Spiders get first win in almost two months, somehow still in C3 East playoff picture

March 8, 2015

Gamer McCormick, playing against doctor’s recommendations, puts on a show for the Daylight Savings crowd at BIG.

In the latest gametime start of the season, the Spiders had a must-win game to salvage their increasingly slim playoff chances. Having not won a game since mid-January, the Spiders headed to Bloomington on Daylight Savings Sunday for a 10:30 p.m. start.

In the BIG dressing room, team medical staff announced that goaltender Bill McCormick was under the weather, but unlike the Florida Panthers, no goalie coach could be located to suit up at a moment’s notice. So McCormick, after needing fluids following the pre-game warmup, proceeded to put on a show for the BIG crowd (and the refs, and the Schuster Media camera crew), carrying the Spiders through the dreaded two-goal lead, making spectacular save after glove save, swallowing pucks and giving up nary a rebound.

Despite being short-benched, the Wolfpack played a full 51 minutes at both ends of the Olympic-sized ice sheet that should’ve worn out both teams’ legs. The Wolfpack made 26 shots on net, to the Spiders’ 35.

Scoring for the Spiders, Grotbeck got the team started very late in the first, assists to Schuster and Sutton. In the second, Schuster failed to put away a sure thing, which was a good thing considering the camera crew wasn’t ready. The Wolfpack did answer back though, tying the game at 1 halfway through the second.

But late in the second, Sean Murphy went coast to coast through bodies to the Wolfpack slot, and fired a wrister top left past the Wolfpack’s Zarras to reclaim the Spiders’ lead. Assists to the blueliners, who watched the entire play unfold in amazement.

In the third, after killing off a too-many-men penalty, the Spiders added another, with Schuster from almost his office, and the camera crew still not ready. Assist to Freed.

The nightcap came halfway through the third, on a power play that was spent mostly in the Spiders’ zone. Only once the second unit hit the ice did the Spiders get the puck into the Wolfpack zone. That’s when Grotbeck got his second of the night, assists to Schuster and Sutton.

The game finished out with the Spiders again hemmed in their zone for over a minute, while the Wolfpack got several prime chances as the Spiders couldn’t corral or clear the puck. But McCormick stood tall and kept the puck out of the net. When the final buzzer sounded at midnight, the Spiders claimed their first victory since January 15.

Standings watch

In a 20-game season, going on a five-game winless streak would typically guarantee only golf dates for April. But somehow, including Sunday’s late-night win over the last-place Wolfpack, the Spiders are still mathematically in the playoff mix. However, there are an incredible seven other teams vying for what is essentially a single, final spot for the post-season.

The win gives the Spiders a 7–8–2–1 record, with 17 points. However, they still sit in 8th place, with key games on Sunday keeping the Spiders in the same spot in the standings. The Royals shut out the 2nd-place Gold Rush 5–0, to hold onto a tie for 7th with the Ice Gators, who lost to the 9th-place Nighthawks 5:30. The Gold Rush therefore drop to fourth. The 5th-place Blade Runners and 2nd-place Mastodons, each have a game in hand and therefore are in control of their own destiny, as well as the Spiders and other playoff wannabes. They play each other on Wednesday and could determine the shakeout of the fifth and final playoff spot.

But with such a tight race, the two games remaining for most of the rest of the teams could be a big shakeup for the final playoff picture. Incredibly, while it seems unlikely with just two games left, the second-to-last-place Marauders, with a 6–9–2–1 record, are not mathematically eliminated either. Only the last-place Wolfpack are out of the hunt. Though there’s an eight-point spread from first to 10th, there’s just a one-game margin from fifth to the Spiders’ eighth spot, two games to fourth. This is of course before any tiebreakers are factored in, of which the Spiders will not have many until the coin toss round.

Next up

Next for the Spiders, what could be a key game for both teams, or practice for summer league, the Spiders take on the 7th-place Royals (7–7–3–1; 18 pts), next Saturday at 8 p.m. at New Hope S.

Game media

Photos courtesy the Schuster Media Group. See all game photos in the Photo Gallery.

Grotbeck takes the draw from Jack Carlson in between laughs.

Bredael takes a shot in the first period.

Sutton holds the zone.

Schuster goes to work from his office, sponsored by BASE Hockey.

Mehling double-teamed.

Berman’s patented twist-around wrister.

Grotbeck’s first period goal climbs over the Wolfpack netminder.

Farner denied on a breakaway.

Fritz saucers.

Schuster, with one of many wide-open nets he saw Sunday, captured for posterity.

Murphy draws in the second period.

Schuster with a wide-open net, again.

Berman loading up.

Murphy’s post-coast-to-coast shot on its way home.

Murphy’s post-coast-to-coast shot finding the top corner.

Murphy’s post-coast-to-coast shot in the net.

Schroeder hits Grotbeck tape-to-tape.

Johnson denied by sprawling Zarras.

McCormick takes a bow for the camera.

Fritz and Byland poke away.

Freed shoots through a Grotbeck “screen.”

McCormick gloves a Wolfpack Wolfie shot.

Droullard disrupts the Wolfpack breakout.

Litton from his usual defensive posture.

For all game photos, see the Spiders Photo Gallery.