Spiders fall to Barons 4-3

Jan. 20, 2017

The Spiders 6-game unbeaten streak came to an end on Monday with a 4-3 loss to the Barons. The Barons netted two third period goals including the winner with less then five minutes left to take the win and first place in the B3 East.

Jason Yancey and Christian Peterson combined for a beautiful goal to give the Spiders an early lead. Peterson carried the puck deep down the right wing before sliding an inch-perfect backhander across the crease to Yancey at the far post. Yancey, early leader in Spiders Rookie of the Year race, buried the puck for his sixth goal in only his fourth game.

The Barons came roaring back in the second period with two quick goals. Joe Long knotted the score at 2-2 after a perfect pass from Brent Murray sprung him on the breakaway. Murray notched his second point of the night minutes later as he knocked home a rebound off a Hank Long shot to give the Spiders a 3-2 lead entering the 3rd period.

The Barons tied the score early in the thrid and added the eventual game winner with less than five minutes left. The Spiders forced Barons netminder Mark Winters to make a couple big saves but couldn’t break through.

The loss drops the Spiders to 5-2-3 at the midway point of the season and down to second place in the standings. The AHA strives for parity and in that regard the B3 East is a great success. The top 4 teams are separated by only a ½ game with the sixth place team only two games from the lead.

Next up for the Spiders is a critical showdown with the 3rd place Venom. The Venom beat the Spiders in the first matchup with the game winner scored in the last minute. There are plenty of games left to play but the Spiders can’t afford to start giving up tiebreakers to teams they will be competing with for the playoff spots. The Spiders will be making their first trip to Richfield on the season and the matinee puck drop time is 6:15pm.

The Spiders will then be off for three (!!!) long weeks unti February 11th as they’re the odd team out next week in the nine team division before the whole division gets Super Bowl weekend off.