The early game saw the IceDogs beat the Cattle Barons 6-4. Even though there was a two goal spread, this game was close to going to overtime.
The IceDogs held a 2-1 lead after the first period. The second period was scoreless until Ben Melville (playing in his first game for the Cattle Barons) scored a "buzzer beater" to tie it up at 2-2.
The first 14 minutes of the third period were scoreless, but within a three minute span, the teams traded goals, and it was suddenly 4-4. It looked like we were going to overtime, but Al Vanderveen spoiled the party for the Cattle Barons when he scored with 30 seconds to go in the third. The IceDogs added an empty netter in the dying seconds.
Both goalies played solid, but we'll give a special shout-out to Phil Nywening, who played net for the first time in our league in the IceDogs' win.
Trevor Benjamins & Duncan Vanderwal each had three points for their respective teams in this one, so they will share the honours of Player of the Game.

The middle game was a battle of the two teams on top of the standings. The Hawks remained on top with a 9-6 win over the Flyers.
The Hawks led 2-1 after the first, and 5-4 after two periods. They started to run away with it in the third, going up 8-4. The Flyers came back with some pressure and a few goals at the end of the game, but it was a little too late.
Kev Karelsen & Dave VanOostveen both had a big game. They both scored five points each for their respective teams. They will share the Player of the Game for their efforts.

The Stars appear to be on a legitimate roll now. They beat the Omegas 4-3 in the late game.
It was a great battle all the way though the game. The Stars held a 2-1 lead after the first period, and a 3-2 lead after two. The Omegas tied it up early in the third and it remained at 3-3 until the Stars scored with 3:30 to go in the period. The Omegas pressed hard to tie it up again, but thanks in large part to some brilliant goaltending by fill-in goalie, Duncan Vanderwal, the Stars hung on.
Chris Helps is the Player of the Game. He had three points in the Stars' victory.

Jason Korvemaker, of the Cattle Barons, received three minor penalties and was ejected from the game against the Stars. This was the first time that this has occurred for Jason this season, so he is okay to play in the next game.

The early game saw the Flyers beat the Omegas 5-3.
It was a fairly even game all the way through. After one period, the Flyers held a 1-0 lead, and by the end of the second period, it was 3-2 for the Flyers. The Omegas tied it up early in the third period, but the Flyers re-took the lead again about five minutes later. The Omegas put on the pressure to tie it again for the rest of the game, but a last minute goal by the Flyers ended the hopes for the Omegas.
Matt VanMarum is the Player of the Game. He scored a hat-trick for the Flyers & added an assist.

The Stars continued on the roll that they have going by beating the Cattle Barons 4-2 in the middle game.
They got on the scoreboard first early in the first period, but that was the only goal in the first. The Cattle Barons tied it up at 1-1 early in the second, but the Stars made it 4-1 by the end of the second period. The Cattle Barons scored the only goal in the third, but the Stars held on for the win.
Stars goaltender, Dave Noorloos has been improving every game this year, and for the second week in a row, is the Player of the Game.

The IceDogs beat the Hawks 5-2 in the late game. The game was actually a pretty close one, despite the way that the score reflected.
The Hawks looked good off the start by scoring the first goal of the game in the first minute of the game. This ended up being the only goal in the first. The IceDogs scored three goals in the second to take a 3-1 lead going into the third. The Hawks scored one more in the third to bring the game to within a goal, but the IceDogs scored two more goals to take it. The Hawks were really pouring it on, but Josh Tamminga was outstanding in net for the IceDogs. He even made one unreal save off his melon when he dove across his crease to stop a sure goal. For his efforts, he is gonna have to share the Player of the Game honours with Duncan Vanderwal. Any other night, Josh would've been the clear cut winner, but Duncan had a huge night of his own for the IceDogs. He had a four point game, including a hat-trick.

As everyone is aware, next week is Christmas. It is the time for us to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. We all like to spend time with our families to celebrate this time of year - myself included. Therefore I'm asking everyone to please behave yourselves in this week's games. I do not want to spend the whole week sorting out penalties (and/or suspensions).
This season has been going great for the most part. We are sitting about 300 penalty minutes (as a league) less than we were last season at this point. That's awesome!
The reason I'm bringing it up is because history has shown that for some reason I have had to deal out a pile of suspensions this time of the year.
Let's remember that this is a Christian hockey league. The purpose of this league is to have some fun playing hockey with our fellow Christian brothers. Let's also remember that it is to God's honour & glory that we play. We need to set a Christian example to those around us (referees, arena staff, etc.).

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Oh yeah. Speaking of arena staff - last week one of the arena staff was almost hit with a puck when he was shoveling the ice. He was not happy, to say the least.
He strongly suggested to me that I remind everyone that there should be absolutely no pucks on the ice until the zamboni doors are closed. They do not mind if we come on the ice to stretch while they are shoveling off the ice, but no pucks.

The second half of the season started with more of what we were seeing in the first half of the season. All three games in Week 11 were all within one goal.

The early game saw the Cattle Barons giving the Hawks a scare, but the top seeded Hawks hung on to win it 4-3.
It was an even game all the way through. Most of the goals in the game came in the first period. The Hawks had a 3-2 lead at the end of the first and a 4-2 lead after two periods. The Cattle Barons scored a goal half-way through the third, but that was as close as they were able to come.
We'll give the Player of the Game to Ryan Nutma, of the Hawks. He played a good game on both ends of the rink. He assisted on the game winning goal, but probably his best play of the game was a big shot-block that Don Cherry would be proud of.

The middle game between the Omegas & IceDogs was another close game. The IceDogs came away with a 5-4 "come from behind" win.
The Omegas looked to be in control in the beginning of the game. They had a 2-0 lead after the first period. The teams traded goals in the second period. Early in the third, the IceDogs scored two quick goals and found themselves up 4-3. The Omegas tied it up again half-way through the period and it looked like we were going to overtime. This was until Joe DeBoer scored in the final minute of the third period to spoil it for the Omegas. Joe is the Player of the Game in this one. Along with the game winner, he also scored one more goal & an assist.

The late game between the Stars & Flyers was another (you guessed it) close one. You can't get much closer than a 5-5 tie.
The Stars held a 3-2 lead after the first period, and a 5-4 lead after two periods. The Flyers scored the only goal in the third period and nobody was able to score in overtime.
We'll let the goaltenders in this one share the Player of the Game honours. Rick Jones, of the Flyers battled an injury throughout most of the game & Dave Noorloos, of the Stars, did a good job of giving his team the chance to win it; even when the Flyers were pouring it on late in the game.