I say it every time, but I cannot believe that we are already done half of the regular season.

Parody in this league is getting stronger all the time. The standings are not quite as close between the top teams as they were last season at this point, but the games are continually close ones. It seems to be anybody's game in each contest.
23 of the first 30 games this season have ended within three goals. 17 of those 23 games have been within two goals, & ten of those 17 games were within one goal. We've had six games go to overtime, with three of those ending in a tie.

The Hawks continue to show everyone why they are the reigning champions of our league. They are on top of the league's standings with 16 points & only two losses.
The Flyers are only two points behind them with 14.
The Omegas sit in third place, with 13 points.
The IceDogs are holding onto the final playoff position with ten points.
The Stars & Cattle Barons have both been playing better as of late. This is good, because they both have a little work to do to get back into the playoff picture. They are tied with five points each.

It should be a very interesting second half of the season. As we saw last season, if you can get yourself into the playoffs, then its anybody's game!

The early game between the Stars & IceDogs ended in a 4-4 tie.
The IceDogs got off to a good start by scoring two quick goals in the first shift of the game. After this, things settled down for a while. The Stars scored one goal in the second period to make the score 2-1 going into the third.
The Stars scored another goal early in the third to tie it up, but the IceDogs got two more quick goals half-way through the third to re-gain a two goal cushion.
The Stars kept the pressure on and scored with 2:33 remaining in the third to bring it back to within one goal. After pulling the goalie for the extra attacker, the Stars tied it up when Chris Helps scored with just nine seconds to go in the third.
Overtime solved nothing, so the teams settled for a 4-4 tie.
Brandon Wilpstra is the Player of the Game. He scored a goal and had three assists for the Stars.

The middle game saw the Flyers beat the Cattle Barons 5-4 in overtime.
This was an even game all the way through. Both teams scored a goal in the first period, and then did the same in the second to enter third period 2-2.
In the third it was more of the same story with both teams scoring two goals each.
Sid Karelsen got the game winner in overtime for the Flyers.
Darryl Poort is the Player of the Game in this one. He scored two goals for the Flyers and added an assist.

Even though the Hawks are the top team in the standings, the Omegas seem to have their number. The Hawks have only lost twice this season, but both times have been to the Omegas. This time the Omegas beat them 5-2 in the late game.
It was a fairly quiet game through the first two periods. The Omegas scored one in the first period, and another one in the second.
The Hawks got on the scoreboard for the first time early in the third period. A few minutes later, the Omegas re-gained their two goal lead with another goal.
The Hawks countered with one more goal a few minutes after that, but the Omegas scored two more before the period was over.
We'll give the nod for the Player of the Game to Zach VanReenen, of the Omegas. He scored a goal and added two assists.

Brandon Wilpstra, of the Stars, was ejected from the early game against the Hawks for receiving three minor penalties. This is the first time that this has occurred for Brandon this season, so he is okay to play in the next game.

The Hawks were able to halt the winning streak of the Stars by beating them 4-2 in the early game.
The Hawks got on the scoreboard first when Pat Dam took a perfect pass right on the tape from Terry Moesker (what?) & blew it past the goalie. This was the only goal in the first. The Stars came back in the second period and the teams were tied 2-2 going into the third period.
The Hawks scored two more in the third and held on to win it.
We'll give the Player of the Game to Ryan Tamming who had two assists for the Hawks and played a great game defensively as well.

The Omegas made up for their 7-3 loss in Week 8 with a 7-3 victory of their own in the middle game against the Cattle Barons.
The Omegas got off to a good start and found themselves up 4-0 before the Cattle Barons scored their first goal half-way through the second period.
Mark Zylstra had three points in the Omegas' win & goaltender, Pete Lindhout, was steady in his first game since October 4. However, the Player of the Game is Jared Millberry, who had six points. He scored four goals and two assists.

Now - on to the late game.
If anyone's wondering - this is how its done!
The game between the Flyers & IceDogs was awesome! Both teams deserved to win this one, but that's not how it goes. The Flyers were the ones that came out on top with a 3-2 win.
It was an extremely close game thanks mostly to some outstanding goaltending on both ends. Rick Jones & Steve Pastoor (in a fill-in role for the IceDogs) showed everyone the example of a real "goaltenders' duo" in this one. For their efforts, they will share the Player of the Game honours.
Even though the benches were short for both teams, the skaters put in quite an effort as well. If not for the goaltending, there could've been plenty of other guys to choose from for the Player of the Game. Matt DeBoer & Matt Tamminga each had two points for the IceDogs. Derek Bouma had two points for the Flyers, including a late game penalty shot that ended up being the game winning goal.
Even though it was a great game to watch "skill-wise", I'd have to say that my favourite part about this game was that it was penalty free for both teams.
Like I said at the beginning - That's how its done! Way to go guys!

Joe DeBoer, of the IceDogs, has reached the 30 minute mark in penalties. He has been suspended from playing in the game this week (November 29). He will be allowed to play again in the game on December 6.