Spiders clobbered by Spartans, 7–2
Feb. 25, 2022
Spartans vs. Spiders
Friday, Feb. 25, 2022,
9:30 p.m. – Doug Woog 1
Game 16 (AHA game 19769)
- Spartans final score:
- 7
- Spiders final score:
- 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spartans | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Spiders | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
As Vegas line predicted, Spartans maintain dominance of C3 West as Spider Skid continues.
About the only positive to come out of the rare late Friday night game at the Woog was a reunion with former Spiders the Elling boys (Rich, Derek, and their dog in tow). But even they overpaid at the Woog ticket gate to see the lackluster Spider performance.
Rich no longer curious to see how the Spiders were faring...
The Spartans, as expected were all offense and all defense all game. Plus a little help from the striped crew, who apologized after the game for their more-than-a-handful missed or incorrect calls. And just like the last game, it seems the Spartans’ most refined skill is questionable sportsmanship, from cherry-picking, chirping the refs, running the goalie and running their mouths, all while demonstrating with each puck possession, coast-to-coast dangle and corner-picking snipe that they’ll soon be at C2 or C1.
The Spiders did put two pucks behind all-AHA (not just C3)-leading goalie J. Kaler, one of only five times that’s happened this season (the Spartans’ lone L was with sub goalie Kristel Carlson). Kaler now sits with a 1.15 GAA (up from 1.08!), 95.5% save percentage and 13–0 record, leading every single goalie stat line in the entire AHA.
| Player | Team | Lvl | GP | GA | GAA | S | Save % | W | L | T | OTL | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Kaler | Spartans C3 | C3 | 13 | 15 | 1.15 | 330 | 95.45 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| A. Peterson | Lumberjacks B3 | B3 | 15 | 25 | 1.67 | 420 | 94.05 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| J. Sofie | Fighting Loons Black D1 | D1 | 14 | 25 | 1.79 | 235 | 89.36 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| J. Gesch | Fighting Walleye C2 | C2 | 14 | 25 | 1.79 | 353 | 92.92 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| D. Ennenga | Royals C3 | C3 | 13 | 26 | 2.00 | 336 | 92.26 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| R. Orbidan | Fighting Loons Black C1 | C1 | 16 | 33 | 2.06 | 345 | 90.43 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Himmelberger | Zephyrs B3 | B3 | 13 | 30 | 2.31 | 354 | 91.53 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| J. Davis | Fighting Walleye C3 | C3 | 14 | 36 | 2.57 | 416 | 91.35 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| S. Kurth | Saints C3 | C3 | 12 | 33 | 2.75 | 277 | 88.09 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| C. Docken | Mad Dogs | B1 | 15 | 53 | 3.53 | 506 | 89.53 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Final score: 7–2
The loss continues the Spiders’ skid in February, with now three consecutive losses (9–6–1). That puts the Spiders’ 19 points within reach of the fifth- and sixth-place teams (Mallards/Loons), who are tied with 16 points, a game and a half back of the cutoff line (unless the Spartans get promoted for the playoffs).
| Team | GP | W | L | T | OTL | P | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spartans | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 74 | 18 | 78 |
| Fighting Walleye | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 64 | 36 | 36 |
| Royals | 16 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 62 | 42 | 52 |
| Spiders | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 49 | 44 | 78 |
| Fighting Loons | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 60 | 57 | 60 |
| Minnesota Mallards | 16 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 52 | 56 | 60 |
| Troopers | 16 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 41 | 58 | 56 |
| Nordeasters | 16 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 47 | 63 | 66 |
| Wildcats | 17 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 36 | 66 | 54 |
| Black Ice | 16 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 34 | 79 | 56 |
Next up, another weeknight game in the race to finish the regular season so that the rust can kick in before the playoffs, the Spiders face the Nordeasters again, who are all but eliminated from the playoffs with a 5–9–0–1 record. While the Spiders won the previous matchup in January, it was a really big loss for the Spiders.
Puck drop 7:45 p.m. at Richfield on Wednesday night.
For details, see the box score and game summary.
