"Tonight is the night, ladies and gentleman; every young hockey player's dream! This is where the heart is put to the test, all the blood, sweat, and tears has been building up to this moment! Tonight, one team will be crowned Stanley Cup champions after 82 regular season games, 35 weeks, and 4 rounds of pure, playoff hockey! This is where heroes are made! This is Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final!"
The overly excited announcer's voice boomed through the Consol Energy Center, the place was packed with Penguins fans, with a healthy dose of Kings fans in black jerseys sprinkled amongst the crowd. Cee huffed a frustrated breath as the family in front of her paused again, still unable to find their seats. Nervous tension was thick in the air as everyone prepared for the game of their lives, towels waving proudly above their heads.
"Excuse me," a man pushed past Cee roughly, almost making stumble.
"Gosh, okay," she grumbled in annoyance, but then relief when she realized the group in front of her had finally resumed shuffling along the narrow aisle. In her haste, she didn't notice as her ticket floated gently to the ground.
"I'm so excited!" Mary exclaimed, barely stopping herself from bouncing up and down. She was actually here! Mary grabbed her sister Sophia's arm and squeezed.
"Ow… Can you not – wait, Mary, what's that?" Sophia pointed to the ground. "Looks like someone dropped their ticket!"
"Oh, yeah you're right!" Mary quickly bent down and picked up the discarded piece of paper. "Should we give it back? I don't know why you wouldn't want to keep the ticket as a souvenir, maybe the person just dropped it by accident?"
She peered at the ticket. "Section 112. Wow, those are club seats, it's right at center ice! Row L."
Sophia peeked over her shoulder. "Aren't we in section 112, too? I can't remember what row we're in but I guess we can just go give it back to the person."
Mary nodded in agreement. "Yeah, okay."
The two hurried to section 112, squeezing through all the tight spaces between people, muttering sorry and excuse me on the way.
"Section 112… Row H… I… J… K… L!" Mary glanced back down at the ticket. "Seat 7. It's that girl, wearing the Crosby jersey."
"Everyone is wearing a Crosby jersey, Mary," Sophia pointed out, which earned her an exasperated glare.
Cee looked up as Mary and Sophia approached, noting the ticket. "Oh my gosh! You found it!"
Mary handed it back to her. "Yeah! I guess you dropped it back there."
"Thank you so much!" Cee smiled. "I was so sad when I couldn't find it! I wanted to keep it because obviously the Penguins are winning tonight and it would be a great souvenir to keep!"
"Whoo go Pens!" Mary did a fist pump. "Okay, I guess we better get back to our seats!" She fumbled in her bag, retrieving her and Sophia's tickets. "Oh…" She looked to her sister in surprise. "This is where we're sitting too!"
Sophia clapped her hands together. "Awesome!"
Mary plopped down beside Cee. "What are the chances? Hi, I'm Mary! I'm from Canada, actually."
"Oh my gosh, really?" Cee gasped. "Me too!"
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before the lights started to dim and loud cheering filled the arena.
The players from both teams were introduced and the Stars Spangled Banner was sung.
Game on.
"My heart literally cannot take this!" Mary screamed as the Penguins put six attackers on the ice, their net looming empty behind them.
The seconds were ticking down. The Penguins were down by one.
"Come on! Please!" Cee shrieked beside her, on the edge her of seat.
"Crosby and Carter are lined up for the faceoff to Quick's left, just one minute remaining in this Game 7 of the Final! Can the Penguins make some magic?" The announcer exclaimed.
"YES!" Mary and Cee screamed together.
"Crosby wins the faceoff back to Letang, who passes it along the blueline to Martin."
"Just SHOOT IT!" Mary urged her players. "What are you DOING?"
"Brown and Malkin are having a heated battle in front of the net and Martin shoots! Blocked!"
Her heart pounding in her chest, Mary grips the empty water bottle in her hand. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, she chanted in her head.
"Neal fights along the boards with Kopitar, and Neal wins it. He passes back to Martin. Just 30 seconds left!"
"COME ON!" Mary cried, joining the other fans whom were all jumping to their feet, furiously cheering on the home team.
"Martin passes cross-ice to Crosby, who rounds behind the net, waiting. Malkin and Doughty are fighting for position in front of the net. Oh! And Doughty slashes the stick right out of Malkin's hands! He looks to the ref but it doesn't look like he's getting the call. 15 seconds left!"
"Refs! What the hell are you are doing?" Mary began to feel a slow sense of dread creep into her. No. She told herself. There's still time. Stay positive. She mentally fluffed the Penguins' auras.
"Kunitz sneaks a pass to Crosby in front and OH! What a stop by Quick! Scramble in front! Kunitz is jamming away! OH AND IT'S IN. IT'S IN! WITH 8.7 SECONDS LEFT THE PENGUINS HAVE TIED THE GAME!"
The crowd roared to life and this time Mary didn't stop herself from jumping up and down, first hugging Sophia and then Cee. "OH MY GOD!"
They high-fived several strangers around them, mouths wide with grins.
"And, we're GOING TO OVERTIME!"
"And it's a two-on-one going down the ice! Crosby looks to pass to Malkin, but Doughty is down blocking the passing lane. Looks like he's going to have to shoot! And Crosby shoots! AND HE SCORES! GAME OVER! THE PENGUINS HAVE WON THE GAME. THE PENGUINS ARE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!"
The entire arena erupted as black and yellow confetti rained down from the sky. Penguin players leaped over the boards and beelined for their captain, arms raised in the air.
Mary, Cee, and Sophia threw their arms around each other and jumped up and down, screaming at the top of their lungs.
The silver, most coveted cup in sports was presented to captain Sidney Crosby and the ecstatic team posed for the obligatory photo at center ice, all of them proudly holding up #1 signs with their fingers.
Until next year, hockey world!