Sunny stared at himself through the mirror. He tried his best to psych himself up because today was a big day. The day everyone on the team was looking forward to. The day to put all the hard work they did to the test.
Today was game day.
Sunny was both excited and stressed about today. He was excited because everyone was excited, and their emotions bled into him. He was stressed because it was his first-ever hockey game, and he knew it would be tough. They were going against the reigning champions.
He asked Alec what the Broncos were like, and he gave him the rundown about their team. He said last year the Broncos didn't have a good offense, but they would smother teams on defense. He also said that if you could get past their defense, then you would get shut down by their goalie, Axl. Alec admitted that Axl was on par, if not better than JJ.
Sunny didn't believe the last part. After all the training and practices he had with JJ, there was no way someone was better than him. Alec noticed his disbelief and said that in both games combined, they were only able to score twice. Both happened in the championship game after Victor had two great snipes.
Sunny was worried, but Alec told him to calm down. He said the top lines will worry about scoring while the bottom lines need to set the tone. Sunny nodded to what the captain said, even though he didn't fully understand what he meant. How was he supposed to set the tone?
Sunny chose to worry about that later. He would much rather think about how Hero managed to convince Mari to go out.
Sunny remembered Mari telling him to get his violin ready when there was a loud knock on the door. She opened the door and saw Hero wearing a suit, down on one knee, with a bouquet of lilies in his hand. She snickered at the sight, and Hero laughed too when he realized how silly he looked.
Mari asked what he was doing, and he answered. She instantly turned him down and added that she and Sunny had a lot of work to do. She tried closing the door, but Hero kept it open with his foot.
Hero told her he made a romantic lunch they could share in the hangout spot. She was unimpressed and turned him down with a promise to do that another day. Desperate, Hero then started making promises he would do for her today. He would make pancakes, clean the house, give her a massage, he even promised to get over his fear of spiders.
The last one piqued Mari's interest. She agreed, only on the condition that Hero promised to hold a spider during their date. Hero hesitantly agreed, and Mari joyously went to change into something that matched Hero's style.
The pancakes were good, but Sunny could tell Hero was dreading holding a spider. He felt sorry for him, but he was grateful for his sacrifice. He hoped that one day, he could return the favor.
Now that Mari was out of the house, Sunny could easily go to his game without her finding out. He and his mom were going to leave soon, but he had a decision to make. He looked at the gap in his teeth, then at his denture, and wondered if he should wear it during the game.
Alec and JJ said he shouldn't because he would look cool during the game. He wanted to do that but was still not comfortable showing off his gap in public. Aubrey also hated it because it reminded her of the accident.
He didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so he slipped the denture into place.
"Sunny, are you ready to go?" His mom called out to him.
Sunny bit down to make sure his denture was straight. Seeing it was, Sunny walked down to the living room to find his mom waiting for him. She smiled and ruffled his hair.
"I'm so proud of you."
"Th-Thanks mom," Sunny said.
His mom then looked at her watch and grabbed her coat off the couch.
"We should get going. Audrey's waiting for us at the church."
The two left the house and found Kel waiting in the driveway with his coat.
"You didn't think I'd miss my best friend's first game," Kel said with a smile.
Sunny gave his friend a small smile in return. Kel raised his hand for a high five, and Sunny gave him one. Sunny's mom then ushered the two into her car, and they were off.
All the confidence and excitement he had earlier was gone when he wore his jersey. He and his teammates were all ready to go, but he felt as if he was the only one who was stressing over the game. They were all talking with each other while he tried not to throw up. Sunny took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves.
His mind was filled with thoughts of how the game would go. He saw himself making mistakes and costing his team. His teammates will hate him afterward, and the coaches will kick him off the team. Then Mari finds out about his secret.
He could hear her yelling at him already. Saying he's a bad brother and that he doesn't love her. She would then force everyone to abandon him, and he would be a hermit who lives in his room and sleeps all day.
He felt someone nudge his shoulder and saw Alec smiling at them.
"First game jitters, huh?" Alec asked after noticing Sunny's heavy breathing.
