Spiders show guts in 3-2 win over Taz Devils

Dec. 28, 2014

After a disappointing 7-2 loss to the Mutiny before Christmas, the Spiders were looking to finish the year strong against the Taz Devils. A short bench with only 10 skaters certainly wouldn't help matters. The Taz Devils entered the game with a 4-2-1 record although they had gone 0-2-1 in their last three games.

The opening period was evenly played with Brian Dow making a couple big stops. The Taz Devils broke through with 5:50 left as a backhander found some daylight inside the near post. Minutes later Mike Townsend had a shift for the ages first sniping one over the goalies glove and, only seven seconds later, knocking home a Matt Adelmann crossing pass. The Taz Devils struck back late to bring the period to a close at 2-2.

The second period was scoreless but Dow continued to stand tall in net.

Jim Maietta gave the Spiders the lead early in the third period as he rifled home a rebound off a Matt Adelmann shot. The Taz Devils speedy wings continued to press but the Spiders D kept the puck to the perimeter. The shots that did make it through were either turned aside by Dow or cleared from the front. A late penalty had the Spiders scrambling as the Taz Devils pulled their goalie after a Spider penalty, resulting in a 6-on-4 skater advantage. The Spiders got a break in the last minute as a Devils skater took a very blatant dive in an attempt to to draw a penalty. Referee Mark, of the infamous Mullett Brothers duo, called the dive and added a game ejection for good measure. The Spiders rode out the last minute for critical 3-2 win.

The win moves the Spiders to 4-3-0 on the season.

The season has progressed far enough to begin to make sense of how the teams stack up. The Ice Hogs have clearly separated themselves at the top team in the B3 East. This isn't surprising as they were the top team returning to the B3 level from last season. The Spiders, Gators, Taz Devils, and Loons make up the next tier. The Mutiny could be added to that list as well but their 7-2 beat down of the Spiders looks to be an outlier as they've not had any other significant wins. Playoff format won't be finalized until the mid-season captains meeting but it's expected the top 3 or 4 in the division will advance to the playoffs.

The Spiders next take the ice on Sunday, January 4th. Face off is at 6:00pm at Breck with the Spiders playing the Wild. The Spiders beat the Wild 7-5 in November with four third period goals. Hopefully the Spiders don't dig themselves that deep of a hole in the rematch.