Sloppy Spiders fall to Ice Hogs

Nov. 30, 2014

Good news – none of the Spiders have been diagnosed with Mumps.

Bad news – the Spiders were infected with the holiday blahs.

With a short bench and legs heavy from extra helpings of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy, the mistake-prone Spiders went down to the Ice Hogs by a score of 7-3.

It took only 61 seconds for the first mistake as the game as a communication mixup resulted in a breakaway and the first Ice Hog goal. The Ice Hogs added two more before Cory Vandenberghe pounced on a rebound to close to 3-1 late in the period. The momentum change was short-lived as the Ice Hogs extended the lead to 4-1 in the last minute of the period.

Aaron Bedessem got the Spiders to 4-2 early in the second but they would get no closer. Geoff Kuppe scored on a breakaway for the second game in a row, scoring five hole on sub netminder Mark Winters.

The Spiders actually out shot the Ice Hogs 38 to 34. But too many bad clearing passes, turnovers, rebounds, and failure to clear rebounds resulted in too many scoring opportunities for the Ice Hogs. While the Spiders certainly played poorly for stretches, there’s no shame in losing to this Ice Hogs squad. The Ice Hogs are the top returning team in B3, going 13-5-2 last season, and are looking strong at 3-1-0 on the 2014-15 season.

The loss drops the Spiders to 2-2-0 on the season. Next up is a rematch with the Gators, who beat the Spiders 4-2 in the season opener. This will be an important game for the Spiders as the Gators are one of three teams in the division with only one loss, along with the Ice Hogs and Taz Devils.