Night of the open net
Dec. 6, 2024
Saints C3 vs. Spiders C3
Friday, Dec. 6, 2024,
09:30 p.m. – Richfield 2
Game 5 (AHA game 25120)
- Saints final score:
- 2
- Spiders final score:
- 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saints | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Spiders | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Spiders eventually cash in on chances, and find first win of the season.
The winless Spiders faced off against the 2–2 Saints late night Friday at Richfield. With the Spiders dressing 14 skaters (in the proper sweaters now that the jersey order has arrived), they had to bide their time against the short-benched Saints.
As it was the Saints who scored early, on a defensive breakdown leading to an open-net tap-in for Dave Resch (longtime Moose goalie, whom the Spiders last faced in 2013). But despite several open nets the other way for Spider forwards, it wasn’t until early in the second that the Spiders evened up the score, Mike Johnson from Kato.
Resch and the Saints soon regained the lead on a Spider backcheck breakdown. It only took the Spiders 19 seconds (and two identical set faceoff play attempts) to re-tie the score, on faceoff draw by Mettee to Pappone to Andres.
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OTL | P | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighting Loons Black | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 20 | 8 | 14 |
| Nordeasters | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 23 | 9 | 12 |
| Pines | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 32 | 9 | 16 |
| Spartans | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 12 | 6 |
| Wood Knocks | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 12 |
| Bold North | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 8 | 8 |
| Growlers | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 15 | 26 |
| Kan Jammers | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 22 |
| Marauders | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 12 |
| Blade Runners | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 26 | 28 |
| Saints | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 20 | 12 |
| Wildcats | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 40 |
| Blue Ox | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 19 | 26 |
| Spiders | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 22 |
| Fighting Walleye | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 22 | 6 |
| Ice Cobras | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 20 | 16 |
| Les Etoiles du Nord | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 17 | 18 |
| Troopers | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 12 |
| Fighting Loons Red | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 20 | 18 |
The arrival of Coach Jim, who helmed the bench, guided the Spiders takeover the game, including a 16-shot effort in the second.
Halfway through the third, the Spiders got their first lead, Klein sneaking the puck just past the post, from Mettee and Litton, after which the Saints called a timeout.
While the Spiders controlled much of the play as the Saints sagged, they still got grade A chances, including one slot shot that D-man Litton almost tipped in the Spider net.
With time ticking away and no timeout left, the Saints pulled their netminder with an offensive zone faceoff, giving Tejeda an opportunity to get on the Gus Bus. The Spiders eventually gained possession, but on a night where the empty nets had a force field around, it took some extra effort after the first shot went wide, but Olk eventually buried it, with 58 seconds to go. The only remaining action was the Saints’ only goal-scorer tangled up into the corner by his linemate awkwardly.
Final score: 4–2 Spiders.
With the win, and the 19-team field in C3, the Spiders rocket up to 14th place, with a 1–2–1–1 record and 4 points. And that’s the very first victory the Spiders have claimed against the Saints since the first meeting in the 2021–22 playoffs (lifetime 1–3).
Next up, a rare Thursday AHA night game, the Spiders take on the Wildcats (2–3, tied for 10th place). The Wildcats have long dominated the Spiders, with the Spider record now 2–6–0–0 dating back to the 2018–19 season. The last time the Spiders played the Wildcats, it ended in a 5-zip shutout for the non-Spiders.
Puck drop 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Breck.
For details, see the box score and game summary.
