Fighting Saints fall to Spiders 5–2

Nov. 24, 2013

The Spiders dominated the second-place Fighting Saints to get back in the win column before the Thanksgiving break.

After losing to the Gold Rush last week as well as losing their veteran goaltender, Bill McCormick, in that loss, the Spiders headed back to the same Richfield 2 arena to take on the 2–0–1 Fighting Saints, last season’s C3 runners up, and a new-look squad that has dominated the Spiders for the last year. On Dec. 1, 2012, the Fighting Saints began their 3–0 run over the Spiders, after not having ever earned a win from the Spiders, going back eight games to 2007.

Without a goalie, the Spiders management beat the phones all week, and finally had to make a trade to get a goalkeeper. The trade was actually for the game’s scheduled scorekeeper, Andrew Bauer.

Andy was the former D1 Ice Sages goaltender, so as usual, the Spiders owe Buck and the Ice Sages yet another draft pick.

Helming the bench for the Spiders though, McCormick made his way — slowly — around with his brother’s fancy cane to prop himself up behind the bench and bark various orders and insults, a privilege he only usually gets to do to himself during games.

Onto the game. The Fighting Saints got on the board first, halfway through the first period. And the Spiders groaned that they’d be in for another long night. But that groan only lasted 30 seconds, as Dave Schuster banged home a Gretsky’s office pass to tie the game, assists to Schwinn and Freed.

Before the second period could begin, a lengthy delay on the ice yet again, only this time as the refs exhibited their holiday crocheting skills on the leaky net.

After the rest, the Spiders took over, by getting called for a penalty. Being shorthanded was to the Spiders’ advantage tonight. With Sutton in the box for hooking, the PK notched its first shorthanded goal of the season, on a gorgeous forecheck by Grotbeck, for his second goal of the season, assist to Lavigne.

The rest of the second was the Schwinn show, as he rang up a goal on consecutive shifts (assists to Freed, and Sutton and Farner), as well as drawing a penalty on the second one to give the Spiders a much-dreaded power play. Thankfully, it was soon negated by a Pellicci “trip” (a Saint skated behind him and fell).

By the end of the period, the Spiders led 4–1 and dominated in shots 18–7 in the middle frame.

Though the ESPN highlight reel would’ve caught one non-shot in the second — a not-so-sure icing puck that netminder Bauer danced over, and watched between his legs as it glanced off the side of the post. “Well, you’ll never see me do that again,” he assured the impressed Spiders bench at the period break.

In the third, another dreaded power play for the Spiders was followed by a Pellicci goal, that had the bench exclaiming, “who is that guy?”

With the 5–1 lead, the refs gave Lavigne a penalty for being Lavigne, after having given him a pass on his “intentional” offsides in the second period. That was eventually negated by a Saints’ defenseman going skitching off the breezers of a flying Grotbeck who was heading into the offensive zone for a sure thing. Not sure enough to call a deserved penalty shot, apparently. The Saints’ Haglind joined Lavigne in the box to trade recipes with the scorekeeper Lee Kimsey, who, as it turned out, wasn’t forthcoming with any cranberry ideas despite the constant badgering.

With both teams back at full strength, the Saints spent much of the rest of the period in the Spider zone thanks to the fatigued Spider backcheck, and eventually the Saints’ usual offensive suspect S. Hjulberg capitalized to close the Saints to within three.

The last entry on the gamesheet was for an actual legitimate call for interference in the Spiders zone by onetime usual-penalty-box-suspect Paul LaCosse. Playing in his 10th season, apparently AHA union rules means LaCosse gets a free pass on penalty minutes, as the call was credited by the scorekeeper to an innocent Saints player. Incidentally, this is the second time in LaCosse’s career that he has had PIMs inadvertently wiped off his record, keeping him eligible for the league’s Lady Byng.

Nonetheless, the Spiders killed off the much-needed 35-second PK, and skated away with the win. Final: 5–2.

In total, shots on the Saints’ Stone were a season-high 40 (11, 18, 11), and on the Spiders’ Bauer 29 (13, 7, 9), who made 27 saves for his first C3 win (and C3 game).

The Spiders improve to .500, 2–2, in a three-way tie for fifth place. And the Saints fall to 2–1–1, all alone in fourth place. Lifetime, the Spiders/Fighting Saints series now sits at 9–3.

Next up, turkey and stuffing instead of skating. The Spiders will sure to be loosening their breezer belts when they return to action on Saturday, Dec. 7, vs. the now-in-first-place Fighting Piranhas (3–0–1), who knocked off the C3 Champion Gold Rush Saturday 4–1.

Spiders again celebrate “Movember” in style

Once again, Spider “Mo Bros” celebrate the month of Movember (and look forward to shaving in a few days). With the facial growth spurred by David Schuster, in his third year of changing the face of men’s health, the Spiders encourage you to check out his Movember Mo Space before the end of the month to support men’s health.