Spiders fall to Fighting Piranhas in championship game

April 8, 2013

vs.

A look at the final score may lead some to believe the 1-0 Fighting Piranhas win over the Spiders in the C1 title game was a snoozer. Nothing could be further from the truth as the standing-room only crowd at BIG 2 was treated to one for the ages.

The intensity went to 11 from the opening faceoff as the layout of the rink literally had the crowd right on top of the ice. The Piranhas had momentum early as they had a couple early chances. A heavy slap shot from the left circle trickled behind goaltender Brian Dow who had some help from Chris Stalpes to prevent the puck from (officially) crossing the goal line. Minutes later, Chris Stalpes was whistled for tripping while swiping at the puck on a breakaway. Dow stood tall in net to turn away the penalty shot.

Energized by their good fortune the Spiders turned up the pressure. Piranha netminder Bobby Osum was up to the task, make several by-the-skin-of-his-teeth saves.

The Piranhas finally broke the seal as the Spiders D allowed just enough room to allow a shot from the wing to be deflected in front and past Dow. The Spiders had plenty of chances as you would imagine with a 39-25 shot advantage but couldn’t put the puck in the net. At the horn the Piranhas rushed the ice to celebrate their 1-0 win and the championship while the Spiders looked on in disbelief.

Some losses stick with you longer than others. You’d be hard pressed to find a Spider who has gotten over the 4-2 loss to the Zephyrs in the semi-finals last year. Even the mention of the 4-0 loss in the championship game in 2010 would almost certainly generate a scowl or two. Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Fighting Piranhas feels different.

Some may look at the Spiders 2012-13 season and think it went smoothly. A regular season division championship. A fifth straight playoff berth. A trip to the championship game.

The guys on the team know it was anything but smooth. There was the loss of three key players to season ending injuries. There was the loss of family members. There were the normal nuisances such as injury, illness, and short benches. And then there was the seemingly soul-crushing 6-1 loss to the Beavers in the first playoff game. Through all that the Spiders refused to just pack it in and assume this wasn’t their year.

In the end it wasn’t our year but we sure went down swinging. Not a single player hung their head in the locker room on Sunday. It’s a cliché to say we “left it all on the ice” but that’s just what it was. The Piranhas won this one. Good for them.

Good season boys. See some of you on the ice in summer league. See others at the 2nd Annual Spiders Golf Classic or the 2nd Annual Spiders Derby at Running Aces.

Fighting Piranhas – Well done. That’s one hell of a team you have. You beat us this time. Better get to training because we’ve got the 2014 playoffs circled on the calendar.

And for you Schliesman, that would be April 7th-13th, 2014**. Got it?

**For the record, this is only a guess of when the playoffs will be next year as Easter isn’t until April 20th.