The Ducks were nervous wrecks before the game. They sat in their locker room each silently trying not to shit their pants in fear.

"We're dead" Averman complained.

"No we're not, we can beat them" Charlie tried lifting the team spirit but he too looked as nervous as hell.

"Yeah lets take out the trash" Russ was being optimistic for a change.

"YEAH!" the team's spirit was finally lifted. If Russ could be positive then so could they.

"Okay Ducks gather around" Orion called them in.

"Okay Ducks, this is our chance to prove once and for all that we belong here. I believe you have what it takes to take Varsity down. I want you to think about the defence, think about the trash. Not careless but not too careful either. Now lets go hunt those goose eggs. See you out on the ice" Orion pumped the team up and left the locker room full of screaming teenagers.

"Yeah! Come on lets go!" Julie yelled.

Charlie led the team out onto the ice and they weren't surprised to find that the Varsity were already out there.

"Don't let your feelings for Rick cloud your judgement" Adam pulled Connie aside.

"Its over Adam" Connie informed him.

"Good" Adam said as they approached the entrance gate where Charlie stopped them.

"This is for Hans" he said solemnly.

The Ducks nodded knowing what had to be done.

Charlie patted each of them on the shoulder as they filed out onto the ice and formed a circle. When Charlie had joined them they started the tribute, bending down to touch the ice. It was the Norwegian sign of respect and they respected their dearly departed friend Hans.

When they were finished they headed towards their bench ignoring the taunts from Varsity.

"Okay Banks take the face off, usual first line lets go" Orion gestured for them to put their hands in.

"On three, QUACK" Orion gave them a little smirk.

The Ducks looked around at each other in excitement. They were back!

"QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, Goooooo Ducks!" they let their hands up and took their staring positions.

"We're gonna hurt you guys" Riley was in the face off against Banks.

"Save the trash talk" Adam told him and prepared for the game.

………………...…………..

"Uh I wanna die!" Julie flopped down next to Connie.

"Here have some water" Connie handed her water bottle to the very thirsty Julie. She deserved it, they all did. They had managed to hang on for the first period keeping the score at 0-0.

"Thanks you're a lifesaver!" Julie was grateful.

"Great work team keep them on the shut out, you're doing well" Orion praised his team. They were playing like the team they should be.

"But we haven't scored" Charlie protested.

"So? Neither have they" Orion pointed out.

"Point taken" Charlie shut up.

The next period was pretty much the same except now the Ducks were really tired and a few bumps and bruises were becoming visible.

They trudged into the locker room and collapsed on the benches.

"Please grab a shovel and bury me here, please!" Goldberg complained.

"Team keep up the good work, you're really holding your own against the Varsity" Orion began his pep talk.

About halfway through they were interrupted by a familiar voice bursting through the door.

"Dean Portman has been awarded a full athletic scholarship to Eden Hall Academy" he was reading from his scholarship folder.

The Ducks looked up in awe to see Dean Portman standing before them.

"I had this lying around the house in Chicago, my Attorney thought I should sign. Its official boys, I'm back!"

The Ducks all rushed up to him to welcome him back.

"Hey looking good Moreau" Dean gave Connie a wink as he gave her a big bear hug.

"Call me babe and you'll regret it" Connie told him half laughing.

"Sorry that's reserved for Catlady" Dean laughed grabbing Julie in for a hug.

"Call me babe and you'll regret it" Julie told him sternly.

"Aw come on now babe" Portman feigned a hurt look.

"Hurry up Portman suit up and lets go" Fulton slapped his bash brother on the back.

"Sorry ladies I have to get naked" Portman held his nose up in the air and pushed past them.

"Feel free to watch if you want" he hooted before cackling hysterically.

"I see he hasn't changed" Julie sighed.

"Nope he's still got a crush on you" Connie laughed ducking when Julie's glove came flying at her head.

"From what I hear, you and Fulton are dating" Julie laughed earning the attention of the other Ducks.

"What?" Charlie screeched.

"Relax, its just Traci being a dimwit again" Fulton laughed.

Luis was about to stick up for his crush but thought better of it.

"Come on you guys lets go kick some, um what is the name of this school again"

"Warriors, Portman" Fulton supplied laughing. The Ducks chuckled

"Right WARRIOR BUTT!" Dean finished.

"HELL YEAH!" Russ yelled and the team ventured back out onto the ice with a sense of renewed spirit.

Connie was on the bench feeling very glad. Rick had taken to staring at her at every opportunity he got and it was starting to get to her. It was hard suppressing the growing urge to skate out there, rip his helmet off and kiss him like there was no tomorrow. But unfortunately the harsh reality was that there was a game to be played and they were bitter rivals. That and the fact that she was supposed to be mad at him.

