Stout defense propels Spiders to 4-2 win over Venom

Feb. 11, 2017

It seems like (read: actually was) weeks ago, but the Spiders took a crucial 4-2 win over the Venom on January 22nd. It was a dominating defensive performance with the Spiders allowing only 20 shots on goal.

Jason Yancey and Aaron Bedessem scored in the first period to stake the Spiders to a 2-0 lead. The ice seemed tilted in the Venom direction early in the second and the Venom broke through with assistance of poor officiating and an unnecessary Spider turnover.

On the first goal, the initial shot hit the post and dropped down behind Spider goaltender Brian Dow. The trailing official blew the puck dead for reasons unknown before a Venom skater poked the puck into the net. It’s unclear why the official allowed a goal after the whistle as he was, quite honestly, a prick when questioned about it. The other official is universally incompetent so he was no help either. It’s possible that the official incorrectly thought the first shot went in. Or maybe he decided to compound his initial mistake of blowing a live puck dead by doubling down and allowing a goal after the whistle. I guess we will never know. The Venom followed up with a shorthanded goal as a Spider defenseman was stripped of the puck on the breakout, resulting in a breakaway.

The Spiders regained control quickly with Cody Buckalew and Christian Peterson scoring a couple quick goals to regain a two-goal lead. The Spider defense remained stout through the remainder of the 2nd period and through the 3rd to close out the 4-2 win.

The 20 shots allowed by the Spiders are the fewest since the last season at the C1 level. The Spiders allowed only 20 shots in a 4-3 victory over the now-defunct Warriors on March 24th, 2013. The last time the Spider allowed fewer was a thrilling 1-0 win over the Sled Dogs on February 16th, 2013 where the Spiders allowed only 13 shots.

All in all, a huge win for the Spiders. With a three week break before the next game on February 11th, the Spiders didn’t give trailing teams a chance to gain ground.

Two areas for improvement are in keeping composure in these intense games and preventing the seemingly consistent second period swoon. The Venom had chances to get back into the game in the 3rd period due to Spider penalties, including one that should have been 5-on-3 advantage before some curios officiating. The Spiders Department of Analytics is working nights and weekends to find an answer to the issues in the second period.

With the delay in publication of this write up the results from the Spiders bye week can be analyzed. Results affecting the top of standings include the Piranhas beating the Wild 7-3 and the Barons surprisingly losing 0-3 to the last place Chiefs. The result is the Spiders retaining 1st place when judged by points lost since teams have different numbers of games played. The Barons are ½ game behind with the Venom and Wild one game behind.

While the Spiders first playoff berth since 2013 is certainly not guaranteed the recent playoff format confirmation by the AHA and the current place in the standings make a cursory discussion appropriate. Playoffs will take place April 3rd-9th with most games at Bloomington Ice Gardens. As expected, the top 4 teams in each of the B3 divisions will advance to the playoffs. Pool A will consist of East #1, West #2, West #3, and East #4. Pool B will consist of West #1, East #2, East #3, and West #4.

The Spiders next take the ice on Saturday, February 11th at St. Louis Park E. Puck drops at 7:45pm against the Landsharks. The Spiders comfortable won the first match 7-3 but the Landsharks will be desperate to get back into the playoff hunt.