Sunny nodded, even though he was freaking out about something else. Alec laughed and patted him on the back.
"Don't worry we've all had them. Rudy was sweating buckets before his first game, JJ wasn't able to skate right in warm-ups, and I even threw up before my first game."
Sunny awkwardly chuckled, slightly grossed out from what Alec told him. He was glad Alec distracted him, but he would've preferred he didn't bring up him getting sick.
Shortly after that, the coaches walked in. Coach B raised his fist, and his players circled him.
"Today is the first game of the season, and we're facing the team that beat us in the championship last season. I know some of you from last year are still upset over it, but don't let that control you. It's a new season, and we need to put our best foot forward. Let's give it everything we have today and leave today with a notch in the win column."
The players clapped after Coach B finished his speech. He took a step back and allowed Coach I to take the forefront. He was holding his clipboard and raised a pointer finger to silence them.
"Today's starters: In net, Josiah-Jaxon Blanchet. Defencemen, Rudy Adolphus and Finneas Bailey. Forwards, Victor Ivanov, Alec Bonefat, and Ranger Kendrick."
The team clapped for the starters. After that, they finished getting ready by putting on their helmets and grabbing their sticks. When Sunny finished getting ready, he saw JJ hopping up and down. He noticed his goalie mask was similar to the one he wore in practice, except there were two pictures of cherry red antlers on the side of his white mask.
Alec then took to the center of the room and held up his fist.
"I know we came close last year, but that doesn't matter. We did some great things last year, but it wasn't enough, and that sucks. Today, we can right those wrongs and do what we couldn't do in the past. It's the first step in a long season, so let's do what Coach said and put our best foot forward and start off this year with a win."
The players cheered and crowded around Alec. They were tapping their sticks on the ground as they were excited to play. Sunny was also motivated by his speech and even found himself cheering too, even if he was quieter than everyone else.
"Lead us out, Alec!" JJ shouted after breaking away from the group.
Alec was first to the door, with JJ right behind him. Everyone filed in with Sunny taking the rear. Alec then led the team through the hallway and to the ice. Sunny could see the rink and could hear the crowd the closer they got.
Right before he took to the ice, Alec moved to the side and allowed his teammates to go before him. As each player passed him, Alec tapped the top of their helmet and gave each player a word of encouragement. It didn't take long for Sunny to reach the front, and just like everyone else, Alec tapped his helmet.
"Give it your all, Sunny."
Sunny nodded and skated onto the ice. He took possession of one of the pucks his teammates knocked onto the ice. He skated around his team's side of the ice and shot the puck at the net. It went in, mostly because JJ was being bombarded by pucks.
Sunny took the opportunity to look across the ice to watch the other team warm up. They wore white jerseys with cyan shoulders, cyan wrists, and cyan and purple stripes around the waist. The logo on the center of their jersey was the head of a black horse with red eyes and smoke coming out of its nostrils. They also wore cyan hockey pants to match their jerseys.
In the net was a slightly heavy kid who was about a centimeter shorter than Rudy. He wore the number 1 and had smoke cloud designs on the side of his mask. Sunny assumed they were Axl, and Alec didn't exaggerate their skills.
He was stopping almost everything that came his way. It didn't matter where his teammates were shooting from or who was in front of him. Sunny wondered how they were going to beat him.
One of the players, number 48, noticed him staring, and he skated over to the center of the ice. He then signaled for Sunny to come over, and he complied. The closer Sunny got, the more he realized the boy was much taller than him, about three inches. Sunny was intimidated by him but didn't stop until he was at center ice.
"Like what you see, huh? I'm not gonna lie. You're gonna be sore after today. The boys and I will make sure of that."
Sunny didn't respond, but he was scared. He wasn't sure what they were going to do with him, but he knew he wasn't going to like it.
The player hummed as he scanned Sunny.
"I don't remember anyone wearing 15 last season. You must be new."
He devilishly smirked, making Sunny feel more intimidated. Thankfully, he spotted Rudy skating toward them in the corner of his eye.
