Spiders battle back to 4–3 OT win over Black Ice on DST to clinch playoff spot

March 13, 2022

Dave Schuster got to witness high-quality* OT heroics two nights in a row!

With two weeks left on the regular season, the center of the C3 playoff implication universe was New Hope Ice Arena, with five C3 West games taking place here on DST Sunday, including three key matchups — Fighting Walleye vs. Royals, Troopers vs. Fighting Loons, and Spiders vs. Black Ice.

Newly retired Spider Dave Schuster, after attending the epic MSHSL OT tilt between Northwest Suburban squads Maple Grove and Andover Saturday night at the X, headed to New Hope South Sunday night for Spiders vs. Black Ice. He arrived a bit late after watching the Mikko Koivu #9 retirement ceremony before the Wild/Preds game, and just missed the other DST (Dave Schuster Time) festivities at New Hope. With Armstrong alumni in attendance, at the Falcons home rink, the event and location could not have been more well timed. Needless to say, there was not a dry eye in the house as Red-&-White #5 was raised to the rafters.

Back to the action ... As is the Spiders’ MO this season, the team is effective at digging holes in the choppy ice early in the game. A bad pass, a poor pinch, a lucky bounce, a questionably waved-off icing, and all of the sudden it’s 2-zip for the last-place Black Ice.

In the second, the Spiders tried to switch up lines, demoting Schroeder to wing and promoting Long to D, only to have to reset as Chris O’Connor and the fashionless captain of the Black Ice #5 Jon Barclay earned themselves a four-minute sit each, featuring sin bin taunts of the Kids In The Hall variety.

Back at full strength and with the lines reconstituted, the coach’s move to demote Schroeder paid off, as the Spiders cut the lead in half, assist to Johnson, which is where the score would stay until the waning minutes of the third. While the Spiders thought they had tied it up on a scrum in front of the Black Ice net, the refs apparently decided otherwise from their view from the New Hope North rink that Schroeder was in the crease before scoring. And with that momentum, the Black Ice added to their lead, making it 3–1 with 6:09 to go.

On the ensuing faceoff though, Vandenberghe in a decidedly non-Flying-V position, got the Spiders to within one again, assist to Johnson again.

But it was back to the bin for O’Connor, as the Spiders would have to kill off another penalty. Though the PK did get some actual shorthanded chances, it was back at full strength that Schroder almost scored again on a breakaway, sending the puck wide. With a whistle back in the Spider zone at 2:50 to go, the Spiders tried to figure out when to call timeout and pull the netminder. That decision was negated by Grotbeck, as he cashed in with 1:42 to go, assist to Schroeder, tying the game up at 3!

The Spiders played cool/calm/collected to ensure the necessary point to clinch the playoff berth, and ran out the regulation clock. The refs announced that there would only be 4 minutes available for OT instead of 5. However, the Spiders only needed 3 minutes and 54 seconds of that 4:00 clock to send the New Hope crowd (of Schuster and the longest-serving Spider fan) to its feet, with Grotbeck from Schroeder and Litton. Spiders win! Black Ice in shock from the whiplash!

Final score: 4–3

Playoff watch

The win gives the Spiders a key two points in the C3 West race to April rust, and now in a tie with the Fighting Walleye for third place, who lost to the Royals 8–2 in the early game on the South rink. Though tiebreakers would fall to the Walleye, as the Spiders have a clear chokehold on the anti-Lady Byng award (the “Paul LaCosse Trophy”).

Over on the New Hope North rink, the Troopers kept their playoff hopes alive by beating the Fighting Loons 8–5, and now sit a point out of the fifth and final berth.

With a week to go and one last game in the regular season, the Spiders are now assured of a playoff spot, and will take on the fifth-place Fighting Loons. The game will be only a must-win for the Fighting Loons depending on what the Troopers can do against the juggernaut Spartans (17–2).

Charles Schulz Highland Arena will become the center of the C3 West universe next weekend. Spiders vs. Fighting Loons takes place at 6:10 on Saturday night, and the Troopers will have to wait until 6 p.m. the following night to take on the Spartans, but will at least know whether they can catch the Loons.