Spiders take down Wild in OT

Dec. 15, 2016

The Spiders and Wild have a short but eventful history. The teams went 1-1-1 in 2014-15 with a total of 33 goals scored in those games. 2015-16 brought another 1-1-1 record with even more dramatic twists and turns including season ending suspensions, season ending hissy fits, a 9-0 implosion, and a 3-3 tie in the season finale. The Wild went on to improbably win the B3 championship, giving the Spiders some optimism after a very rough season.

Both teams entered the game on Tuesday looking to separate themselves from a crowded and evenly matched B3 East division with the Spiders at 2-1-2 and the Wild at 2-1-1-1.

The Spiders got on the board first with a power play goal as Joe Long wristed the puck through traffic past the screened Wild goalie. Just over two minutes later Hank Long added to the lead with another power play goal. The Wild narrowed the lead to 2-1 in the closing seconds of the period on a fortuitous rebound.

The intensity of the game picked up with both teams making trips to the penalty box. The Wild are a skilled team and are especially dangerous on the power play. Early in the second they capitalized on a Spiders penalty, scoring just as the penalty expired to knot the score at 2-2. The Spiders controlled play through much of the second period and had more sustained offensive possession but it was the Wild who got on the board again as they batted home a loose puck in the crease to go up 3-2.

The ice was again titled in the Spiders favor in the third period although some clutch goaltending from Brian Dow was needed as the Wild did manage a few quality shots on the rush. Jay Hilden scored the crucial tying goal for the Spiders as he collected a loose puck and rifled the puck past the Wild goalie to even the score at 3-3.

Both teams had power play opportunities late in the 3rd as neither team backed off. The Wild had two good chances on rushes, with Dow making one fine save and another shot ricocheted by the crossbar. The Spiders nearly notched the winner as Cody Buckalew had a chance off a pass from behind the net to the slot but the Wild goalie Rob Jones somehow got the pad down in time. To overtime….

A penalty early in the OT frame had the Spiders on their heels until Matt Adelmann decided he was done toying with the Wild. Adelmann picked up the puck in the Spider D zone and set sail up the right wing. Aaron Bedessem went hard to the net and an inch perfect pass from Adelmann resulted into an easy deflection and game winner. And the crowd of 4 went wild!!!!

The win improves the Spiders to 3-1-2-0 for the season, good for a 2nd place tie. The Wild drop to 2-1-1-2 and tie for 4th. The division is extremely tight at the moment with the top 7 teams (out of 9) with a game of each other.

Next up for the Spiders are the Spitfires, who are tied with the Spiders for 2nd place. The Spitfires started the year strong with three straight wins but have lost two of their last three. Face off will be at 9:30pm on Monday, December 19th at VMCC West in Inver Grove Heights.