"Come on, Sunny, you can't waste time standing around talking."
"Hey, Rudy, it's been a while," the player said, and Rudy grumbled.
"What do you want, Jared?"
"I just want to see how you and the others have been. Is Little 97 still crying his eyes out?"
"What was that?" Rudy growled.
Jared snickered, not showing any concern to Rudy.
"Must've been really embarrassing to have such a crybaby on your team, but I can't blame him. I'd cry too if I missed such a wide-open shot."
Rudy snarled and bumped chests with Jared.
"You better watch your mouth!"
Jared smirked again and pushed back against Rudy.
"What are you gonna do about it?"
Rudy furrowed his brows and gave Jared another push. Jared's emotions shifted and were ready to fight back against Rudy. Thankfully, Alec and some of his teammates noticed what was happening and bolted between them. Some of the Broncos' players also held back Jared.
"Rudy, calm down!" Sunny heard Alec yell over the scuffle.
"You leave my friend's name out of your mouth! I swear if I hear it!" Rudy shouted.
Jared laughed as he allowed his teammates to push him away.
"Neat Bro! Tell that crybaby to not use too many tissues after we beat you!"
Rudy made another move at Jared, but the team got in his way. Sunny was worried that after Jared's last comment, Victor would be going after him. He looked around, trying to find him, and was shocked to see him still practicing. He continued to shoot a puck in the same spot of the net as if he were in his zone, unaware of what was happening.
Whistles rang out, and the scrum began to diminish. Both Coach B and Coach I stomped onto the ice, Coach B fuming more than Coach Ivanov.
"What the heck happened!?" Coach B instantly questioned.
Rudy huffed as he broke free from Alec's hold.
"He was running his mouth and saying things about my friend. You said we're a family, and I'm not going to let someone insult my family."
Coach B sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I'm glad you defended your friend and took what I said to your heart, but you can't be starting fights. And I'm sorry, but I'll have to bench you for the game."
Rudy grumbled as he skated off the ice. Coach B shook his head disappointedly as he watched him. He then rubbed his temple as he got the players together.
"Since we're now down a man, we're going to change up the lineup. Milton and Jaden, you'll be starting. Finneas, you'll now be on the second pairing with Keith."
The coaches then walked off the ice to tell the refs the changes in their lineup. Sunny watched on in stunned silence. He's never seen Coach B so heated. He was always composed no matter what he or the others did.
Then there was Rudy. Sunny knew Rudy could easily get frustrated after he snapped at him yesterday, but Sunny never saw him get that angry. He was worried Rudy was going to throw punches at the guy.
Sunny felt someone nudge him. He saw it was Alec, and the team captain nodded over to their side of the rink.
"Come on, we still have time to warm up until the game starts."
Sunny nodded but stole one last glance at the Broncos' bench. Jared smiled at him maliciously, and Sunny felt his blood go cold. He was not looking forward to the game.
The score was zero to zero, but it didn't feel that way for the Hart. There was a noticeable drop-off in the team's defense without Rudy. The Broncos were finding easy lanes to the net and were able to shoot uncontested shots. The offense wasn't faring any better.
They struggled to get into the offensive zone whenever they had possession. When they could get in, the Broncos would suffocate the play before it got started. If they did get a shot on goal, Axl was there to stop it. The only reason why the score was tied was because JJ was standing on his head.
Thankfully, it was still the first period, and there was plenty of time to right the ship. Sunny skated onto the ice with his line, and Finneas and Keith were the defensemen. JJ just froze the puck, so they were getting ready for a defensive zone face-off. Sunny expected the Broncos' fourth line to take the ice but was shocked to see their top line get in position.
Jared took his spot opposite Wyatt. Number 23 was next to Beau, and he was next to number 90. Jared looked over at him and winked, taking him off guard. The ref then dropped the puck, and his shift started.
Jared won the face-off and passed it back to one of his defensemen, number 2. Sunny skated into his zone and kept the other defensemen, number 6 and number 90, at bay. He made sure to be aware of where the puck was. Number 23 had it, but he passed it to Jared, who made a move to the net.
