WEEK 18 (thru Tuesday)

It didn't take long for Patrik Laine to get up to speed. Recently reinserted into the Ice Hogs lineup after spending two weeks on the shelf, the again-healthy sniper collected his third hat trick of the season, his reinvigorated squad once again on top of the FHL.

Ice Hogs: 19.3
Polar Bears: 8.4
Just when you think the Ice Hogs are toast - DING! - they're a perfectly cut slice of warm Artisan bread, the bounce-back team bouncing back into first place. On top of the Probert division with a record of 10-6-1, the Ice Hogs are also leading their H2H opponent, GM Henry's pesky pigs currently 10.9 points better than the Polar Bears.

Misconducts: 6.0
SC Cobras: 4.0
At the start of the week the in-form Misconducts appeared ready to expand their lead in the race for the elusive FHL Cup. Instead the frustrated franchise was removed from their penthouse pad, again staring at the back of the Ice Hogs. The picture is still rosy however, GM Smalley's overall deficit is small while the Misconducts continue to dominate the H2H standings.

Wild Ducks: 8.9
Boulder Flyers: 10.1
After two days the Boulder Flyers have the third best score of the week - and no folks, that isn't a typo - GM Morgan's blind-swinging birds currently 1.2 points better than the heavily favored Wild Ducks.

Central Red Army: 5.1
Badger Bob: 13.8­
After a rough Week 17, Badger Bob was hoping his rudely treated team would respond positively in Week 18. Respond positively is what the Bobs are doing thus far, GM Chester's must-win team leading the favored Central Red Army by 8.7 points with five days remaining in the week.

Ice Cats: 4.0
Between the Pipes: 4.0
With no roster moves in two weeks, GM Cutshall appears to have put his Ice Cats team on cruise control. The Cats are cruising - but not fast enough - the veteran franchise now 71.5 points out of first place (though just 48.3 points out of the money). Between the Pipes meanwhile have slid a few points closer to the basement, 11th place now 16.4 steps in the distance.

Bluliners: 6.9
Silicon Valley Slashers: 2.0
The Bluliners everything-went-right week appears to be leading to a everything-is-going-wrong campaign, Evander Kane and Bo Horvat carted to the shelf with injuries. Despite playing shorthanded the Bluliners remain in the mix, GM Hamilton's team 39.1 points out of first and 4.9 points in front of the do-or-die Silicon Valley Slashers.

LINK: Standings