Why did the ThunderChicken cross the road?....

March 13, 2008

....So the Spiders could get their offense in gear again.

It was a classic battle last night between two “middle of the pack” teams that are out of the playoff hunt. With nothing to gain or lose except their pride, the Spiders got back to their early-season form, and put up 49 shots on goal. The Spiders and the ThunderChickens were each trying to win the match and get their season records back to .500. The Spiders prevailed by playing with a much more relaxed attitude, and it opened up the offense.

The Spiders got rolling in the first period with quick goal by Tim Forcelle assisted by big Jim Green. Soon after the first marker, defensemen Bob “I’ve got a cannon” Harnett took a slapshot from the point that was clocked at over 96 mph. Harnett unleashed the cannon a few more times during the game, and it clearly put the ThunderChickens netminder on edge. The T-Chickens were not going to rollover, in fact, they battled back throughout the game, keeping things close the entire match. The Chickens answered with 2 goals of their own, including a short-handed point in the first. Late in the first, Chris “Mr. Hustle” Smith unloaded a backhand into the top shelf with assists from Greg Lindsley and Jack Delsing.

The Spiders opened the margin to 4-2 early in the second period with a goal from Chris Stalpes. Stalpes was trading between Wing and Center the whole night as the Spiders were short a few players. Spiders GM Dave Schliesman and Asst Capt Jim Maietta were absent (boy there was a lot more room on the bench!) along with Brad Butalla and John Trentor. Unidentified sources said that the 4 were in their jammies early that evening and that the 10:20pm start would have a negative affect their beauty rest.

Later in the second period, veteran Spider Doug Thorson buried a goal on the T-Chickens’ doorstep from a behind the net feed by substitute Captain Lee Martini. However, the Chickens would come back to finish the period down only 5-4.

The third period brought more intensity as the Chickens tied the score at 5-5 early in the period. Veteran Chicken B. Powers got a hat trick and brought new life his team. As the evening waned (closer to 11:30pm due to all the Spiders’ icing calls), the Spiders were getting tired, and the Chickens seemed to be getting stronger. Just when the Spiders looked like they might be giving up, the Chickens choked. The Chickens were tagged with a tripping penalty with only 3 minutes left in the game. The Spiders’ Tim Forcelle capitalized on the power play, notching a goal with assists from Stalpes and Bruce Gustafson. With just over a minute to go, the Spiders were up 6-5 and the choking Chickens pulled their goalie. Jack Delsing capped his 3-point night with an empty net goal with just over 30 seconds remaining in the contest.

In a post-game interview, Delsing was quoted as saying: “I had a big night, 2 assists and 1 goal. The Spiders were missing over 480 pounds of Allianz offense...I felt like I had to step up.”

Next up for the 8-8-2 Spiders is their second-to-last game of the season on Saturday March 22 against the highly penalized 7-10-0 Spartans. The Spartans have almost 200 penalty minutes on the season.

Tonight’s attendance: 2 (the Zamboni driver and the janitor closing the ice center when we were finished).