Spiders finish 20th season shorthanded

March 24, 2024

It was appropriate that the last game of the season opened and closed on the PK, as Spiders succumbed to the Kan Jammers 6–2 Sunday night.

The first significant snow of the winter arrived Sunday, March 24, in time to make the winter season finale finally look like winter.

The Spiders could muster 9 skaters for the late night puck drop (with some second wind arriving late in the second), but not before the Spiders had dug a 5–1 hole in the EPCC ice.

The first Spider goal, halfway through the second, conjured a “how many hockey players does it take to get the puck in the net” joke, with everyone getting a touch in the slot. And after it was 6–1 in the third, the Spiders notched another, but spent the remaining 10 minutes wondering if the Jammers would speed up the clock with some runtime, and getting the Spider to Champp’s (yes, there’s still a Champp’s in town!) all the quicker. And while they tried, playing cherry pick plays with a five-goal advantage, they never beat sub goalie Chris Newberry, backstopping the Spiders for the second time this season. His first game was also against the Kan Jammers, which was one of the rare Spider W’s of the season.

One of those cherry pick plays led to another Kan Jam PP, with just over two minutes to go, the Spiders second whistle of the night, the first coming off the opening faceoff.

The PKs were at least successful, one of the lone highlights of the Spiders’ season, running at an 81.6% clip all winter.

Final score: 6–2

Final record on the Spiders’ 20th winter campaign: 4–13–3–0.

That’s the Spiders’ 10th losing winter season (11 including Beginner School). But since joining the Spiders, the Kevin Ronneberg era has produced an even .500 clip!

On the season, the Spiders dominated opponents in the team’s usual category: PIM, outbinning the other teams 102 to 78. Though it was the Kan Jammers who took the C3 West PIM crown, but just four measly minutes.

Otherwise, the Spiders were handily outscored by opponents, 78–47.

In the standings, the Spiders can at least point to some moral victories (or moral ties), one of just two teams to extract a point out of the AHA Presidents’ Trophy-winning Fighting Loons (18–0–2). Their 38 points are the highest in all of the AHA, with the D2 Hussars next in line, at 18–2, with 36 points.

While the top 5 C3 West teams now have almost a month to accumulate some rust before the playoffs begin, the Spiders will head to the golf course (and eventually summer hockey accompanied by some custom margarita mix).