Spiders an hour behind, lose to Lumberjacks 3–2, but win D1 East title

March 8, 2009

The Spiders’ legs showed up an hour late to SPA due to the Daylight Savings time change, and handed the playoff-hungry Lumberjacks an early two-goal advantage. The generosity resulted in the first regulation loss of the season for the D1 East-leading Spiders.

Today’s DST matinee on the pothole-chocked ice at SPA-Drake Arena, famous for its fish-house dressing rooms, represented a must-win for the Lumberjacks to keep their playoff hopes alive. Tied for third place with the Wingmen, their 23 points put them a game-and-a-half ahead of the Royals and surging Yellow Jackets. However, for the Spiders, unknown due to a missed text message from the Versus Network statistician crew before the game, the Spiders had sealed up first place in D1 East for the season due to a 5–1 defeat of the second-place Diablos by the Wingmen.

The tone for the game was set early on, when a first-shift scoring chance by the Vandenberghe-Bedessem-Flannery line was stuffed by D1 All-Star netminder Chad Jayasekera. Sensing their momentum, the Lumberjacks pressed their chances, and ended up getting on the board first, 1 minute 39 seconds into the game.

But, fresh back from a two-game dehabilitation stint in Florida, right wing Luke Baker evened it up 27 seconds later, unassisted. The Jacks would get it back though, scoring another with 10:13 remaining, on a giveaway by defenseman Jeremy “Grizzly” Litton (-1), going up 2–1.

Then, at 7:52, the lone first-period penalty was called, on none other than Paul “Cooler” LaCosse himself. And it took the Jacks just 7 whole seconds to capitalize and add to their lead, now 3–1.

The second period had two notable items: 1) a scary injury to #19 on the Lumberjacks, T. Hansen, in the corner over the Zamboni gate pothole. Dr. Rob was in attendance, and the Spiders wish him well.

And 2), a parade of penalties like the Spiders haven’t had since, well, the last time they played the Lumberjacks. Starting at 11:50, and continuing 44 seconds into the third, there were seven penalties, four for the Spiders, and three for the Lumberjacks. The Spiders were all innocent, of course. And, also of course, at least one of the Jacks’ calls was drawn by Aaron Bedessem. In all in the second, the Lumberjacks offered 1:18 of 5-on-3, though the Spiders PP couldn’t convert. And the Spiders were short for 5:21, as one (LaCosse’s second) was offsetting. And Mike “LaCosse” Armel tried to offset himself, getting two in a row against the Spiders. At least Nick Ungaro, also back from a two-game break, made sure he couldn’t draw two calls in the second by being in the bin at the buzzer.

The third, much like the second, continued to feature call after call by the refs, some spot on, others just to make sure their whistles still worked. And just to make it fair, the Spiders gave the Jacks a a full 2:24 of 5-on-3 for themselves. Even with the advantages, neither special team was converting. But it was finally in the late second and into the third, the Spiders had woken up and got their legs moving. The Lumberjacks, playing with a two-goal advantage, collapsed around Jayasekera any time the Spiders got close. Though there were plenty of chances, with 12 shots on goal in both the second and the third by the Spiders, every rebound was swallowed up.

Finally, with 2:41 remaining Luke Baker again found the net, on assists from Mike Armel and Ryan Herman (though under review by Paul LaCosse!), narrowing the Lumberjack lead to one.

With another flurry of chances, the Spiders pulled netminder Amber Obermoller with just over a minute remaining for the player advantage. But after controlling play and getting shots on, a scramble in front of the net led to Aaron Bedessem take a cross-check up high from the Jack D. The conversation while on the ice surface led to a ref late call on Bedessem for roughing. The 6-on-5 would continue for the remaining 20 seconds, but it was not meant to be. A final clear across an open point by the Lumberjacks put it away. Final: Lumberjacks 3, Spiders 2.

The tilt in momentum can be seen in the shots on goal, with the Lumberjacks racking up 10 in the first on Amber, then declining to 8 in the second and 5 in the third, for a total of 23, whereas the Spiders’ slow start resulted in just 6 on Jayasekera in the first, and 12 each in the second and third, for a total of 30.

In all, it was clear the Lumberjacks played to win, and it showed.

With the loss, the Spiders undefeated-in-regulation run goes down. The Spiders still remain in first (15–1–2–1), with their 33 points and three-point advantage over the second-place Diablos (14–3–2–0). On the season, the Spiders and Lumberjacks are 1–1–1. (Lifetime against the Lumberjacks, the Spiders are 1–3–1.)

The Lumberjacks lock in their post-season chances with the win and improve to 11–5–3–0 and 25 points for fourth place, three points ahead of the Royals, and five ahead of the Yellow Jackets. The surging Wingmen also have 25 points, but are in third due to AHA tiebreaker rules. The final standings for third and fourth place will be determined after game 20 next week, where the Jacks play the Royals, and the Wingmen play the Yellow Jackets.

Next up for the Spiders, it’s the third time seeing the Diablos this season, with the previous two resulting in a Spider win and a tie. The game, however, won’t affect the final regular-season D1 standings for first and second place. With the Diablos coming off a 5–1 loss to the Wingmen, their second-place finish is locked. Which means the Spiders, for the first time in franchise history, have won their division!