The arena was electric.
It had the feel of a playoff game.
And of course I gave up the first goal of the game only two minutes into it.
I let a juicy rebound kick out and there was just too much damn traffic in front of me.
I wasn’t even sure who scored the goal because everyone was swinging their sticks.
That goal really pissed me off.
After the goal, Matias skated around the net and smacked his stick to it.
“Shake that one off,” he said to me.
“Play your fucking position and I will,” I yelled at him. “Leave the net to me!”
“Not sure what’s up your ass tonight, Mav, but pull it out,” Matias yelled back.
When I turned, I spotted exactly what was up my…on my mind.
There was Madison.
Taking pictures of the game.
The bench.
The families.
I focused back on the game.
I kid you not, it wasn’t even two minutes later that the other team ended up with a two-on-one breakaway play.
Reid missed his play and now it was all on my back.
These guys were fast.
They passed the puck furiously, trying to keep me confused.
I wiggled my body, inching back to the net, waiting to see who was going to take the shot.
Then with one last pass, I decided to make my move.
I lunged forward and poked at the puck.
My stick hit the puck and broke up the play.
The arena exploded with cheers for me.
That’s when Abel came out of nowhere, grabbed the puck and took off.
I heard him scream Lay’s name and the momentum of the game shifted instantly.
Abel and Lay took off like two rockets.
Lay readied himself for Abel to pass the puck.
But it was a decoy.