Spiders get back in win column, hand first-place Fighting Saints their first loss
Nov. 28, 2011
Highlights:
Fighting Saints vs. Spiders
Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011,
5:45 p.m. – Richfield 2
Game 5 (AHA game 231)
- Fighting Saints final score:
- 2
- Spiders final score:
- 7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighting Saints | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Spiders | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
Coming off two consecutive losses, the Thanksgiving break got the Spiders back on the right track, winning 7–2. Fighting Saints came into this evening undefeated.
Thanks to the first full bench in weeks, the Spiders shed the usual post-Thanksgiving turkey coma and were able to skate for three full periods with the first-place Fighting Saints, coming away with the second win of the season.
Though the Spiders were without two-thirds of their energy line (Schuster, “upper-body” injury; Johnson, “lower-body” injury) as well as AC Cory “Flip a Coin” Vandenberghe, Spider management brought in sub George Farner for the second time this season. Wise choice. Though playing with an “upper-body” injury, Farner lit it up in front of a Richfield 2 crowd that included his family.
Also lighting up the Saints netminder, former Spider Eric Anderson, Jon Pappone put together an offensive showcase.
And number-one star of the game, brought to you by the Richfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, Spiders goalie Bill McCormick, who stood on his head, was everywhere the puck was, including mid-air pop flies.
The game started out evenly, with the Saints generating the most momentum thanks to their crisp passing, solid breakout and speed into the offensive zone, and they got on the board first, 5:16 into the first, with the Rethwisch brothers reading each other’s minds like the Sedin Twins, and finding the net through a Litton screen of McCormick on a 3-on-2.
Then, with just under two minutes in the first period, George Farner, on a “blast” from the left circle that caught a Fighting Saints’ defenseman’s leg, and found its way behind Anderson to tie the game. Assists to Droullard and Litton.
In the second period, the lone goal was by Paul Berman, scoring his first C3 Spiders goal, and he would almost get another late in the third on a breakaway. Assists to Pellicci and Fritz. Otherwise, the game was relatively even, though the Spiders outshot the Saints 11–4, but Anderson was solid, seeing everything.
The third period was a different story. The Spiders found their way behind the Saints defense, and found the puck luck that had been missing the last two games.
Scoring in the third:
- Andy Schwinn, scoring his first career AHA Winter Season goal, and what would be the game-winner, on assist from Pappone and Freed.
- Farner, again, from the left side, again, on a poke up from Fritz.
- Jon Pappone, from the right side, assists to Freed and Grotbeck.
- Chris Pettengill, scoring his first of the season, in what was the most obvious going-to-be goal in the history of the Spiders: Pettengill broke his stick on the faceoff in the Saints’ end, so he bolted back to the bench to get a fresh stick, courtesy of Tim Byland. Pettengill returned to the play, stole the puck from the Saints breakout, and snapped it top corner.
- And finally, another highlight goal from Pappone, who cleaned up a rebound at the right crease. The puck soared in the air, and v-e-r-y slowly came down behind a sprawled Anderson. Assists to Freed and Schwinn.
The Saints did get the bookend goal late in the third, with Mike Schroeder knocked down in the faceoff circle and called for a trip, and Fritz doing his best to cover the three guys left circling the net on the 6-on-5.
Otherwise, McCormick had a pad, glove or stick — and sometimes no stick — on the rest, stopping 15 of the 17 shots (7, 4, 6) that weren’t blocked by Rob Droullard at the point, or by Mike Schroeder with his calf. The Spiders put 29 (10, 11, 8) on Anderson, who saved 21.
Penalties? Of course. Sitting in the box for the Spiders:
- In the first period, Chris Pettengill, for not being “in control of” his stick.
- In the third period, Jon Pappone, for not being “in possession of” his stick.
- In the third, Pettengill again, for slashing, but unbeknownst to him, ended up drawing an offsetting call by getting a whack by the Saints’ Hjulberg after the whistle.
- And Schroeder’s trip, which led to a delayed-penalty goal.
On the other bench, an interference call just a minute into the game gave the Spiders an early power play. And a minute into the second period, during a puck chase to the corner, the Saints’ Seitz was beaten to the puck, so instead he sent “Rag Doll” Litton flying hard into the back boards from an elbow on the nameplate. The Spiders’ power play unit, which has only one goal this season, asked the refs if they could decline any further penalties.
The Spiders are now 25 percent through the regular season schedule, and will sit in sixth or seventh place in the C3 Standings based on their 2–2–0–1 record and five points. A look back at the past few seasons, at the same five-game mark, the results:
Next up for the Spiders, the Fighting Ice Fish, who are 2–3, coming off a 5–3 win over the Diablos. The Spiders and Fighting Ice Fish last met in April 2010, capping the Spiders’ sweep that season. The first meeting was way back in the 2008–09 playoffs, which ended in a 2–2 tie.
December hockey starts next Sunday in style, at Aldrich Arena. Puck drops 9:40 p.m.
For details, see the box score and game summary.
Game media
Spiders celebrate “Movember” in style
Spider “Mo Bros” celebrate the month of Movember (and look forward to shaving in a few days). Schuster, in his second year of changing the face of men’s health, was out with an “Upper Body” injury and could not be present, but you can still check out his Movember Mo Space before the end of the month to support men’s health.
