If I blocked this and we scored on the other end, the game was ours.
Here skated Oliver, one of the best wingers in the league.
He moved way out to the left side of the ice.
I knew his next move.
He hurried across the ice, trying to keep me moving. Wanting to find that sliver of an opening, figuring I was tired from the game, overtime and now the shootout.
But I was more than ready for him.
He juked to the left again and I poked my stick right out, not even letting him get a shot off.
The arena erupted in cheers for me.
Oliver was pissed and slammed his stick off the ice.
Now it was time for Lay to take his shot.
The entire place fell silent as Lay skated in.
He moved fast. Really fast.
He wasn’t playing around.
An emotional shot wasn’t going to-
The puck went from his stick to the back of the net in a second.
The light lit up and the siren boomed through the arena.
And that was the game.
We had won in a shootout.
The fans cheered even louder. The bench cleared out to get to Lay. Lay skated with his arms in the air, feeling a sense of redemption.
I skated up the ice, pointing at him.
Abel, Reid, and Matias attacked him.
Remi bear-pawed his helmet off his head.
Lay and I hugged each other.
“What a fucking shot, man!” I yelled.
“You saved this game all night, Mav!” Lay yelled back.
When I turned away, that’s when I saw Madison for the first time that night.
Standing on the bench with a camera in her hand, capturing this moment.
I stared at her, loving the way she looked in jeans and casual shoes.
Her hips in those jeans…
Madison lowered the camera and waved her hand at me.