She looked up just in time to see Portman throwing Cole over his back and through the glass. She immediately stood up and moved to the side of the box to get a better look.

"Oh my god" she heard Coach Orion exclaim.

"That Coach is Dean Portman" Ken was proud of his 'bash brother'.

The crowd was going wild and Fulton and Portman were lapping the attention up.

The game continued with no score.

Connie got out there and skated her heart out occasionally taking a check from the Varsity players but never Rick. He steered clear of her.

Then the ref called Dean up for a tripping charge in favour of Rick that no one but the Warriors and Coach Wilson agreed with and Dean was led to the box arguing the whole way.

"Come on Ref that was a dive!"

Connie wondered whether this would be a repeat of the Iceland game where Fulton, Portman and Ken all went crazy in the penalty box.

Then Connie heard the words "Fine, you want a penalty I'll show you a real penalty"

Uh oh she thought knowing that Dean had a stunt up his sleeve.

But she never in a million years expected him to start stripping in the box.

Connie stared at him wide eyed. She glanced at Julie who was also watching in awe.

"He's such a man" Julie exclaimed eyeing Portman's much larger muscles.

Connie started laughing.

"Take it all off!" she heard Goldberg scream from the Ducks bench and that made Julie laugh too.

The school's band had even started up a raunchy tune for Portman to strip to.

She felt eyes watching her and turned around to see Rick staring at her.

He turned away quickly and Connie thought she could see sadness in his face.

She almost skated over to him and asked if he was okay but remembered that they were meant to hate each other.

Connie was called back to the bench and suddenly she was aware of whistles going off and shouts coming from Coach Wilson and the Varsity team.

"Too many men on ground, too many men"

"Mendoza to the bench, Wu go to the box" Orion snarled clearly upset by the call.

Oh shit Connie thought when she realised that they were going to have to play with just four players including Julie.

"Okay we're gonna go with Conway, Banks and…..Goldberg" Orion instructed.

"Me?" Goldberg was wide-eyed and a little pale.

"Yes you Goldberg, you've earned your spot out there" Orion patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.

"Come on Goldie you can do it!" the rest of the team encouraged their new defenseman.

Goldie still looked like he was going to piss his pants when he stepped out onto the ice.

Play continued and everyone was biting their nails. Especially when Varsity lined up a shot and Julie was caught out of the net.

"I can't look" Averman buried his face in Fulton's shoulder.

"Dude get off of me" Fulton snarled.

"Great save Banks!" Connie yelled when she saw Adam take a running leap in front of the net and the puck bounced off of his chest.

"That's gonna hurt" Russ commented wincing in sympathy.

"Oh my god Charlie's on a breakaway!" they started cheering for Charlie.

"Oh no he's gonna get hit!" Averman was watching through his hands over his eyes.

They watched in fear as Charlie quickly passed the puck back to Goldberg before he was taken down.

"Shoot Goldberg, SHOOT!" they yelled.

Goldberg froze in panic. He eventually realised that he had the chance to win the game and took his first ever shot at goal.

Scooter was caught by surprise and the puck sailed by him, the satisfying sound of the siren going off indicating that Goldberg had just won the game for the JV.

The buzzer went off signalling the end of the game and the Ducks went wild!

Rick dropped his head and skated back to the bench. He was gonna receive a lot of grief from his father for this.

Connie was slightly amused when she saw Julie being stopped by Scooter. She smiled when she saw them talking and smiled even harder when Scooter leant down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Fulton was the first person Connie clashed with as they gave each other a victory hug, then Adam was next followed by their new hero, Goldberg.

"Goldie you did it!" Connie exclaimed kissing his cheek.

"Goldie you were amazing!" Julie rushed up and kissed his other cheek.

"Hey how come I don't get kissed when I get a goal" Portman complained throwing an arm around Julie.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response" Julie laughed still on a high from Scooter's kiss.

The Varsity had been taught manners and came up to offer congratulatory handshakes to the winning team.

Rick however, shook everyone else's hand but hung on to Connie a few moments longer than necessary giving her a meaningful look.

Connie stared back at him and he saw the emotion behind her eyes. She wanted him but she couldn't be with him.

He nodded his silent understanding and skated off the ice.

He passed Traci openly making out with Luis. He raised an eyebrow and she gave him a guilty look.

"Hey our little secret" Luis smiled smugly.

"Whatever" Rick rolled his eyes not even caring that he'd just caught his girlfriend cheating on him as he trudged back to the locker room.

He didn't even care that his team had lost the game, all he cared about was that he would never get to hold Connie in his arms ever again.

A/N - okay this is the second to last chapter of this story. The last chapter will be posted tomorrow. Thanks for all of your reviews.