Penalties, miscues lead to 4–1 loss to Chaos in season opener

Oct. 24, 2009

The over-capacity parking lot at Brooklyn Center was no doubt due to the season-opening marquee matchup of last year’s D1 Champs the Spiders opening the season against last year’s D2 Champs the Chaos. The Spiders game plan was to rely on their long roster and fundamentals to outlast the Chaos. The expected long bench for the Spiders didn’t materialize. In fact, gameday contract negotiations for one second-line left winger who shall remain nameless almost meant an even shorter bench. Instead, the Spiders and Chaos faced off with an even 13 for each squad.

(Healthy scratches tonight: Baker, Droullard, Eberhardt, Anderson, LaCosse, Schlais.)

And through the first frame, it was all even on the scoreboard, 0–0 and shots 8–8. However, following a number of long shifts to start the second combined with the long second-period change, the Spider hustle slowed to a crawl. At 3:42 into the second period, the Chaos crowd heard the foghorn, as they went up 1–0, and gave a celly for the ages.

The much-needed TV timeout following the goal didn’t help the Spiders recharge, but did give the refs time to find their whistles. And they continued to find them, putting the Spiders down 5-on-3 with a patented Pettengill hold and Flannery body check. With just two itty bitty seconds remaining in the 5-on-3, the scrum in front of goalkeeper Amber led to the second marker of the night for the Chaos.

Not content to allow the Chaos to hold the dreaded two-goal lead, the Spiders again headed to the cooler, first rookie right winger Jim Tuttle for hooking, then d-man Ryan Herman, offsetting for roughing. Still with the man advantage, the Chaos again created more chaos in the slot for the Spider PK unit, and put themselves up by 3.

The Spiders came out in the third demonstrating what they did best tonight: head back to the penalty box. Tuttle liked it so much the first time, he went back for a trip, and was seen motioning to Flannery during a whistle that it was even better the second time, who complied with a cross-check. Wondering what all the fuss was about, defenseman Jeremy Litton threw his weight around and got called for checking, and made it a cozy trio in the bin. Having had plenty of 5-on-3 practice in the second period, it was old hat in the third, and the Spiders effectively killed off the remaining disadvantage.

With time winding down, and the donut looming large, rookie right winger John Pellicci wound around and beat the Chaos netminder Dale Melbie to wipe out the shutout. Assists to Flannery and Armel.

The D pair of Ungaro and Litton had just come on the ice and were awarded the plus on the goal. Still elated, they decided to discuss the stat further during the ensuing center ice faceoff. In what will certainly make ESPN’s Unbelievable Moments of the Week highlight reel, the D pair got tangled up as the Chaos center collected the loose puck, and tore toward the net, snapping it top right over Amber, and putting the D pair back to minus 1.

The remaining three minutes did see some offensive hustle and chances from the Spiders. But the Chaos backcheckers proved up to the task, closing out the game with the final score 4–1.

The Chaos put a whopping 41 shots on net (8, 18, 15), which meant Amber got her “wish” of getting more work. The Spider crowd — which included certain Spider VIPs — witnessed some amazing saves and glove catches in midair in among those 37. The last time the Spiders had 41 shots against was Dec. 29, 2007, against the Wolf Pack, which was followed by 42 shots on Feb. 29, 2008, vs. the Lumberjacks. The Spiders managed 17 shots (8, 6, 3) — was it that many?

And the seven penalties meant the Spiders were shorthanded 8:26 of the game. 8:26 that the Chaos took advantage of. They were anything but chaotic, playing solid D1 hockey for 51 minutes, and capitalizing on Spider mistakes. Spider faithful will note that the Spiders also had seven penalties in the 2007–08 season opener. This year’s tally meant only 14 PIM. The previous one was slightly more.

The Spiders unfortunately didn’t have many Chaos mistakes to capitalize on. “The defense and the backchecking forwards looked a lot like those NWA pilots,” said one second-line center who shall remain nameless.

The Spiders thankfully have a bye next week, which means their 0–1 record can get no worse in the next 13 days. Following the vacation from the rough schedule to date, the Spiders meet up with the Nighthawks, which lost 7–2 tonight to the Fighting Ice Fish, the team the Spiders scrimmaged last week to close out training camp.

A Chaos breakout at Brooklyn Park. Photo: Cory Vandenberghe.

Spiders prepare for a point shot. Photo: Cory Vandenberghe.