Sunny back-checked closer to the net to help out the defencemen and close any lanes that Jared could take. Jared passed the puck to number 2, who then passed it to number 6. Sunny moved away from the net and got back into his defensive zone. He poked at the puck, and number 6 passed over to number 2.
Sunny then watched him pass it along the boards to number 23. Sunny made a move to cut it off, but number 23 still managed to receive the puck. Thankfully, Keith managed to trap him against the boards. Sunny helped him out by poking the puck out and getting it to Wyatt.
Wyatt skated into the neutral zone and tried to enter the offensive zone, but the Broncos closed any easy paths. Wyatt ended up passing the puck back to Beau, who made a move to try and enter the zone but couldn't find an opening. Beau passed it to Finneas, who skated back into his zone and back to the net. He saw number 90 skate after him, and when he got close, he passed the puck back to Beau, who then quickly passed it to Sunny.
Now, with one less defender, Sunny skated as fast as he could to the offensive zone. He saw an opening and tried to burst through it, but Jarred knocked him off his feet. Jared had hit him with his shoulder, and Sunny felt the wind get knocked out of him. He lost the puck, but Keith recovered it and passed it to Finneas, who maintained possession as both teams changed their lines.
Sunny was slow to get up, but he managed to get to his team's bench to let Ranger onto the ice. He took some deep breaths to get some air back into his lungs and took a huge swig from his water bottle. Someone nudged his arm, and he saw Wyatt signing to him.
"You good?"
Sunny slowly nodded.
"Wind. Out," he signed back.
Nothing of note had happened during his resting period. They managed to get some shots, but they were mostly contested, and Axl had stopped them all. Their best scoring chance came when Victor ripped one off of the face-off, but it bounced off of the goal post. After that, both teams were constantly going back and forth, trying to get the upper hand.
Sunny felt the air going back into his lungs, which was perfect timing because Jake was returning to the bench. He took to the ice and instantly received a pass from Jaden. The Broncos' players were still changing, and he took advantage of it.
Sunny sped into the offensive zone with only one Bronco player chasing him. He kept his eyes on the net and saw Axl getting ready. He was about to shoot the puck but felt something jab into his stomach and yank him back slightly. He lost possession of the puck and watched it slide to Axl, who easily froze it.
The ref blew his whistle and had his hand up. Sunny watched him skate to the center of the ice and caught a glimpse of number 4 skating over to the penalty box. The ref then motioned for hooking by moving his arms in a pulling fashion, which meant the Hart had a man advantage for two minutes.
Sunny skated back onto the bench since he wasn't part of the top power play unit, and he was met with praise by his coaches when he sat down.
"Good job on the breakaway and drawing a penalty, Sunny," Coach B told him.
Sunny didn't know why he was praising him for something that he had no control over. He only reacted how anyone else would've, but he wasn't going to ignore the compliments.
The Hart's power play unit consisted of the top line, Tracy as the forwards, and Milton as the defenseman. The Broncos' penalty had number 19 at left wing, and number 22 at center, with numbers 2 and 6 as the defensive pairing.
The ref dropped the puck, and Alec won the face-off. He passed it back to Milton, who stayed by the blue line. Since they were down a man, the Broncos only had one play go after the puck, depending on which side had the puck, while the rest remained close to the goal. Since the puck was on his side, number 19 went to attack Milton.
Milton passed it over to Tracy, and number 22 went on the attack. Tracy then passed it to Alec, who was at the center of the zone. He made a move to the net but passed it back to Milton when the two defencemen skated at him. Milton then slid the puck along the wall to Ranger, who was behind the net.
Number 2 on the Broncos skated after him, and Ranger passed it to Victor, who was wide open on the left face-off circle. He instantly blasted for a one-timer. The puck flew through the air and to the net. Unfortunately, Axl managed to get his glove on it and swatted it down to number 22, who instantly shot it to the other end of the rink and behind the net.
The whole transition took 45 seconds, leaving the Hart 1:15 left on the power play.
