Spiders hold off Silverbacks 5–4

Jan. 7, 2017

Despite team bus flu bug, Spiders able to get fourth win halfway through the winter season.

With various ailments, travel conflicts and injuries hitting the roster, the Spiders were still able to field 13 skaters, surprisingly including three game-time decisions.

The game started in the Silverbacks’ favor, controlling play and eventually scoring halfway through the first. But it took only a half minute for the Spiders ... well, Dave Schuster ... to answer. (With no help from linemate Rick Fritz.)

The Silverbacks scored again with 5:35 to go in the period. However, on the ensuing faceoff, a perfect setup from Grotbeck in the corner, to Elling on the half boards, straight across to a waiting Berman in the slot, who overcame his “upper-body” injury and one-timed it into the waiting net to tie the game.

And just two minutes later, as the Silverbacks’ sub goalie Matt Kleist had tried to play the puck and instead vacated his crease, Schuster capitalized again, assists to Vandenberghe and Sutton (not Fritz) to give the Spiders the lead.

The Spiders added to the lead early in the second, as Farner scored with assists to Bredael and Berman. But the dreaded two-goal lead was cut back to one on the ensuing faceoff.

Results of a Vesall shot block. No photos of his other “shot.”

In the third, the Silverbacks’ goalie was able to draw a high-sticking penalty against Cory Vandenberghe via a poke check on a shot follow-through, putting the Silverbacks on yet another power play. And right out of the box after his two-minute sit, the Flying V was met with a goalie barrier 5 feet out from the crease, putting Vandenberghe right back in the box.

This time, Schuster took a page out of the Flying V playbook and, after a near miss, scored the Spiders’ first shorthanded goal of the season, finally tiring out his back. Again, no assist by Fritz. The Hat Trick is Schuster’s second of the season (though first without an asterisk), and places him in the Spiders’ record book, tying the record for most hat tricks in a season, which was first set in 2007 by Brian Armagost, and later tied by Jake Cison and Chris Flannery (twice).

The last 10 minutes of the third was marked by momentum change and uncalled body checks, but only a bad change by the Spiders with three minutes to go would find its way onto the scoresheet, as the 2-on-0.5 for the Silverbacks made it in the back of the net. A timeout with 1:06 to go, and the Silverbacks extra attacker still couldn’t tie the game, despite a “point blank” shot by Silverback Sniper Brian Vesall.

Final score: 5–4.

Notable stats: the Spiders won despite being outshot and out sin-binned, as it seemed the stripes could only see red and white.

The win — at the halfway point of the season — gives the Spiders a 4–5–1 record and still in seventh place in C3 West.

Next up, it’s the Shame On Ice, who are 5–5 and tied for fourth place, coming off three consecutive losses, to the IceDogs, Blade Runners and Arctic Wolves. The first meeting of the year, back in November, was a 6–3 Shame win.

Puck drop: Sunday at 7:45 at Breck.