It’s a clinch! Spiders take D1 West title
March 10, 2011
With the comeback win over the Royals on Sunday, the undefeated Spiders lock up first place in D1 West for the 2010–11 season, the D1 squad’s second-ever first-place finish.
The Spiders’ franchise-unprecedented 17–0 run this season has opponents whispering “Miami Dolphins,” and affixing targets on their schedules for the playoffs. No other team in the AHA has an unblemished record this year, the Chiefs in C1 coming the closest, with a 15–0–3 record. Even the 2008–09 D1 champs (the Spiders, for those who’ve forgotten), missed the win column four times in the regular season, ending with a 16–1–2–1 record.
But, there’s still plenty of hockey on the schedule to play in March, and the Spiders face two tough opponents to close out the regular season. First up, the 3–15 Gold Rush, despite a last-place finish, have shown they can skate with any team in D1 West. After that, it’s a back-to-back with the 13–3–1 Puck Hounds, who have been hot on the Spiders’ tail throughout the season, and will certainly aim to finish strong to carry momentum into their Pool B second-seed playoff berth.
In D1 Pool C, it’ll be the Spiders as the number-one seed, as now officially listed on the AHA playoff section. However, with the D1 divisions — including the fourth and final seed in D1 West — still in the middle of tight playoff races, it may come down to the end of March, with the benefit of the usual tiebreakers, before the Spiders’ post-season opponents are known.
Playoff seeding will be as follows:
Pools:
- Pool A: East #1, North #2, West #3, East #4
- Pool B: North #1, West #2 (Puck Hounds), East #3, North #4
- Pool C: West #1 (Spiders), East #2, North #3, West #4
In D1 West, the contenders’ schedules means it’s up in the air as to which team will grab those seeds:
- Maroons (in 3rd; 20 pts.), face: Ice Gators and Royals.
- Royals (in 4th; 18 pts.), face: Puck Hounds and Maroons.
- Chaos (in 5th; 18 pts.), face: Fighting Saints and Ice Gators.
In a potential spoiler role, watch out for the Ice Gators, who will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2006–07, their first season after B-school, having made it to the post-season the last three years.
Full D1 West standings, as of March 6:
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OTL | P | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||||
| y–Spiders | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 106 | 38 | 96 |
| x–Puck Hounds | 17 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 76 | 41 | 116 |
| Maroons | 18 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 56 | 55 | 106 |
| Royals | 18 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 51 | 65 | 132 |
| Chaos | 18 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 60 | 68 | 138 |
| Fighting Saints | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 57 | 78 | 122 |
| Ice Gators | 18 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 49 | 68 | 74 |
| Gold Rush | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 44 | 86 | 82 |
In the other D1 divisions, races may come down the final week. While all D1 North teams have only two games remaining and the playoff teams are accounted for, only the seeding there remains up in the air. But over in D1 East, some teams still have five games on the schedule, so the playoff race there is wide open.
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OTL | P | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||||
| x–Northern Horde | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 79 | 20 | 74 |
| x–Diablos | 16 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 75 | 28 | 60 |
| Muskies | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 67 | 31 | 78 |
| Fighting Ice Fish | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 51 | 37 | 74 |
| Lakers | 15 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 66 | 38 | 133 |
| Arctic Wolves | 16 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 42 | 84 | 40 |
| Stars | 17 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 37 | 82 | 68 |
| Icedogs | 16 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 66 | 108 |
| Wolf Pack | 17 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 84 | 58 |
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OTL | P | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||||
| x–Ak Bars | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 79 | 31 | 120 |
| x–Lumberjacks | 18 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 68 | 38 | 139 |
| x–Wingmen | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 68 | 41 | 123 |
| x–Sled Dogs | 18 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 64 | 45 | 72 |
| Nighthawks | 18 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 51 | 34 | 102 |
| Fighting Piranhas | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 65 | 68 | 70 |
| Blade Runners | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 49 | 111 | 183 |
| Buccaneers | 18 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 96 | 66 |
A look at the top four in D1 North shows all teams with a history with the Spiders. Right now in third place is the Wingmen (backed by former Spider netminder Jeff Keacher, who is notching a career season there with a 12–5–1 record), and in fourth just a game behind are the Sled Dogs.
As previously announced, the post-season schedule is subject to change. But as it stands, the matchups for the three D1 pools will be as follows:
| Date | Day | Time | Arena | Pool | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/4/2011 | Mon. | 8:30 p.m. | Braemar S | B | 1 | 4 |
| 4/4/2011 | Mon. | 9:10 p.m. | Highland N | C | 2 | 3 |
| 4/5/2011 | Tue. | 6:15 p.m. | BIG 1 | A | 2 | 3 |
| 4/5/2011 | Tue. | 7:15 p.m. | BIG 3 | C | 1 – Spiders | 4 |
| 4/5/2011 | Tue. | 8:00 p.m. | BIG 1 | A | 1 | 4 |
| 4/5/2011 | Tue. | 9:00 p.m. | BIG 3 | B | 2 – Puck Hounds | 3 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 6:00 p.m. | BIG 3 | C | 2 | 4 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 6:00 p.m. | BIG 1 | A | 1 | 3 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 6:15 p.m. | BIG 2 | B | 2 – Puck Hounds | 4 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 7:45 p.m. | BIG 3 | C | 1 – Spiders | 3 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 7:45 p.m. | Richfield 2 | A | 2 | 4 |
| 4/8/2011 | Fri. | 8:00 p.m. | BIG 2 | B | 1 | 3 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 9:00 a.m. | Braemar E | B | 3 | 4 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 10:15 a.m. | Braemar W | B | 1 | 2 – Puck Hounds |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 12:00 p.m. | Braemar W | A | 1 | 2 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 12:00 p.m. | SLP W | C | 1 – Spiders | 2 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 1:45 p.m. | Braemar W | A | 3 | 4 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 1:45 p.m. | SLP W | C | 3 | 4 |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 7:30 p.m. | BIG 3 | – | D1 Semi-Final #2 – 2 vs. 3 | |
| 4/9/2011 | Sat. | 8:15 p.m. | BIG 1 | – | D1 Semi-Final #1 – 1 vs. 4 | |
| 4/10/2011 | Sun. | 2:00 p.m. | BIG 1 | – | D1 Tier Championship | |
