Spiders finally meet their match; lose 2–1 to Diablos

April 9, 2011

Despite heavily outshooting the Diablos, Latterner has career game in net. But, even with the loss, Spiders still find themselves slotted as wildcard for tonight’s semi-final.

In what could’ve been the most heavily tilted game in favor of the Spiders thanks to a whopping 42 shots on the Diablo net, it was the netminder in that net who made the difference. Todd Latterner had banner year backstopping the Diablos, ranking No. 3 in the all-AHA goaltending stats, with a 1.65 GAA and .915 save percentage, going 17–2–1–0 and one shutout in the regular season.

And he had his stats on full display all afternoon for the SLP W crowd of 37 (including cowbells), getting a glove, stick or pad on every puck his way, even the lone Spider goal by Eric Grotbeck in the third period ended up riding his stick and bobbled over his shoulder before landing behind the goal line. The only ones Latterner didn’t touch were the usual smattering of posts, crossbars and 5-foot-wide bangs off the boards that have plagued the Spiders all weekend.

For the Diablos’ 16 shots — in total — they made two of them count, an early first period 3-on-2, and a late second period delayed-penalty goal that caught the far corner.

The biggest drama of the game came with just over a minute remaining, as the Spiders, down 2–1 after Grotbeck’s goal with 4:40 remaining, strategized on pulling Fransen for the extra attacker. The six-skater line did get plenty of chances, but again couldn’t solve Latterner. With 15 seconds to go, a Diablo clear skidded toward the empty net, only to be finally chased down by Grotbeck. But by the time the Spiders got the puck back out to the Diablo blue line, time had run out.

The SLP buzzer signaled what no team had been able to do all year: Beat the Spiders. Despite many close games all season that could’ve gone either way, including last night’s last-minute win over the Wingmen, the Spiders somehow had the puck luck to come out ahead. For reference, the last time the Spiders lost an AHA game (not including Fall Tournament) was April 6, 2010, vs. the Chaos in the round robin. The last regular season loss? None other than the Diablos, who shut down the Spiders 9–4 on March 7, 2010.

Despite the loss, the Spiders’ season still clings to life, with the first two wins in pool play earning them the fourth — and only — D1 wildcard spot. The Spiders return to the D1 semi-final for only the second time in D1 franchise history. The first was a rematch with the Ice Gators on April 4, 2009, where the injury-riddled Spiders shut out the Gators 3–0.

But it’s out of the frying pan, and into the fire. Remember at the end of the regular season where there was only one team left in all of the AHA that had a chance to come close to the Spiders’ season standings point total? The Northern Horde went 18–1–0–1 in the regular season, just two points behind the Spiders thanks to a season-ending OT loss to the Muskies. Plus, the only team the Diablos lost to this season? The Northern Horde. And finally, the only D1 goalie ahead of Latterner in the all-AHA stat leaders for goalies? The Horde’s Nathan Kangas.

In 19 games played in the regular season, Kangas amassed three shutouts, just a 1.42 GAA and a whopping .922 save percentage with his 17–1–0–1 record.

If Spider fans thought they had seen stellar opponent goaltending this weekend in Keacher and Latterner, they better get ready for Kangas.

Bad news for the Spiders’ roster, however. A first-period “lower-body” injury to RW Cory Vandenberghe means he will likely be out for the rest of the season. Spider team management would not disclose the extent of the injury, nor whether any other injuries were suffered in this afternoon’s game, or not.

Puck drops at 8:15 tonight, back on the same Olympic-sized ice sheet, the site of the Spiders’ first two wins this week. It’s the D1 semi-final, where the Spiders can win or start drinking BIG concession-tap Summit beer early.