Spiders rally to upset first-place Fighting Piranhas

March 1, 2010

Fresh off their leap to first place by defeating the previously undefeated Chaos (who were also shut out by the Diablos Saturday night), the D1 West-leading Fighting Piranhas (13–1) were ready to continue their surge. Boasting a 10-game winning streak, the most goals for (77) and fewest goals against (21), the Fighting Piranhas are peaking at the right time in the long AHA winter season. The Spiders, on the other hand, were merely trying to salvage their season, sitting in seventh place (6–7) thanks a pair of wins to close out February.

The previous meeting, which had its share of unwelcome whistles, ended in a 2–0 win for the Piranhas. Would this game be any different?

Sure enough, the Piranhas jumped out to a 2–0 lead early in the first. Following a collision and reinjury to newly returned defenseman Paul LaCosse on his first shift (upper-body injury), the first tally, just under two minutes into the game, came off a point rocket from #22 S. Soderberg through a screen. The Spiders would see a lot of that number, including at 10:58, when on their first Power Play of the evening, Soderberg launched another point shot, this time deflected past Obermoller by #12 F. Jew.

Outhustled, outgunned, outpossessed, the substantial Breck crowd could be forgiven if they thought this one was over. At 8:59, Chris Pettengill got called for a trip, putting yet more chum in the water for the Piranhas. But, this PK was different. The Spiders suddenly showed a little life, and thanks to a one-man Power Play wrecking crew, #15, Cody Yard, the Spiders got a chance deep in the Piranha zone. Endlessly pressing behind the net, Yard took control and found a waiting RW Jim Tuttle, who buried it past the Piranhas’ sub goalie for the shorthanded marker. Now it was a game. 2–1 after one (and just 2 shots on goal for the Spiders; Piranhas had 11).

C Chris Flannery kicked off the second period with a holding penalty. Then, at 11:45, the unthinkable happened. On a flip pass from D Jeremy Litton, RW Mike Johnson streaked from center ice into the zone, beat two Piranha defenders ... and the netminder, to tie the game!

The remainder of the second featured:

• Penalties, including a 5-on-3.
• A Flannery goal waved off, with no explanation.
• A scary injury to Pettengill.
• More penalties.

More importantly, it saw extended pressure by the Spiders in the offensive zone, with face-off wins, instant shots, lather, rinse, repeat. It even led to an unheard-of second-period timeout for the Piranhas.

Under a minute into the third, the energized Spiders capitalized again, this time from LW John “New Hope” Pellicci to Yard for his first career AHA goal, and the eventual gamewinner! Spiders 3–2!

Other than spending most of the rest of the third period with one or more bodies in the cooler, the Spiders stepped up their smart hockey, frustrating the Piranhas, taking away chances, and Obermoller shutting down every shot, deflection and eating up all rebounds. On the other end, the sub goalie had plenty of time to build ice castles, as the Piranhas continued to press.

At 7:25, the Spiders called a much-needed timeout, to catch their collective breath and determine strategy for the remaining minutes of the game. The ploy worked, and the Spiders, holding on for the ride of their lives, made it through to the final minute with the score unchanged. The Piranhas pulled their netminder for the extra attacker. But it was LW Rob Droullard who came up with the puck in the Spider zone, moved it up to a breaking Johnson, who again streaked his way toward the Piranha net, this time with no one to stop him. And at 31.2 seconds remaining in the third, Spiders were up 4–2!

And that’s where it would end, as the Breck ice crew had seen enough D1 hockey to last a lifetime, and opened the Zamboni gates.

Final score: Spiders 4, Fighting Piranhas 2.

Obermoller ended up seeing 29 shots (11, 11, 7), shutting down 27. The Piranhas’ sub goalie saw 25 (2, 14, 9), not including the empty netter.

Movin’ on up

With this improbable win, the Spiders find themselves tied in the standings for fifth with the Wingmen, and a .500 record (7–7; 14 points). More importantly, that’s just one place out of the playoff bar, though the PIM tiebreaker won’t do the Spiders any favors. Although with a game in hand, the bar will become higher as the season goes on, with the Spiders next opponent, the fourth-place Diablos sitting with 18 points, a two-game gap for post-season chances. That game is next Sunday, at (psst, Pellicci) New Hope, at 6:15 p.m.

The Fighting Piranhas will remain tied for first with the Chaos, at 13–2. Lifetime against the Piranhas, the Spiders improve to 2–5.

The annals...

Also, the game was one for the record books. While tonight’s 32 PIM-fest didn’t break the total PIM-in-game record (that’s at 40 PIM, vs. the Jets two years ago tonight! ... though it was previously held by that season’s first game with the Piranhas), it did set a new record for total number of penalties by both teams combined (previously held by the Oct. 26, 2008, game against the Lumberjacks), plus it tied the most penalties per game by the Spiders, previously set on Jan. 7, 2007, vs. the Sled Dogs. And no, that measly 2 shots in the first period is unfortunately not a team record.

Game media

In-game “look-in” video

In-game “look-in” video, courtesy Cory Vandenberghe.

And game photos

Also courtesy Cory Vandenberghe Media Productions

Tuttle battles at center ice.

LaCosse has an opportunity to check out the paint job on a Fighting Piranha’s twig.

A Spider in the box?

Heitzman/Flannery/Baker line neutral-zone faceoff.

Rally complete.

For all game photos, see the Spiders Photo Gallery.