Fish eat Spiders
April 15, 2022
Highlights:
Fighting Walleye vs. Spiders
Friday, Apr. 15, 2022,
8:40 p.m. – Braemar S
Game 22 (AHA game 20210)
- Fighting Walleye final score:
- 4
- Spiders final score:
- 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighting Walle... | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Spiders | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
The second game of the post-season round robin was another close call, but went the way of the Walleye 4–3.
Just like game 1, the Spiders got on the board first, with Grotbeck (or possibly Ronneberg) from Schroeder just four minutes in on a net-front scrum involving at least all 10 skaters on the ice and possibly more.
The Fighting Walleye responded a few minutes later, with their leading scorer #27 T. Weidenbach adding to his season totals, just as he did in the lone regular season matchup. The Spiders had an answer though, with a tip-in by Grotbeck from Schroeder. Spiders 2–1.
But Weidenbach re-tied it with just two ticks left in the first. And went ahead in the second 3–2, then 4–2. The most dangerous lead in hockey didn’t last, with Grotbeck from Schroeder again late in the third on a rebound wraparound, to notch the hat trick. But it wasn’t enough.
Final score: 4–3.
With no rag doll available to absorb the Walleye antics, both Andres and Vandenberghe, as well as the ref, suffered upper- and/or lower-body injuries, while it was of course the Spiders who spent more time in the penalty box, with Weidenbach making the lone visit for the Walleye in his attempt at the AHA Gordie Howe hat trick.
The Spiders now have five days’ rest before round 3. And with an 0–2 record so far, unless AHA math can change other teams’ scores, it’ll be the last game of the 2021–22 season for the Spiders.
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OTL | P | SF | SA | GF | GA | PIM | DIFF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royals (4) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 91 | 54 | 9 | 2 | 4 | +7 |
| Spartans (2) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 89 | 59 | 7 | 3 | 20 | +4 |
| Fighting Loons (10) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 82 | 88 | 9 | 7 | 12 | +2 |
| Bulls (1) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 80 | 76 | 4 | 3 | 4 | +1 |
| Fighting Walleye (8) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 70 | 55 | 6 | 5 | 4 | +1 |
| Saints (3) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 76 | 68 | 7 | 7 | 14 | ±0 |
| Gold Rush (5) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 54 | 72 | 4 | 8 | 8 | −4 |
| Spiders (6) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 61 | 5 | 7 | 10 | −2 |
| Kan Jammers (9) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 86 | 2 | 5 | 4 | −3 |
| Arctic Wolves (7) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 77 | 1 | 7 | 16 | −6 |
Elsewhere in round 2:
- Saints beat the Arctic Wolves 3–1.
- Royals beat the Gold Rush 6–1, with a 50–26 shot total.
- First-seeded Bulls finally get a win, 2–1 over the Kan Jammers.
- And second-seeded Spartans somehow end up in a tie with the last-seeded Fighting Loons 3–3.
For round 3, the Spiders face the C3 West second-place Saints, who finished with a 14–4–1–1 record. While the Spiders have never played this team, apparently they are a reconstituted team that previously was the Fighting Piranhas, which bounced back and forth from C2 to the C3 over the years. The Spiders last faced that team in the 2013–14 season, with the series dating back to 2006–07 and have gone 3–7.
Round 3 is Wednesday, with Spiders/Saints at 8 p.m. at SLP E.
For details, see the box score and game summary.
