The third period started, and Ralph passed the puck to Melissa. She skated forward, and passed it to Bert. He tried to shoot it into the goal, but Brucie blocked the shot, and Punk took off with the puck. Melissa circled around him, stole the puck, and passed it to Cyril. Cyril just stood there for a moment.

"What am I supposed to do with this thing?" he asked.

"Try to get it in the net, Mr. Sneer!" Reggie called.

"One, two, three, y'all hear! You watch out for Cyril Sneer!" the Pigs cheered, waving their pom poms.

"One, two, three, y'all hear?" Bert repeated.

"Get the puck in the net," Cyril said. "Got it!"

Cyril threw down his stick, picked up the puck, and hurled it across the ice towards the Gang of Six's goal. It hit Brucie in the face, and he stumbled backwards into the net.

"Ooof!" he shouted.

"Good thing you're wearing a hockey mask," Buzz commented.

"Hole in one!" Cyril shouted, and the referee blew the whistle.

"Penalty!" he shouted.

"What!" Cyril yelled. "What do you mean penalty! I got it in the net, didn't I!"

"Cyril, you're not supposed to use your hands," Ralph said. "You're supposed to use the stick."

"I thought the stick was for hitting the players upside the head with," Cyril said.

"Hoo boy," Bert groaned.

The third period was starting to look like a comedy sketch just then. Cyril had the puck, and he started skating with it, using the stick this time. As he was skating with it, Slick skated by and stole it right out from under his nose.

"What the . . . ." he started. "Why you! Nobody steals from Cyril Sneer!"

Cyril dropped his stick and tackled Slick to the ground. Then he picked up the puck and held it in the air. The referee blew his whistle again.

"What now?" Cyril said.

"You can't tackle in hockey, Cyril!" Bert groaned. "I thought you said you practically wrote the book on hockey!"

"Hmph," Cyril grumbled, getting up. "Some joker obviously changed the rules since the last time I played!"

"When was that?" Bert asked. "Nineteen-oh-six?"

Cyril stifled the urge to hit Bert in the head with his hockey stick, and the game went on. The Raccoons figured if they kept the puck away from Cyril, they'd have a shot at winning. The ploy worked for awhile, though Cyril was getting a little ticked off that they weren't passing him the puck! Finally, he managed to get it, and he started skating for the goal. Unfortunately, Winks skated past him, and sent him spinning in circles. Cyril was thrown off balance for a moment or so.

"Watch where you're skating, you crazy dame!" he yelled. Much to his surprise, Winks hadn't stolen the puck. Cyril continued skating for the goal, but unfortunately, he was going the wrong way.

"Pop! Turn around! Turn around!" Cedric yelled, waving his arms, frantically.

"Mr. Sneer, you're going the wrong way!" Sophia shouted.

Cyril couldn't hear them. He just continued skating, until he smashed the puck right into the goal. The buzzer sounded, and Cyril threw his stick to the ice in triumph.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" he laughed. "I scored! I scored!"

"Yeah, for the other team!" Bert yelled.

"What in blue blazes are you talking about!" Cyril shouted. Then he got a look at the goalie, and saw it was Schafer.

"Well . . . ." Cyril said with a shrug.

"Look, the score's tied," Ralph said. "We're in sudden death. The next point wins. Let's just get out there, and do it."

"Right!" the others shouted.

The whistle blew, and the game started up again. Bert had the puck and he was heading for the goal. Cyril was just standing there. He took off his helmet for a moment.

"I'm getting too old for this sort of thing," he mumbled, wiping sweat off his forehead.

Bert smacked the puck and it went flying. It beaned Cyril right in the head, and he stumbled backwards.

"Ooooh!" he shouted. Then he slipped and crashed onto the ice, head first. WHAM!

"Pop!" Cedric yelled.

"Oh no!" Sophia moaned.

"Yikes!" Bert shouted.

"Pop! Pop, are you all right?" Cedric called. "Speak to me!"

"Auntie Em, is that you?" Cyril asked, dazedly. Ralph, Bert, Melissa, and Schafer skated over to him. Ralph held up three fingers.

"How many fingers am I holding up, Cyril?" he asked.

Cyril looked at Ralph, and counted his fingers. Then he started counting his own fingers.

"Eleventy six!" he shouted, and then he fell to the ice once more.

"Cyril?" Melissa asked. "Cyril! No use, he's out cold!"

"Well, I guess that's that," Slick said. "You guys will have to forfeit, and that makes this lake ours."

"Don't bet on it, sucker!" Reggie shouted, and he skated out onto the ice. He was wearing his helmet and carrying his stick. "I'll play!"

"But Reggie, what about your wrist?" Ralph asked.

"Bert told me all about that game against Mr. Sneer's bears," Reggie said. "He had a bum wrist and he scored the winning goal!"

"Daniel Reginald Drake, I forbid you to play in this game!" Dr. Canard shouted. "If you do, I'll . . . . . I'll disown you!"

"Forget it, Doc," Reggie said. "I'm helping my friends, and there's nothing you can do or say that'll stop me!"

"I don't know, Reggie," Ralph said.

"Look, do you guys want to be kicked off the lake?" Reggie asked. "Come on, if Bert can play with an injured wrist, then so can I!"

"Come on, you guys," Bert said. "Reggie's right! Let's get out there and play hockey!"

The others glanced at each other. Then they skated out onto the lake for the face off.

"Go Raccoons go! Go Raccoons go!" Cedric, Sophia, and the Pigs shouted at once.

The referee threw the puck down. Ralph hit it with his stick and skated off, passing it to Melissa. Melissa hit it to Bert, and he started for the goal. The Gang of Six (minus Brucie) started to gang up on him. Reggie skated in, caught the puck with his stick, and skated for the goal, on a breakaway. Slick skated up behind him, tripped him with the stick, and he landed flat on his stomach on the ice. Brucie saved the shot before it could go into the net. The buzzer went off, and time was out.

"Game over?" Bert asked. "It ends in a tie?"

"Not quite," the referee said, coming over. "Drake, you get a penalty shot since you were pulled down on a breakaway. Just you and the goalie."

"Come on, Reggie boy, you can do it!" Bert shouted. "We're all rooting for you!"

Reggie gulped. He skated forward with the puck, and Brucie prepared to catch it. Reggie bit his lower bill, skated forward, and smacked the puck as hard as he could into the net. It sailed straight for it. Brucie tried to reach up and grab it, but it was moving too fast, and he missed it by a couple inches.

"He scores!" the referee shouted. "The Evergreen Raccoons win!"

"Wahoo!" Bert shouted. "We won! We won! We won!"

"Rah, rah, rah!" the Pigs shouted, waving their pom poms around. "Rah, rah, rah!"

"Oooh," Cyril groaned, finally coming to his senses. "What happened?"

"We won, Pop!" Cedric shouted.

"Great playing, Reggie!" Ralph shouted. "Danny Drake couldn't have done any better!"

"Come on, everyone," Schafer said. "Let's all go to the Blue Spruce and celebrate!"

"Now you're talkin'!" Bert shouted. "The peanut butter soda's on me!"

The Raccoons and the Pigs lifted Reggie off the ice, and carried him off the lake, like he was a big sports hero. Reggie took a glance at the stands and saw Dr. Canard standing there, giving him a disapproving look. Then he turned around and walked away. Reggie watched him go, and he suddenly no longer felt like celebrating victory.