This one is all about the Soviet game—Gail Schneider and Krista have flown to Lake Placid for the medal round…
Krista fidgeted all the way through dinner. Gail just smiled. She remembered being the Nervous Girlfriend when she and Buzz were dating. You could be the calmest person in the world, but there was something about seeing the man you loved playing in an important, and sometimes dangerous, game that turned you into a wreck.
"I don't know what's the matter with me anymore," Krista finally said. She hated being the Nervous Girlfriend.
"Just anxious," Gail replied.
"Yeah, but it's getting worse."
"Well, the games are getting bigger, and you haven't seen the boys in two weeks."
Krista frowned.
"Hey, it's okay. You should have seen me during the '76 Games when Buzz was in Innsbruck…I didn't sleep for three days at one point," Gail laughed.
"But I'm not normally like this," Krista protested.
"I know. I wasn't either. And Buzz was so composed the whole time he was there. It's almost like I got nervous enough for both of us."
Krista just nodded, unconvinced.
"Did you bring the bear he gave you?"
"Yes." The night before the team's first road trip after Christmas, Rizzo had given her a small teddy bear to hold onto when she missed him. "A little teddy bear to keep you company while your big teddy bear is away," he had told her. She smiled at the memory.
"Just hang on to that…give it a little squeeze when you start to get jittery."
"And that really helps?"
Gail fished around in her coat pocket and took out a tiny stuffed bee. "This little guy has been through two world championships and is working on his second Olympics."
Krista laughed. "Buzzy gave you a bee?"
Gail laughed with her. "Cute, isn't it? He thought it would make me smile when I got a little over-anxious, and it did. Still does." She looked at her watch. "Ready to go meet the boys?"
Krista was still laughing. "Yes."
◊◊◊
Buzzy and Rizzo were waiting for the girls a few blocks away from the Athletes' Village, holding flowers and trying to contain their excitement.
Rizzo saw them first. "There they are!" He headed in the direction of Krista, trying not to look like a little kid at Christmas.
Krista met him halfway and threw her arms around him. "I missed you so much!" she said.
"I missed you too," he told her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her gently. "Oh, uh, these are for you," he said letter her go momentarily to give her the flowers.
"They're beautiful," she smiled, taking the flowers with one hand and his arm with the other for the walk back to where Buzzy and Gail stood.
"So what's the plan?" Rizzo asked as they approached, walking tall and grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"We were thinking maybe you two would like to spend some time alone," Gail replied. "I know I would like to get re-acquainted with my husband."
"I can live with that," he said looking at Krista.
"Works for me," she nodded.
"Okay, then we'll see you guys later," Buzz said, "…maybe." He put his arm around Gail, and they headed off down the street.
Krista and Rizzo looked at each other. His patented shy smile spread across his lips, and he reached for her with his free arm. "So we have a whole evening all to ourselves," he said.
She returned his smile. "Yeah…what do you want to do?"
"Why don't we walk around a little until we figure it out?" he suggested.
She stretched up and kissed him again. "Okay."
They walked arm-in-arm all around Lake Placid, talking some, but mostly just enjoying each other's company. Long before either was ready, though, it was time for Rizzo to go.
"I can't believe we walked around in the cold for three hours," he said, glancing at his watch.
"I can't believe I have to say good-bye to you again," she replied, a little distressed.
He stopped walking and pulled her close to him. "Only for a little while," he told her. "We get to see each other tomorrow."
"I'll see you from the stands, but that's about it." She sighed. "That was kind of whiny, wasn't it? I guess I'm just a little worried about the game tomorrow." She shook her head as if to clear out the cobwebs. "I don't know why I'm so anxious—I should be stronger for you."
He touched her cheek tenderly. "You don't always have to be tough, you know. You spent seven months comforting me—when I had a bad practice, when I got back from Norway, when Herb threatened to cut me…you were strong for me. Let me be strong for you now."
She looked up at him and smiled warmly. "My teddy bear," she said. "What would I do without you?"
"You'd still be fending off OC," he laughed. "Speaking of teddy bears…"
"Angelo made the trip," she said. "He'll be with me at the rink tomorrow."
He raised an eyebrow. "Angelo?"
"That's what I named him…didn't I tell you?"
"No," he shook his head. "Why Angelo?"
"I have a thing for Italians."
◊◊◊
The first two periods had been maddening; the Soviets scored twice in the first, answered each time by the Americans, including one by Buzzy. In the second, there had been a scary moment when Jimmy Craig was run down by a hard-charging Soviet forward and didn't get up right away. Fortunately, Jimmy was okay. Unfortunately, the Soviet forward had scored.
And so the score stood, 3-2 almost halfway through the third period. Krista and Gail sat together in the stands, feet tapping nervously, clutching their small stuffed animals. Ten thousand people were yelling "U-S-A! U-S-A!", clapping their hands and stomping their feet. A Soviet player slashed Davie Christian, and the Americans sent out their power play unit. The girls looked at each other, thinking the same thought: here we go…
The first three quarters of the power play produced nothing. The US team was getting shots on the Soviet goalie, but he turned them all away. With sixteen seconds left before the Soviet player came out of the penalty box, Silky carried the puck out of his own zone. He peeked to his right and saw Magic flying up the wing, got the puck inside the Soviet blueline, then passed it off to the former Wisconsin Badger. Gail and Krista held their breath without realizing it. Magic skated the puck in toward Myshkin, paused for what seemed like an eternity, and let it fly.
Score!
The red light flashed on and the arena erupted. Krista and Gail jumped out of their seats and threw their arms in the air screaming. The game was now tied, 3-3.
Only minutes later, Buzzy came off the ice on an early change, and Rizzo jumped on. Both girls were watching intently as he hurried to get into the play. Pav had the puck in the neutral zone, and passed it to an open Rizzo, who had a Soviet defenseman bearing down on him. Rizzo took the pass cleanly, used the Soviet defenseman as a screen, and fired the puck toward the net.
SCORE!
Ten thousand people leaped to their feet, yelling, clapping, and making more noise than either Krista or Gail had ever witnessed before. The girls threw their arms around each other, jumping up and down in excitement. The boys piled off the bench, mobbing Rizzo on the ice. The Americans were ahead, 4-3.
But there were still ten minutes left to go, and the Soviets were at their best in third periods. Every person in the arena remained standing, clapping, chanting, yelling, and cheering on the boys. The puck dropped, and the Soviets went to work. They rushed the puck up the ice, but Jimmy turned them away. They regained possession and got off a few more shots, but Jimmy held firm. The boys banded together and played their game, but the Soviets kept coming. The clock could not move fast enough.
With about five minutes left to go, Krista was practically beside herself. She had never been a patient woman, and this was agony. Gail, too, was pretty unnerved, biting her lip and gripping her bee tightly. She reached over with her free hand and clasped Krista's, giving it a squeeze. Krista smiled at her weakly and squeezed back.
"Five minutes," Gail yelled over the noise.
"Five minutes," Krista repeated to herself. "Just hang on for five minutes, boys…"
Herb was pacing behind the bench. They boys were all on their feet, yelling instructions and encouragement to each other, changing lines quickly to keep from getting too tired. The Soviets pressed, but the defense held and Jimmy stood tall. Two minutes left; the Soviets had control of the puck and were working it around the Americans' zone. Tikhonov paced in front of his players, screaming at them as they skated passed, and frantically rubbing his eyebrows. Shots came from everywhere. Jimmy stopped them all. One minute left; Gail and Krista clutched each others' hands and began to think their boys were actually going to pull this off. Thirty seconds…twenty…ten…
"Do you believe in miracles? YES!"