Spiders win*!
Sept. 27, 2020
Spiders at Knights
Sunday, Sep. 27, 2020,
3:45 p.m. – Super Rink 2
Game 22 (AHA game 17410)
- Spiders final score:
- 1
- Knights final score:
- 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spiders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Knights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Due to short-benched forfeit by the Knights, the Spiders advance in the Toilet Bowl bracket.
Sunday’s matinee in the Toilet Bowl bracket of the AHA 2019–20 playoff tournament wasn’t to be, as the Knights ended up forfeiting the game due to having only six skaters available.
Officially, the game goes down as a victory and, per AHA policy, a goal credited to Spiders captain Jeremy Litton. Known for his dominating offensive prowess, it was the most beautiful coast-to-coast dangle and wraparound Michigan top-cheddar Momma’s cookie jar crumbler you’ve ever seen on AHA ice. (Or, perhaps during the Super Rink open ice practice session attended by just Berman and Litton, he couldn’t even hit the open net.)
It’s the Spiders’ first playoff victory* in EIGHT years, 3,098 days of Spider hockey … the last one coming pre-dawn on April 14, 2012, vs. the Nighthawks, where the Spiders beat the Nighthawks 3–2 on sandpaper ice, the Spiders’ first season at C3.
With the win*, the Spiders advance to in the C3 Bracket 1 Toilet Bowl track, to take on the Fighting Loons. The Loons, the #21 seed overall in C3, and bottom seed in bracket 1, lost to the #12 (6) seed Pines 3–1 in the opening round, but knocked off the #13 (7) Wildcats on Super Rink’s rink 4 during the Spiders’ open ice time on Sunday.
The Loons are backstopped by Brandon Hofer, who as Spider fans will recall, was the emergency callup back in February at Highland, in that 5–4 moral victory (loss) to the Blade Runners.
Incidentally, those Blade Runners seem to be the odds-on favorite so far in C3. Backed by Kristel Carlson, the summer Wing-Der-Rush-Pack L6 “Saints” goalie, has gone undefeated, letting in just two goals in three games, and heading into the semifinal with the bracket 2 top seed (overall #2) Hooligans, last stop before the C3 Championship.
Also still in the running, the Arctic Wolves, who roundly beat the Spiders in round 1, are in the third-place bracket semi-final after getting stomped by the first seed overall Moose 5-zip.
Puck drop for the Spiders/Fighting Loons will be another matinee, 3:15 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 3, at BIG 2. And the Spiders will have “home ice” advantage, being the lower seed and will don the home whites.
Standings watch
Not that standings in a two-game-minimum bracket-elimination tournament make much difference, but here are the numbers so far.
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OTL | P | GF | GA | PIM | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Moose (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | +5 |
| #4 Royals (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 |
| #5 Fighting Piranhas (3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | +1 |
| #8 Bulls (4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | +8 |
| #9 Knights (5) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | −9 |
| #12 Pines (6) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 12 | +1 |
| #13 Wildcats (7) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 4 | −7 |
| #16 Arctic Wolves (8) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | −2 |
| #17 Spiders (9) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | −2 |
| #20 Nordeasters (10) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| #21 Fighting Loons (11) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 10 | +2 |
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OTL | P | GF | GA | PIM | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2 Hooligans (1) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 10 | +9 |
| #3 Maroons (2) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 8 | −1 |
| #6 Fighting Walleye (3) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | −3 |
| #7 Spartans (4) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ±0 |
| #10 Troopers (5) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | −2 |
| #11 Blade Runners (6) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 12 | +12 |
| #14 Gold Rush (7) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 4 | −2 |
| #15 Slashing Pumpkins (8) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | −2 |
| #18 Black Ice (9) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 6 | −5 |
| #19 Ice Hawks (10) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 2 | −2 |
| #22 LED Nord (11) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | −4 |
For details, see the box score and game summary.
