Spiders dethrone Royals 6–2 at TRIA

Feb. 16, 2021

Hat trick for Campbell, 41-save performance by Gesch as Spiders jump to third place in C3 West.

The Spiders and Royals headed into Tuesday night’s game at newly reopened (and sanitized) TRIA in downtown St. Paul tied for fourth place in C3 West, each at 3–2–1.

The game was the marquee (or only) Tuesday event for Hockey Day/Week/Weekend In/Across/Around America at the Treasure Island Center.

The Royals, featuring C3 West-leading scorer #12 S. Angell, who spent the night winning every faceoff and dangling every Spider backchecker, got the Royals on the board early in the first (with assist from C3 West-leading assister #37 J. Cox, who also spent the night making his presence known).

#12 S. Angell camped at the doorstep.

But on the next shift, Shawn Campbell tied it up, confusing the scorekeeper for the first of three times with the duplicative jersey numbers on the roster.

Early in the second, Campbell added another, assist from Todd Krough. The Royals tied it back up midway through, but the Spiders scored again on the next shift, this time Schuster (actually Schuster, unlike last week), from Krough (and ref Brent Hanson, with the strategic zone keeper), reestablished the lead that would stick for the rest of the game.

And keeping up the pace on the next shift, a cross-slot pass from Mike Schroeder to Jeremy Litton found daylight, putting the Spiders up by two. Assist also to Pappone. (It’s Litton’s unlikely second goal of the season, though the first one has a giant asterisk.)

Late in the second, Krough was called for faceoff interference, giving the Royals a chance at mounting a comeback. Despite more than a few quality chances, the Gesch Glove™ was ready for them all, much to the amazement of the Royals’ PP unit.

Following a should’ve-been-declined power play for the Spiders in the third, Schuster notched his second of the game, from Berman and Litton. And while the Royals continued to own the Spider zone, a lucky diving clear by Litton was picked up by Farner (with his spare stick, the first one having succumbed to a #12 S. Angell check in the first), and sent for a breakaway by Campbell, who didn’t miss, earning zero hats from the two TRIA bleacher attendees.

With the time winding down, the Spiders strategically took a penalty, officially assessed to Litton, which would give him his first career AHA Gordie Howe Hat Trick (1G, 1A, 2PIM), but it was actually Pieter VanZyl instead in the box. And immediately after his two-minute breather, the Royals were called tripping, and soon thereafter a slash, ending the game shorthanded, including a minute of 5-on-3 so the Spiders could play keepaway.

Final score: 6–2.

The Royals outshot the Spiders by a whopping 43–31 margin, with Josh Gesch flashing leather at every Royal puck. A well-earned victory.

The win gives the Spiders a 4–2–1 record, good enough for third place, and in a tie in points for second place at 9, with the Arctic Wolves, who have a game in hand. While the Royals drop to 3–3–1, a point out of the top 4 cutoff.

Since the return from “The Pause,” the Spiders have gone 3–0–1, the best of any team in C3 West. Even the Pines, who seemed unbeatable before the break, have gone 2–2–1, but still hold onto first place.

Lifetime against the Royals, whom the Spiders haven’t faced since the 2018–19 season, the Spiders slightly improve against the Royals’ dominating record, which now stands at 7–13–2 for the Spiders going back to 2005–06.

Next up, the Spiders return to Breck, on yet another schoolnight game, Monday, Feb. 22, at 9:30 p.m., to take on the Knights, who are in fourth place at 3–1–2.