JJ came out and possessed the puck to allow his teammates to change. Now on the ice were Elliott, Tobias, Jake, Reuben, and Rory. For the Broncos were number 44 at Left Wing, 18 at the center, and numbers 9 and 7 as the D-pairing.
JJ passed it to Rory, who skated along his team's blue line. He dropped passed it to Tobias, who was skating behind him, and made a charge for the offensive zone. The Broncos closed off his path, so Tobias dumped it into the zone. It slid behind the net, and Axl came out to possess it and passed it to number 7, who launched it back to the other end of the ice.
There were now 54 seconds left on the power play.
JJ once again passed it to Rory, who then passed it to Elliott. He made a charge for the offensive zone, but the Broncos closed him off. But instead of dumping the puck into the zone, Elliott passed the puck backward to Reuben, who was in their defensive zone so they could regroup.
37 seconds left on the power play.
Reuben passed the puck forward to Jake, who managed to squeeze past the defense. He almost had a clear shot on the net, but number 9 was quick to get in his way. He ended up passing the puck along the wall, behind the net, and to Elliott. He took a shot, but Axl used his blocker to knock it away.
19 seconds left on the power play.
Tobias managed to get the puck before any Bronco but was pushed up against the wall by number 44. He tried stealing the puck, but he was mostly killing as much clock as he could. Tobias knew he was running out of time, so he kicked the puck out.
Both teams made a move for the puck, but ultimately, the Broncos came away with it. Number 18 had possession and almost tried to go on the offensive, but his exhaustion took over, so he passed it to the other end of the rink and allowed his team to change lines. The Hart did the same by putting their third line and first D-pair on the ice as the final few seconds of the power play came to an end.
The rest of the period dwindled with nothing of note happening. Sunny had two more shifts which he mostly spent in the defensive zone. His line almost had a breakaway, but Wyatt couldn't fully possess the puck, and a Broncos defenseman easily stole it.
The buzzer rang out, signaling the end of the first period. All the players on the ice returned to their team's bench and walked back to the locker rooms. The score was tied at 0-0.
Coach B gathered his players together to assess the situation.
"All right, boys, great first period. We knew their defense would suffocate us, so we need to take advantage of the power play in the second period. I need all of you to play aggressively and make them make mistakes. If you can do that, then we will win."
"Yes, Coach!" The team responded.
"That's what I like to hear. We have a few more minutes until the intermission ends, so use this time to rest and freshen up. Starters will start the second."
Most of the players followed their coach's orders and went to the bathroom. Sunny didn't have to go, so he sat on the bench in front of his locker to rest. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind of everything.
After playing, all of his pregame worries were gone. He knew they would come back when the game was over, but right now, all he cared about was helping his team. It felt nice to know he was helping someone and not have to worry about them being upset if he messed up.
"Hey, Sunny, can I talk to you for a second?"
Sunny opened his eyes and saw Alec in front of him. He nodded, and the team captain took a seat next to him.
"Coach B said we all need to play aggressively, but he was mostly talking about players like you. You and Victor are the fastest players on the team, and Coach B wants you to use that speed during the games. Like what you did to draw that hooking penalty."
Sunny nodded and understood what Alec was saying. He was going to be heavily relied on to get his team the advantage. He just hoped he could do it.
Alec smiled and lightly tapped Sunny's shoulder with the back of his hand.
"Also, don't be afraid to play close to the net. You might get lucky if a puck bounces off your stick or any body part."
The second period was the same as the first with a few differences. The Hart executed their plan to the best of their ability. Players like Victor, Sunny, and Tobias used their speed to break through the Broncos' defensive wall and were able to draw more penalties. Sunny also took Alec's advice and played closer to the goal. But all their effort was fruitless.
The Broncos still had a great defense and a shutdown goalie. When anyone other than the speed guys had the puck it was difficult to get into the offensive zone. Any time they were able to get into the offensive zone, Axl was there to catch or knock away their shots. It felt as if they were shooting at a brick wall.
