Spiders weave another comeback in gritty win over Loons

Nov. 19, 2014

St. Paul (AP) - For the second time in as many games the Spiders found themselves in a hole...and promptly crawled their way out.

But their 6-4 comeback victory over the Loons on Sunday at Westside Arena wouldn't be sealed without having to overcome the challenge of playing shorthanded for a seemingly endless stretch late in the third period.

Blame it on some ticky-tacky calls by the refs? Or maybe just the intensity that ensued between two teams looking to vault themselves in the standings of what has potential to be a very competitive B3 East division. Regardless, this was a night where the penalties minutes were flowing (34 total between the two teams) and a late rash of trips to the box nearly muted the four unanswered goals the Spiders scored to hand the upstart Loons (2-1) their first loss of the season.

Legs on both benches seemed sluggish early, but the Loons found twine first on a screen shot just 1:20 into the contest. The Spiders evened the score at 8:18 in the first period as Geoff Kuppe netted his first of two goals on the night, with the assist coming from rookie center Mario Mariani. The Spiders jumped to their first lead less than a minute later on a goal by Matt Adelmann (assisted by Cody Buckalew).

The Spiders’ edge on the scoreboard was short lived as Loons forward R. Miller scored consecutive goals on the same shift (at 6:50 and 6:21), to give the Minnesota state birds a 3-2 lead after one period. Although eight penalties were assessed in the game’s first 15 minutes, each team capitalized only once during that span with power play goals.

Frustration turns to motivation

The second period couldn’t have started with more frustration for the Spiders, who, despite their emerging advantage in controlling the puck at the Loons’ end of the ice, surrendered another goal at the 10:52 mark. The 4-2 deficit manifested — for the second consecutive game — a gut check of sorts for the Spiders. And, for the second consecutive game, the “Red and Black” manufactured a comeback.

Mariani deked his way to a power play score (assisted by Jim Maietta) at 8:18 of the second period to bring the Spiders back within one goal. Fifty six seconds later Kuppe tied that game a 4-4 when he caught a crisp, two-line outlet pass from Hank Long, muscled his way past the lone defender and scored on his own rebound.

The next 17 minutes featured many scoring chances, but neither team was able to convert, until 5:51 of the third period when first-year Spiders’ forward Ryan Wilson pounced on a puck floated into the crease by Matt Adelmann (1 goal, 2 assists on the day). Wilson’s goal would prove to be the game winner, but not before a head-scratching final five minutes where the Spiders were called for four penalties, three of which were issued in the 90 seconds following the Spiders’ go-ahead goal.

The Spiders played shorthanded from 5:26 to 1:26 of the third period — including stretches with only three skaters on the ice. The Loons had their chances to tie the game, but thanks to gritty defense and grace-under-pressure goaltending by Brian Dow (26 saves on 30 shots), the Spiders persevered. Mike Townshend’s open netter with 29 seconds left iced the win.

The victory put the Spiders (2-1) in a four-way tie for second place in the B3 East. Play resumes Thanksgiving weekend with a game Saturday, Nov. 29 against the Ice Hogs (2-1).