Last-place Spiders upset first-place Arctic Wolves

Jan. 31, 2016

On a day when most hockey fans were glued to the NHL All-Star Game to follow the saga of underdog John Scott, faithful adult hockey fans woke up to a presumptuous article about the hockey in Richfield — “Where hockey died.” Instead, the Spiders brought their season back to life in Richfield. After figuring out how to actually win a game last week over the Fighting Loons, the tied-for-last-place Spiders faced the first-place and All Star-laden Arctic Wolves, a team far and away leading the C3 South stat line, as well as figuring into all of C3 stat leaders.

While the Wolves were without one of their leading scorers, #33 Easthouse, the C3 scoring king #9 D. Rosenau showed why he’s top of the level every time he touched the puck. Plus, the Wolves have been backstopped by sub goalie Matt Gottsch most of the season, who’s led the team to an 8–3–1–0 record. In the previous meeting with the Spiders, Gottsch shut down any glimmer of offense, only letting in a goodnight goal in that 4–1 trouncing.

The Wolves won the opening faceoff and spent the first three minutes buzzing the offensive zone. But McCormick and the Spiders held, and eventually the first period balanced out, with both teams getting the occasional chance, and both goalies keeping the puck out.

Late in the first, the deadlock was broken when Berman tried to catch up to a breakaway puck that Gottsch pushed to the corner. Paul maintained pursuit of the puck, and somehow made the perfect cross-ice pass to his trailing wingman Henke on the backdoor of the slot, who didn’t miss on the scrambling netminder to give the Spiders the lead. (Assist to McCormick!)

The Spiders kept momentum in the second on a net-front scramble sent into the fray by Henke, and back-door-poked by Berman. Spiders up by two.

And much to the Wolves’ — and Spiders — disbelief, a setup by Byland to Farner put the Spiders up by three, with 31:43 (or 31:46, depending on the scorekeeper’s ability to hit the clock button in the third) to go.

The intensity of the game turned up as the second period rolled on, and into the third. McCormick made a hairline save late in the second that the Wolves swore was in, and continued to swear as ref Scott Johnson, who has drawn the Spider assignment three weeks in a row, waved it off. Early in the third though, a patented Spider turnover in the defensive zone, off a Spider skate and onto a Wolf stick at the top of the circle caught the entire team off guard and ended up in the net.

The Spiders’ bench barely had a chance to finish sighing “not again” when the puck was back in the Spiders’ net, with lead cut to one with 10 minutes to go. But the Spiders resolved to lock the Wolves down, and were successful until the 2:46 mark, when Eric Grotbeck drew a Wolf sandwich breaking out of the Spider zone, resulting in a dreaded power play for the Spiders. The Wolves called timeout (again) and, in a nod to Patrick Roy, pulled their goalie for the extra attacker during the Spiders’ power play. With five skaters, the Wolves won the faceoff and essentially never gave up the puck on the Spiders power play. Even a few “clears” toward the empty net by the Spiders were fruitless.

Thankfully, the Wolves momentum was halted by Rob Droullard’s stick stuck in the boards, getting a call for interference, putting the Wolves on the power play, which is the death knell for any C3-level momentum. Sure enough, the Spiders controlled, and got the puck deep into the Wolves zone, capped by #13 J. Horgen chasing Grotbeck into the corner and, in a dangerous play, laid a forearm shiver square on Eric’s nameplate instead of playing the puck, the result throwing Eric into the boards and Horgen to the ice. Horgen was called for interference instead, as it was deemed “not a dangerous play.”

With the clock readjusted, and 13.3 seconds now remaining and a faceoff in the Wolfpack zone, the Wolfpack still went with the extra skater, 5-on-4, and got the puck deep in the Spider zone thanks to the mystery wave off of an obvious icing, but the puck carrier was swarmed by a pack of backchecking Spiders, to tick away the final seconds to the buzzer, and the Spiders emerged victorious. Final: 3–2.

The Arctic Wolves were handed their first loss since Nov. 22, having gone eight games with a 7–0–1 record. Eight-game streaks of course being something the Spiders are familiar with.

The Wolves still hold first, with a 9–3–1 record and 19 points, awaiting the rest of the C3 results from the weekend to determine whether that first-place spot is still theirs, with the Royals just a point behind.

The Spiders officially climb out of the C3 South cellar, a game over the Northern Horde, and half a game behind the Fighting Loons for the time being.

The playoff picture of course remains just as bleak as it was last week, with three teams ahead of the Spiders and three and a half games to get to the top 3. The wildcard race actually favors C3 South at this point, but with 8 games remaining, and the Spiders sitting in the equivalent of 11 spots out of the Wildcard race, there’s plenty of time left for the Spiders to schedule their golf tee times.

Next up

Next up, the Super Bowl weekend, the traditional week off for the AHA. After that, it’s a rare Friday night game for the Spiders. Back at Richfield, where the Spiders will try again to prove that it’s not where goes to die, facing the 6–3–2–1 Ak Bars, who are tied for third place with the Les Etoiles. But the Ak Bars do hold first place on the PIM stat sheet.

The Spiders’ last game vs. the Ak Bars, a 4–0 shutout, is one the Spiders will look to forget.