Spiders get ready for the 2019–20 season
Oct. 25, 2019
The AHA 2019–20 winter season, the league’s 19th year and the Spiders’ 16th, gets underway this weekend, with the Spiders featured on opening night against the new-to-C3 Flying Hellfish. It’s your first chance to see the Spiders’ 2019–20 roster, with a few changes since last season.
The Spiders bid a fond farewell to:
- Tim Bullock
- Derek Elling
- Rich Elling
- Kevin Noreen
Tim, Derek and Rich all joined the team three seasons ago from the Wingmen when that team moved up to C1. And Kevin joined the team in 2015 from the Spiders’ other usual trading partner, the D1 Ice Sages.
Welcome new Spiders
This season, the Wingmen, which started in 2008–09, ended up not fielding a team this season, and the “players to be named later” in the Wingmen trades turn out to be:
- Harry Long
- Matthew Kato
Both have played on the Spiders/Wingmen summer teams in the past, and now join the winter team.
- The Spiders also welcome Pieter VanZyl to the Red and White.
Pieter returns to the AHA after a couple seasons away, previously playing on the Northern Horde with John Andres, and before that, the C3/D1 Diablos. So it turns out the trade the Spiders made with the Diablos in 2008, sending David Schaefer to the Diablos, is now being cashed in by the Spiders.
Finally, though he never really left, Cory Vandenberghe returns to the C3 squad, having given up his sub spot last season when Derek Elling returned from military leave mid-season.
Despite leading the team to its fifth consecutive losing season and worst-in-entire-AHA record, the team captaincy remains unchanged following the usual unanimous single vote by Dave Schuster: Jeremy Litton as captain, and Eric Grotbeck and Michael Schroeder as alternates.
The rest of the Spiders’ roster remains the same (albeit another year closer to the AARP league eligibility) and is ready to hit the ice to kick off the Spiders’ 16th season in the AHA (15th winter season; 16th including Beginner School), and will look to get back to the AHA post-season after yet another spring of late snow but early golf.
Check out the full 2019–20 C3 Spiders roster.
