The arenas lights were dark as we were walking from the locker room to the door to the rink. The lights turned on as we were stepping out onto the ice and all you could hear was the crowd going crazy. We were undefeated and we were not going to let this crowd down tonight. We loosened up during warm-ups and scouted out the other team and then we went back into the locker room for a few minutes before the game.
Coach told us to settle down and just to play our game, the game that brought us here, that has made us undefeated. He said " You need to come out fast, don't be nervous about it being the big game just think of it as one of the others, We just gotta put more effort in this game for your seniors, for some of them it will be the last time they ever touch the ice." Somebody knocked on our door letting us know they were ready for us to come out. The game was about to start.
I came out to the opening faceoff and my hands were shaking, i was quite nervous. I couldn't calm myself, but i just hoped as the game went on i would relax and get back to normal. The puck dropped i won it back to the defense. They dumped into into the zone, but the other team came out with it. They gave it to their star player and he got past us and got a one on one with the goalie and scored blocker side high. It was only 40 seconds in the game and they had already scored, so coach called time out. He got us in close so we could hear him and said " Hey what are you guys doing? you just watched him go by each one of you. You guys need to relax, Its a hockey game for gods sake! Play your game, Don't let the game get to your head."
After the time out we played like our normal team, but they were also a very good team. At the end of the 1st period the score was 1-0 them. In the locker room Coach told us we looked a lot better after the goal but now we got to get something going on offense, and then he walked out. He walked out to let me and the other captains talk to the team. I stood up in the middle of the locker room and started to yell " c'mon on guys what are we doing out there, we looked awful. Do you want to let down me and the other seniors and even your whole school? Or would you rather show some pride for your school and lets go out and destroy this team and get the win!"
We came out in the 2nd period a lot better we were skating better and out team work was much better. Halfway through the period we got a 3 on 2 and the Dan slid it over as the goalie slid over out of position and i caught it by the toe of my stick and put it in on a practically open net. After that goal our team was fired up we tied the game. The rest of the period we had the puck in their zone most of the time but the goalie was making amazing saves and kept them in the game.
Coach came into the locker room and told us he wasn't going to say anything because he liked how we were playing and didn't wanna screw it up. We Tried to come out in the beginning of the 3rd like we left the 2nd, but they must of had a good pep talk because they were coming out hard. They were taking good shots and i was surprised they weren't scoring but we had one of the top goalies in the state and he was having one of the best games of his life. There was about 2 minutes left in the 3rd with the score tied and the opposing team called time-out. Our goalie, Nick, Came over to us pretty much yelling at us saying we needed to get the goal and with all the shots their getting that he was just getting lucky. Coach kept me out on the ice most of the time in the last period. They Dumped the puck in and i got it and looked up and saw Eric breaking out almost all alone. i passed it up to him and looked at the clock which said 10 seconds left. I didn't even skate up i just stood there watching the freshman go down one on 0 with the goalie. He faked left and went right and put the puck right off the crossbar into the net. Goal! The crowd went wild There was only 2 seconds on the clock and as soon as the time ran out after the face up the whole team went and tackled Eric. He was the hero of the game, He even got MVP of the game and was the only 9th grader to get that.
After the game and the celebration in the locker room i waited until most everyone else was out. I went over and gave Eric a handshake and told him he did a great job and i see him going far and that i hope this isn't the only championship that he wins. He replied " Tyler without you i would have never gotten the puck or that opportunity." I got home and just went up to my room and rolled into bed just smiling and eventually fell asleep as a champion in my senior year, just the way i always dreamed of it.
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