders defender gambled to break up the play but the pass sneaked through to the streaking Chicken forward who came in alone and beat Spider stopper Brian Dow high to the glove side.

This goal tilted the ice in the Chickens favor and the Spiders started to lose composure. While the officiating was inconsistent, the Spiders let themselves become pre-occupied with complaining about calls rather than concentrating on tying the game.

With Brad Butalla in the box for tripping, the Chickens got the kind of fortunate bounce the Spiders couldn’t seem to get. A loose, bouncing puck was cleanly backhanded out of the air by a Chicken forward and the score was 2-1. Minutes later, the Chickens scored a back-breaking goal. A shot from the left point skipped past both a Spider defenseman and Dow to extend the lead to 3-1.

With the clock under three minutes, captain Dave Schliesman called time out and got the Spiders organized for pulling the goalie and adding an extra attacker. As the clocked ticked down under a minute left, the Spiders confidence was buoyed by their late game heroics against the Royals a week ago. With the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Brad Butalla shoveled the puck from behind the net onto the stick of Chris Stalpes who buried the puck to close the score to 3-2 with 0:47 left. The ensuing face off was won by the Spiders but they couldn’t get the puck deep. The Thunder Chickens controlled the puck and the game ended without the Spiders getting another shot on net.

Unlike last season when the Spiders led all of C2 in both goals scored and goals allowed, the Spiders had trouble finding the scoring touch this season. Of the 12 playoff teams, 9 had out-scored the Spiders. In the end, this lack of scoring proved to be the downfall of the team.

The win moved the Thunder Chickens to 2-1 in the pool, good for the berth in the semi-finals, while the Spiders dropped to 1-1-1. This brings the season to an end. Once again the arrival of Spring coincided with AHA playoff weekend so the pain of the loss was soon washed away. The Spiders enjoyed a complimentary beer provided by Summit Brewing before moving to the parking lot for more brews, brats, warm weather, and camaraderie.

Next up for the Spiders is a golf outing. And after that – all the way in 2012?