While an 8-3 record would give many teams some breathing room in the standings, that can not be said for the Fines Home Hardware Shelburne Muskies.

Nearing the midway point of the regular season and having earned 16 points for their efforts so far, the Fish currently sit fourth in the highly competitive North Division of the WOAA Senior Mens hockey loop.

With Palmerston one point back and nipping at their heels for the final berth in the coveted A pool, Shelburne has no choice but continue their winning ways.

To that end, the team roused from an early slumber against Durham on Saturday night and posted a 6-4 win over the visiting Thundercats.

Both teams spent the opening minutes trying to establish an early lead to no avail - thanks in large part to goal tenders at each end of the rink.

Durham would be first to figure a way to the twine, tossing a pair past Rob Senay over a 15 second span late in the opening frame.

Not wanting to fall far behind, Chris Greer answered back for Shelburne seconds later on a setup from Nick Foreman.

Foreman would again figure on the score sheet, this time converting a power play passing setup from Sean Connor by way of Paul Hartley to end the period tied at 2-2.

Shawn Pollard cashed in a heads up pass from Matt Lougheed inside the Durham blueline, sliding across in front of the net and going up and over

Cats cager Matt McCahey to put Shelburne out front for the first time a minute into the second frame.

Durham would regain the lead making the most of some lack lustre play by Shelburne in their own end, adding a pair before Lougheed threaded one through traffic to again tie the score, this time at 4-4 with 11:54 left in the period.

Now with momentum gathering on their side, Shelburne stepped up the pace.

Mark MacArthur had a pair of chances to give the Fish a lead, collecting a pair of goal posts - one off each side on the same shift. Darcy Osborne found himself robbed of what should have been a given to the wide side while Greer, pounding on the puck from in close ended going up and over the net to end the period.

Greer would make up for the missed opportunity, tagging a pair at both ends of the third to give him the hat trick and a 6-4 win for Shelburne.

Muskie coach Joe Bakes is quite impressed with the play of Greer to date.

With a large number of rookies playing up front in the lineup, Bakes asked Greer to assume a larger leadership role with the team and he has risen to the challenge. "Over the last couple of years I have had the pleasure of watching this guy steadily improve and right now Greer'sie has become one of the premier players in this league" said the coach.

For his part, Greer plays down his accomplishments to date. "Things are just going my way" he says. " I had to step up this

year with the number of young players and take on a leadership role."

The weekend ahead promises to be a chance for the Fish to put some more points on the board when both Friday night and Saturday, Shelburne will be playing on the road in Shallow Lake.

Having already beaten the struggling Crushers once this season, adding another couple of wins will go a long way to possibly edging up in the standings past Elora or Ripley.