Cool heads will be required just when the season is heating up.
With two rounds remaining, it is anyone's guess who will join the Canterbury Red Devils in the final of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League.
Here is what we know.
The Botany Swarm has won four titles in five years but is the only team out of contention with just eight points from 12 games this season.
The Devils (29 points from 14 games) secured a berth in the final with a 9-4 win against the Dunedin Thunder in Christchurch on Sunday, and shape as the likely host.
On the Saturday, the Thunder (22 points from 14 games) beat the Devils 3-0, and it still has a chance of reaching the final.
The Dunedin-based franchise has had its best season since joining the league in 2008 but will need to beat the Swarm twice at home this weekend, and hope the Southern Stampede (20 points from 12 games) and the Auckland Admirals (17 points from 12 games) lose a couple of their next four games.
The Queenstown-based Stampede made a slow start to its campaign but has surged back into contention with four straight wins. If the 2005 and 2006 champion wins all four remaining matches, it can still qualify on top of the table.
However, the Stampede's opponent this weekend, the Auckland Admirals, are in a stronger position. Their four remaining games are all at home in Avondale and they host the disappointing Swarm in the final round, whereas the Stampede has to travel to Christchurch to play the Devils.
"It is a tough one but we are confident in our own abilities," Stampede coach Stephen Reid said.
"When we are all healthy, I strongly believe we are the best team in the league and we've proved it in the last four games.
"We've just got to keep the momentum but you can never take a team lightly because everyone has beaten everyone this year."
The two games shape as a virtual semifinal, which Reid believes will suit the Stampede.
Last year's beaten finalist needed to win six straight games last year to make the final and the team is at its best when the stakes are high.
"To be honest, we are in a better position this year in that we can actually afford to lose a game. But the big carrot is, if we keep winning, it's a home final. That's the goal."
