Spiders Keep Division Title Hopes Alive With 6-1 Win Over Norsemen

March 11, 2012

While the Spiders have clinched a playoff spot, the remainder of the season provides the Spiders an opportunity to right the ship. A 1-2-2 stretch from late January through February sent the Spiders sinking in the standings. Last week’s 5-2 win over the Roadrunners was a start and Saturday’s face off against the Norsemen would help the team gather some momentum. With Spider regulars Dave Schliesman, Jim Maietta, Bob Harnett, and Chris Stalpes sidelined, it was up to subs Dave Henke, Tim Forcelle, and Mark Bortnem to step up.

The Spiders started strong as Greg Lindsley, Dave Henke, and Mark Bortnem scored first period goals. Goaltender Brian Dow stood tall and turned away several good Norsemen chances off Spider defensive zone turnovers. No save was bigger than a diving blocker save off a deflected shot to keep the score 2-0.

The Norsemen got back in the game with a power play goal early in the second before Josh Cagle put home a rebound so extend the lead to 4-1. From there, the Spiders controlled play and goals from Brad Butalla and Matt Adelmann made the final score 6-1.

Full results from other C2 North games aren’t in at press time but the win at least keeps the Spiders within one point of the 1st place Zephyrs. The Spiders hold the tiebreaker over the Zephyrs with a season record of 1-0-1 so a tie in points would result in the Spiders taking the regular season title.

Next up for the Spiders are the Chaos Black on Friday, March 16 at 9:30pm at Richfield 2. The Spiders are 2-0 against the Chaos Black with 4-1 and 6-1 wins although both games were closer than the score indicates.