First loss of season, 4–2 to Royals

Nov. 8, 2015

After a one-period stalemate, final score was a lot closer than most of the game.

The Spiders headed closer to home (for most) to the mite-filled New Hope N, for the second game of the winter season. After clearing out the dressing room of Armstrong-Cooper kid gear, the Spiders took to the ice to take on the 0–0–1 Royals, who tied the Ak Bars last week.

The first period was all goaltending prowess, especially on the Spiders’ end of the ice, as the Royals tested McCormick 15 times, and the Spiders put 9 on Cavender.

The second featured more than the occasional defensive breakdown for the Spiders, with most of them ending up in the net. While shots in the second period were even at 11 apiece, the score was uneven, with the Royals claiming a three-goal lead.

The Royals continued to control the game in the third, with a suffocating forecheck, and Cavender shutting down anything that got through, The only ones he missed were the pucks the Spiders put wide on sure things.

Halfway through the period though, the Spiders finally got on the board, with Grotbeck’s first goal of the year, assist to Henke.

Instead of mounting a comeback, the Spiders resumed their defensive breakdowns, with yet another goal ending up in the Spiders’ net. Royals 4–1 with 5 minutes to go.

With just 19 seconds to go, the Spiders’ bench actually contemplated pulling their goalie, as the score narrowed to 4–2, with Berman scoring, assist to Grotbeck.

That’s where it would finish, closer than the game actually was. A wall of goaltending, a tenacious forecheck, and all the bounces going the way of the purple, and the Spiders suffered the first loss of the season.

Final shots were reported as 39 for the Royals (15, 11, 13) and 31 for the Spiders (9, 11, 11).

With the 1–1 record, the Spiders sit in third place, behind the Royals, while the rest of the division has nothing but ties. The only undefeated team remaining in C3 South is Les Etoiles Du Nord. Incidentally, the Spiders next opponent is ... Les Etoiles Du Nord.

This is a team the Spiders have never faced. It appears they moved up from D2 and a second team in Beginner School after last season, where they had a 9–9–2 and 8–2 record, respectively, and a single team in Beginner School before that, going 10–0. This season, the Du Nord beat the Arctic Wolves 4–3 in the opener, and the Northern Horde 5–2 on Sunday.

Puck drops early Sunday, 5:30 p.m. at new-for-the-AHA arena, Phalen. Plug in your GPS and head to St. Paul to see if the Spiders can get back on track or get steamrolled by the Du Nord on their way to 20–0.