Three in a row? Spiders defeat Ak Bars 3–1

Feb. 12, 2016

In a rare Friday night game, the short-benched Spiders kept rolling at Richfield.

With a no Super Bowl night policy, the AHA also avoided scheduling on Hockey Day Minnesota, since it’s rare that the C3-level fare resembles the state sport. So with almost two weeks off, the Spiders and Ak Bars headed to Richfield for a rare Friday night game. And the weekend being a holiday weekend, the roster was short leaving plenty of elbow room on the bench.

The first period was familiar for a Spiders/Ak Bars game, lots of penalties, no scoring. And fortunately for the Spiders, no spotting the opponent two goals.

The second period looked familiar for the Spiders, down a goal, immediately following a Spider power play.

The Ak Bars’ first — and only — goal was a Grotbeck bank shot from the point in the Ak Bar zone off a shin guard to two “streaking” Ak Bars (sounds like a candy bar, no?) while Schroeder huffed and puffed to get back and help. McCormick fought them off valiantly while waiting for reinforcements, but sub-goalie Grotbeck couldn’t prevent the puck luck from settling on an Ak Bar stick for a wide open net tap-in.

The second finished up again in typical fashion — more penalties, with late-arrival Rick Fritz notching his second bin sit of the night, as if Rick hadn’t sat long enough on the plane to MSP earlier in the evening.

The last penalty of the period was McCormick’s way of getting on the scoresheet, ending his two-game point streak, but notching his first penalty of the season.

But the third period was all Spiders.

Early in the third, the first Spider goal was an errant pass from deep in the corner by Schroeder past a streaking Johnson out to a vacant point position where Berman came “streaking” in to fire a rocket that was ever so slightly tipped in by Johnson camped out in the front of the net making s’mores. Tie game.

With half a period to go, the Spiders added another thanks to a stick-handling clinic up the ice by Grotbeck, who deftly slid a sneaky pass off to, again, a “streaking” Berman, who flicked a shot on the ice through the five hole before anybody knew it, most importantly, the goalie. Spiders up by one, and an “AHA Gordie Howe Hat Trick” for Berman (1G, 1A, 2PIM), his second of the season.

Less than a minute later, it was the return of the “Flying-V”: a classic from Cory Vandenberghe, who made a strong rush, shot, rebound, dive, legs spread, stick swinging, puck in the back of the net. Assist to Schuster, his first of the season (at C3; he’s tied for the team lead on the Spiders’ D1 farm team). Spiders up 3–1 with six minutes remaining.

The remaining highlights were only the usual late-game blown icing call and “last-play” faceoff location, a pattern that has cropped up far too often this season, and a too-many Ak Bars on the ice penalty in the waning seconds, which the Spiders of course considered declining.

Spiders hold on to win 3–1, third win in a row, and fifth on the season. The season series with the Ak Bars finishes at 1–1, the only C3 team the Spiders will not face three times this season with the eight-team field. Lifetime against the Ak Bars: a very even 5–5–1–1 record.

On the season, Spiders improve to 5–9, 10 points and six games remaining, sixth place in C3 South, a game behind the Mastodons, but three and a half games behind the Ak Bars, who drop to 7–4–2–1, 17 points, in fourth place, knocked out of a sure playoff spot, but still in the top C3 wildcard spot.

Next up for the Spiders, the last-place Northern Horde. The Spiders opened the 2015–16 season with an 8–3 win over the Horde, then fell 6–4 in December in the throes of the Spider Streak™.

Puck drops next Saturday, the last game of the Richfield stand, at 6:15 p.m. Set your DVRs, as it’s right in the middle of the NHL Stadium Series Alumni Game at the Bank.