The good news was they had a brick wall in net. The defense wasn't as good as it could've been without Rudy, but JJ was there to pick up the slack. He was able to stop everything the Broncos put in his way. He was a big reason why the game was still tied.
The third period was heating up though. After Sunny was able to draw another penalty, their offense was able to get a lot of shots on net. None of them went in, but everyone on the Hart's bench could feel the momentum swinging onto their side. It was only a matter of time until they got a lucky bounce.
Sunny massaged his arms, legs, and any place on his aching body he could reach. All the penalties he drew were starting to take a toll on his body. He landed on the ice hard every time he was tripped or hooked, and that's not counting the times he was checked by Jared or any other players on the Broncos.
Sunny didn't know why, but he felt like everyone on the Broncos was targeting him. Whenever he had the puck someone was there to knock him to the ice. When he was setting up a screen for his teammates it felt like he was being pushed around more than anyone else. He didn't understand why he was drawing their ire.
Thankfully, the third period was drawing to an end. He would soon be able to go home and rest until Mari came back. He just needed to get through the final minutes of the game.
The third line's shift was ending and Sunny was getting ready. Once Jake got onto the bench, Sunny climbed over the wall and started his shift.
Unlike most, Sunny didn't have to go back on defense. Mikhael, who was behind the net, passed the puck along the wall to Sunny and he received it. He was about to go on the offensive, but the Broncos had caught on to their plan. Once Sunny had turned, he was knocked to the ice by Jared and lost the puck.
Jared gained possession and entered his offensive zone with number 90. They had caught the Hart off guard in the transition; the only players back to defend were Mikhael, who was closest to the net, and Beau, who was by the blue line. Jared had skated past Beau, who then passed it to number 90 and he skated close to the right face-off circle. JJ turned his attention to number 90, while Mikhael got his stick and body low to prepare for the pass.
Number 90 managed to pass the puck under Mikhael's stick and to Jared. He had his stick reared back and ready for the pass. When the puck arrived, he blasted it and it flew into the net.
1-0, Broncos.
The Broncos' players that were on the ice skated to Jared to celebrate with a hug. When they broke apart, Jared looked at the Hart's bench, brought a hand up to his eye, and mimicked as if he was crying. Sunny saw some of his teammates looking angry at Jared's antics, but he also saw Alec keeping his head down and whispering to Victor. He wondered what Alec was telling Victor, but guilt washed over him as he skated to the bench.
Sunny kept his head down for the remainder of the game. Since they were losing and the game almost being over, Coach B relied more on his top lines. Sunny felt sick when the final buzzer blared and saw they lost 1-0. He wanted to cry, but Coach B told them to take to the ice for the handshake line, so Sunny held back his tears.
The players went down the line, shaking hands or giving each other high fives. Sunny made it through fine until he reached the last player on the line. Jared was first and gave Sunny a high five, but he quickly whispered to him.
"Thanks for the win, rookie."
Sunny felt awful and skated off the ice with his teammates. He felt his tears breaking free as he reached the locker room. He sat in front of his locker and cried into his hands. He wanted to go home, but he still needed to wait for the coaches to get back to release them.
So he continued to cry. He cried as more of his teammates filed into the room and got their stuff ready. He cried as they waited for their coaches. He cried until he couldn't produce any more tears.
It wasn't until Alec placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. Sunny saw him giving him a friendly smile and it made Sunny feel worse.
"I-I'm s-s-sorry," Sunny managed to say.
He waited to be berated, but it never came. He felt Alec pat his shoulder as the team captain sat down.
"It's fine. No one's perfect, and it was your first game. We thought you would've made more mistakes, but you handled yourself well out there. Don't worry about this one mistake, learn from it. It's how we all become better."
Sunny felt more tears building up as Alec pulled him into a one-armed shoulder hug. He was happy he wasn't being yelled at for a mistake. He wanted to get better so he wouldn't disappoint Alec for putting so much faith in him.
The Broncos' jerseys are based on the Canadiens' away jerseys, just swap the colors with the ones mentioned in the story.
Also Tobias wears 92