It's hard to believe, but we're already done half of our regular season. The weeks seem to be flying by.
At this point the Omegas look to ready to clinche a playoff spot soon, but even though they haven't lost a game yet, the scores have been close for the most part.
The Omegas lead the standings with 19 points. The IceDogs are in second with 12 points. The Hawks are two points back from them with 10, while the Flyers are a close fourth with 9 points. The Cougars & Stars are not out of it by any means with 5 points each, but they've got their work cut out for them if they want to make the playoffs.

Keep in mind that we will be still playing straight through the next five weeks because our Friday nights will not be interrupted by Christmas or New Years this year.
The next Friday that we do not play will be January 20 because of Silverstick. We also will not be playing on February 3 because of another Silverstick tournament.

Looking ahead to the playoffs, we will be playing on the following dates:
Friday, March 9
Saturday, March 10
Friday, March 16
Saturday, March 17
Friday, March 23
Friday, March 30
Keep these dates open if you don't want to let your team down. They may never forgive you.

All three of this week's games were all great games that were decided by just a goal each.

The early game between the Stars & IceDogs ended in a 6-5 victory in favour of the IceDogs. The Stars led most of the game and went to the second intermission with a 4-2 lead. Jordan DeBoer scored twice short-handed in the first shift of the third period to tie the game at 4-4. The IceDogs continued the comeback with another goal half-way through the third. Dale Moesker's third goal of the game tied it up again for the Stars, but Matt Tamminga gave the IceDogs the lead once and for all with three and half minutes to go. IceDogs back-up goalie, Brady DeBoer earned his first victory in our league.

The Cougars put up a good effort, but the Omegas came out on top by winning the middle game 5-4. The Cougars went to the first intermission with a 3-2 lead thanks to a hat-trick by Jeff Vanderdeen. Jeff added a fourth in the second period, but despite his Player of the Week performance, the Omegas came back and scored three goals in the third period. Steve Pastoor also had a strong game in the Cougars' loss by assisting on three of Jeff's goals.

The late game between the Flyers & Hawks was another doozie. The Hawks won the game 4-3. The Flyers looked in control of the game with a 3-1 lead after two periods, but the Hawks were hungry for a win. They scored three times in the third to earn their first victory since November 4. Rob Nutma led the Hawks in their comeback by scoring two of the third period goals and assisting on the game winner. (Probably because of his new helmet.)

The early game between the Cougars & Ice Dogs had a few incidents.
Matt DeBoer was ejected from the game for receiving three minor penalties. This was the first time that this has occurred this season for Matt, so he was okay to play in the next game.
Jordan DeBoer received a "10 minute" misconduct in the game. This was the first "10 minute" misconduct that Jordan has received this season, so he was okay to play in the next game. If Jordan receives another "10 minute" misconduct this season, then he will be suspended for one game.

I'm running a little behind in the updates. Here is the run-down of the games that were played on Friday, December 2:

The early game was a close one with the Ice Dogs edging the Cougars by the score of 4-3. The Cougars kept it close the whole game, but Trevor Benjamins' goal late in the second period stood up as the game winner.

The Flyers humbled the Stars in the middle game by beating them 9-5. Curt Moesker had a three point night in the Stars' loss. Darryl Poort & Joel VanVeller of the Flyers also had three points apiece. Derek Bouma scored two goals and two assists for the Flyers, but one of the co-winners of the Player of the Week goes to Kev Karelsen who scored three goals and two assists.

The Omegas continued their season without a loss by beating the Hawks 7-2 in the late game. Kyle Huizinga scored both of the Hawls' goals. Rick Anjema had a three point game in the Omegas' win. Karsten Berg had another strong game for the Omeagas with a four point game, but the other co-winner of the Player of the Week goes to his linemate Kalen Hellinga who scored three goals and two assists.

We have reached the deadline for adding new players for the season. There are three new players that have been approved to play. They are:
Jeremiah Winia - Cougars
Justin Geertsma - Stars
Dean Esser - Stars