C2 playoff wrapup
April 24, 2012
By the strictest standards, success is measured in championships. But a fourth consecutive playoff appearance, this time including a pool championship and advancing to the semi-finals, is still a success.
After a second-place finish in the C2 North division, the Spiders advanced to the playoffs as the second seed in pool A. A 3-2 win over an extremely tough Fighting Piranhas squad got the Big Red Machine off to a good start. A comfortable, though not dominating, 4-2 win over the Beavers kept up the momentum. Then the Spiders finished off pool play with a 3-2 comeback over the top seed Rack Attack to win the pool and advance to the semi-finals.
The Spiders faced off with the C2 North division champion and pool B winner 2-0-1 Zephyrs in the semi-finals. The Spiders got the best of the Zephyrs in the regular season with a 5-4 win and 4-4 tie. A 2-0 lead early in the second period appeared to have the Spiders on the way to the finals but heavy legs led to a collapse as the Zephyrs took the 4-2 win.
The other semi-final could be titled the Improbable Bowl. The Admirals, who barely qualified for the playoff by winning their last six games and a tiebreaker of penalty minutes, went 3-0 in pool play. The Royals benefited from an improbable series of results on Saturday morning to make the semi-finals with a 1-0-2 record. A 2-0 win sent the Admirals to the finals against the Zephyrs.
Proving there is justice in this world, the Zephyrs, previously described on this website as, “goons, hacks, convicts and stiffs” and “bozos, hoodlums, gorillas, meatheads, and ruffians,” were defeated by the Admirals in a shootout by a 5-4 margin.
The Spiders turn to their offseason regimen of golfing, boating, and drinking with a focus on the 2012/13 championship. For the third consecutive offseason, the Spiders are planning a golf outing. This year it will actually happen though because…um…it will happen this year…probably…
Playoff results:
| Date | Time | Arena | Pool | Home | Result (Home) | Away | Result (Away) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, April 11, 2012 | 8:45 p.m. | BIG 2 | A | Rack Attack C2 | 7 | Beavers | 3 |
| Wednesday, April 11, 2012 | 9:30 p.m. | Breck | A | Spiders C2 | 3 | Fighting Piranhas C2 | 2 |
| Thursday, April 12, 2012 | 9:20 p.m. | Wakota 1 | B | Zephyrs | 4 | Warriors | 0 |
| Thursday, April 12, 2012 | 9:30 p.m. | Braemar W | C | Sting | 3 | Yellow Jackets | 3 |
| Thursday, April 12, 2012 | 9:30 p.m. | Wakota 2 | B | Sled Dogs C2 | 2 | Royals C2 | 5 |
| Thursday, April 12, 2012 | 9:30 p.m. | Breck | C | Blizzard | 1 | Admirals | 2 |
| Friday, April 13, 2012 | 1:15 p.m. | BIG 1 | A | Spiders C2 | 4 | Beavers | 2 |
| Friday, April 13, 2012 | 2:30 p.m. | BIG 2 | B | Sled Dogs C2 | 3 | Warriors | 0 |
| Friday, April 13, 2012 | 2:45 p.m. | BIG 3 | C | Sting | 2 | Admirals | 5 |
| Friday, April 13, 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | BIG 1 | A | Rack Attack C2 | 3 | Fighting Piranhas C2 | 4 |
| Friday, April 13, 2012 | 4:15 p.m. | BIG 2 | B | Zephyrs | 3 | Royals C2 | 3 |
| Friday, April 13, 2012 | 4:30 p.m. | BIG 3 | C | Blizzard | 1 | Yellow Jackets | 6 |
| Saturday, April 14, 2012 | 10:45 a.m. | Highland N | A | Fighting Piranhas C2 | 3 | Beavers | 4 |
| Saturday, April 14, 2012 | 12:15 p.m. | EPCC 3 | B | Zephyrs | 3 | Sled Dogs C2 | 1 |
| Saturday, April 14, 2012 | 12:15 p.m. | EPCC 1 | B | Royals C2 | 1 | Warriors | 1 |
| Saturday, April 14, 2012 | 12:30 p.m. | Highland N | A | Rack Attack C2 | 2 | Spiders C2 | 3 |
| Saturday, April 14, 2012 | 2:00 p.m. | EPCC 1 | C | Yellow Jackets | 3 | Admirals | 4 |
| Saturday, April 14, 2012 | 2:00 p.m. | EPCC 3 | C | Blizzard | 3 | Sting | 0 |
| Saturday, April 14, 2012 | 9:45 p.m. | BIG 3 | SF | Spiders C2 | 2 | Zephyrs | 4 |
| Saturday, April 14, 2012 | 10:00 p.m. | BIG 1 | SF | Admirals | 2 | Royals C2 | 0 |
| Sunday, April 15, 2012 | 3:15 p.m. | BIG 1 | F | Admirals | 5 | Zephyrs | 4 SO |
Playoff pool standings:
| Team | W | L | T | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spiders | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Rack Attack | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Fighting Piranhas | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Beavers | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Team | W | L | T | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zephyrs | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Royals | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Sled Dogs | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Warriors | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Team | W | L | T | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admirals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Yellow Jackets | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Blizzard | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Sting | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Full C2 standings
| Team | Pool | GP | W | L | T | OTL | P | GF | GA | PIM | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admirals | C | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 18 | 10 | 46 | +8 |
| Zephyrs | B | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 11 | 56 | +7 |
| Spiders | A | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 36 | +2 |
| Royals | B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 34 | +1 |
| Yellow Jackets | C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 36 | +4 |
| Rack Attack | A | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 22 | +2 |
| Fighting Piranhas | A | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 26 | -1 |
| Sled Dogs | B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 20 | -2 |
| Blizzard | C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 24 | -3 |
| Beavers | A | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 14 | 24 | -5 |
| Sting | C | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 34 | -6 |
| Warriors | B | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 18 | -7 |
