Stalemate

March 20, 2011

Puck Hounds take a point from the Spiders’ run in up-and-back affair at Breck.

A sizeable Sunday night crowd turned up at Breck Anderson Arena to see whether the 18–0 Spiders would continue their run, or if the 14–3–1 Puck Hounds could keep the Spiders at bay. In the end, it was neither, as the running clock in OT ran too fast for the winded D1 teams, and issued both a point in the standings for the tie.

The Puck Hounds came ready to play, and proved they’ve earned their second-place finish in D1 West and 2 seed in Pool B.

The Spiders, on the other hand, got off to their usual slow start established in the last two games.

The first period started out all Hounds, who played fundamental hockey and … moved their feet. The Spiders finally got some offensive chances going after the Hounds were called for a vicious Too Many Men penalty to put the Spiders on the power play at 6:03 in. The Hounds would get another sit at for a Sutton trip at 9:31. But back at full strength, the Hounds took over again, and just after the 12-minute mark, they were rewarded with a goal that somehow squeaked through Fransen and rolled slowly into the net.

It wasn’t until 1:30 remaining in the first, the Spiders finally showed some offensive life when C Chris Flannery got the Spiders on the board, assist to RW Droullard, to tie it up at one. The first closed out with shots even as well, 11 each side.

The second begin with more up-and-back D1 hockey, until the Hounds took the lead again at 4:04 in. For good measure, C Cody Yard took his turn to have a chit chat with the scorekeeper following his cross-check at 6:22. The Hounds’ Sutton wondered what Yard and the scorekeeper were discussing, and the refs allowed him to get a closer listen, thanks to an interference call at 11:16 of the second.

However, Sutton would barely get a chance to sit down in the cooler. The Spiders drew a power play with an offensive zone faceoff. From there, Yard went to work on the faceoff, drew right to RW Chris Pettengill who “crashed” the net on his goal, taking just two seconds from the puck drop to the puck-in-the-net. Tie game again, 2–2.

And right back in the box, the Hounds’ Stang was immediately called for high-sticking on the ensuing center-ice faceoff, the score remained tied at two to close out the second, along with the shots, tied again with nine apiece.

The third again started out with Hound momentum, and 4:03 in, with a too-quiet a whistle, an apparently not-dead play led to a blue-line rocket from the Hounds’ leading scorer Danielson, who got the benefit of a fluttering puck kicking up in the air off Fransen’s shoulder pad, and again a trickle into the net.

Back on the power play halfway through the third, D Grotbeck captured a Hound clear at the left blueline, D-to-D pass to D Litton, who wristed it through to Flannery, who deflected it between the legs and right in the net, for his second of the evening and re-tying the game at three goals each.

The Spiders now had the momentum in their favor. With five minutes left on the clock, D-man Schroeder found the legs to press, and getting the puck to back to Flannery, who had a “clear” shot from the slot to put the Spiders ahead for the first time it the game, and to find himself rained with hats.

With a minute and a half remaining, the Puck Hounds called a timeout and returned for their offensive zone faceoff with six skaters.

While the Spiders were able to clear the puck out of the zone twice, it never made it past the red line, and gave the Hounds the ability to keep pressing. And finally, with 26 seconds left on the Breck scoreboard, the advantage of the extra attacker proved itself, as the Hounds converted a four-on-two to a 4–4 tie.

Despite a chance or two in the remaining seconds, the game proceeded to the five-minute runtime overtime period. Neither team was able to put up any solid chances, just getting a single shot apiece. And that’s where it would end, 4–4 on the scoreboard, and a point each in the standings.

Both goaltenders kept their teams in it, as they got peppered with an almost even number of shots — 30 on Fransen (11, 9, 9, 1) and 33 on Chris Guarneri (11, 9, 12, 1), each allowing four. And in the stats, both netminders have a lock on the one and two slots, but fitting that they are essentially tied. Coming into the game, Guarneri in 18 games as a 2.39 GAA and .903 save percentage. Just ahead, Fransen in 16 games had a 2.19 GAA and .907 save percentage.

In the standings

In all, an up-and-back, momentum-swinging, and ultimately even matchup of two teams getting ready for the playoffs, fittingly ending in a tie.

With the tie, the Spiders advance to 37 points in the standings and an 18–0–1 record. The Puck Hounds will be at 14–3–2 and 30 points.

Though not a loss, AHA accountants report that the “winning streak” officially comes to an end, an incredible 18 straight games won by the Spiders.

Next up, it’s the … Puck Hounds again, the second of the back-to-back, thanks to the Snowmaggedon cancellation last December. Same 7:45 p.m. start time Saturday night at New Hope for the last game of the regular season.