Spiders comeback stifled in loss to Ak Bars, 6–4

Dec. 15, 2012

Hockey is a game played in three periods. From the way the Spiders played, the bell-ringing West Side crowd could be forgiven if they thought it was three different games each period.

The first period was an even-up chess match between two strong goaltending performances. And the Spiders felt lucky they would escape the first with a tie. Yet they forgot there were still 4.3 seconds on the board, as that’s when a 4-on-2 turned into a 1–0 advantage for the Ak Bars.

The wheels on the Spider bus didn’t fare much better in the second, as another failed backcheck at 13:48 led to a 2–0 lead, and a wicked blast from the top of the circles just 21 seconds later put the Ak Bars up by three.

At 12:42, the Spiders finally answered back, with a Grotbeck strong faceoff win, and Droullard going even stronger to the net to bang it under the goalie, for Rob’s first goal of the season.

The only scoreboard action in the rest of the second was a “rough” for the Ak Bars’ Anderson against the boards.

With a two-goal deficit, the Spiders did what they could to make the third their own. And at 14:46, Mike Schroeder sent an arcing puck from the point that cut past Grotbeck’s arm, under Droullard’s breezers and right into the net. Assists to Grotbeck and Farner. And that’s Schroeder’s first goal of the season.

A nothing-doing power play midway through the third was courtesy former Spider Anton Petsan, who greeted C Litton along the boards at 10:14.

Following the man advantage, at 6:48, it was the first line’s turn, with a loose puck banged in by Schuster after a grind in the crease and behind the net by Johnson and Henke. And that tied the game up at three apiece.

The Spiders celebrated their comeback 11 seconds too long though, as that’s all it took for the Ak Bars to get another. And then another just over two minutes later in the five-hole. Now down 5–3 with four minutes remaining, the roller-coaster ride of the score had fans scrambling for the air-sickness bags (or their Ak Bar Bell).

To make it more exciting, Dave Lavigne closed it within one at 2:32 remaining. 5–4 Ak Bars.

With an offensive zone faceoff at 1:08, the Spiders pulled McCormick for the extra attacker. Chances, but nothing doing on the first shift, after an ill-aimed Ak Bar shot from the far blue line was called for icing. But the second shift, the Ak Bar long-shooter instead carried up the neutral zone despite the Spider backcheck, and passed it aside at the blueline to get a clear shot at the empty net. 6–4 Ak Bars, and that was where it ended.

With the loss, the Spiders are now 4–3, and head into the final action of 2012 with a doubleheader weekend, Friday vs. the Sled Dogs (2–4), and Sunday – late night – vs the Moose (6–0).