My ranking last year was nothing to scoff at as I beat some of the best players out there, at least according to their rank. But even after a successful '08 campaign, I was not considering a run at the title in '09. My main goal was to beat my consecutive wins streak and to each game get more goals than my opponent did shots -- all while abstaining from the temptations of "cheesy" tactics like slap passing or blue-line floaters. Besides, I preferred the one-timer and deke goals. I took great solace in the fact that I could remain cheese-free for the most part and still rack up win after win.

The last time I really got into trying to be number one was NHL 2004. That year my buddy and I would play nightly after work. We had two screen names for the Playstation 2, and at the end both were ranked in the top five. One name was ranked two overall and the other one was three overall by the time EA shut the whole thing down. This experience led me to believe that we were clearly the best duo in the world when we were teammates.

And now five years later the swagger is back. However, I cannot say I am as clean as I was last year because I have realized what it takes to be the top-ranked player in this game, and it is not pretty folks.

Considering I got off to a late start this year since I messed around with Be a Pro for a while and then tried to start a franchise, which is what I normally focus on, I would say things are going pretty well. Currently I am -- or should I say we because I would say about 30 percent of my games are played with at least one teammate -- are ranked 171 in the world.

Off the top of my head, I would say my record is 310-41 (most of those losses have come after consuming too many beverages with friends). I think we are as good as any other duo in the world, but I sometimes wonder if these ranked matches between online heavyweights are a true representation of what the game is designed for.

I say that because to win consistently and win big you must play dirty. This game unfortunately does not reward hard work enough, but rather lame tactics that manipulate the formula for scoring goals. For you see, it is much easier to just do simple moves like walking out from the corner and sniping short side against the grain, than it is to say set up a point shot and blast one low blocker side.

Still, I cannot downplay everything that my friends and I have done this year. After all, it is our hockey sense and ability to see plays others do not that sets up those opportunities and helps us win more often than not. I just wish playing smart textbook hockey played more of a part than it does because then I think we would be number one.

Either way, as we move closer and closer to the top 100, we encounter more and more types of cheese that we either need to figure out how to stop or replicate if we want to win more. One of the most recent cheese tactics is some move where you can get flattened by a crazy check, but can then hit some button combo and bounce right back up. That one was news to me as two people in a row, both ranked in the top five, did it to me recently. I managed to escape with a 3-2 win in one game, but the other top-five player put a hurting on me as I lost 6-2.

When my friend and I play together, defense is usually what carries us; sometimes we go games in a row without giving up goals at all. I think we only have 47 actual shutouts, but most people quit on us anyway, and I do not think the EA servers record that as a shutout. We also recently notched our best win streak of the season, reaching 34 consecutive wins, mostly because of our stellar defense.

Anyway, I could go on and on about stats and domination, but by now I am sure most of you do not like me much since you either think I am gloating or just a cheese-filled gamer -- neither is quite the case.

Is there a prize for being ranked the highest? Very doubtful. Yet, I am now addicted to trying to win at all costs, and I have to ride this out and see just how far I can take it. By all means, feel free to slam me for any of this, but I am just doing what is needed to be number one.