It was game day once again, and Sunny wasn't as nervous as he was a week ago. He felt great, and it was because Basil knew his secret. Not having to hide his biggest secret from his best friend had relieved a lot of stress.
He was better in practice because of it. He wasn't making as many mistakes as he was before and improved in areas that he was good in. He even scored a goal during the scrimmage yesterday. It was against Liam, and he also had help from Alec, but a goal is a goal.
Hero had also managed to keep Mari busy for the day again. She wanted to blow him off because the recital was next week, but the older boy whispered something in her ear, and it caused her to change her tune. Sunny didn't know what Hero told her, but she was very giddy, and it got her out of the house.
"Guys, JJ's juggling!" Sunny heard Claude shout.
Since there was still time before the game, everyone was killing time. Their favorite thing to do was watch JJ do his pregame warmup by juggling tennis balls off the wall. They would usually bet to see how long he could go before dropping a ball. Jake was the closest last time with his guess of three minutes.
Sunny went to join the others, but Alec held him back for a moment.
"Hey, Sunny, I need to ask you something. Do you remember what I told you yesterday about the Cougars?"
Sunny nodded, and he joined Alec on the bench. The team they were facing was the Elsewhere Cougars. Alec told him that their team was the opposite of the Broncos. They had a strong offense but a weak defense, and their goaltending was average.
The Cougars were one of the teams to beat the Hart and the Broncos last season. They had a good chance at making it to the championship and possibly winning it, but their best player got hurt. Finley was a left winger who had a sniping ability on par with Victor. He injured his wrist, but he was healthy now and started the season strong with two goals in his first game.
"Good, because we're going to need you to be locked in on defense. Since you're on the fourth line, they'll try and match you up against their top lines."
Sunny gulped. He had a good defensive game against the Broncos, but they had no one who was on the same level as Finley. He didn't know if he could slow him down, let alone stop him.
"Don't worry too much. Just stick on Finley like glue and trust your teammates," Alec said with a friendly pat on the back.
Sunny took some deep breaths to calm down and digest everything Alec said. He could follow Finley around and rely on the guys, but he didn't want to cost his team the win again. They told him they didn't blame him for what happened, but he knew they weren't telling the whole truth. He remembered the looks they gave him last week, and they'll be worse if he screws up again.
Sunny heard his teammates cheering. He looked at the group and saw Beau celebrating the most as they all went to their lockers.
"How long did he go for?" Alec asked.
"Three minutes and thirty-seven seconds. I was the closest with three and a half minutes," Beau said proudly.
The two bumped fists as everyone finished getting ready. The coaches walked into the room shortly after.
"Alright, last week didn't work out the way we wanted, but today we can make up for it. We're facing another strong team, so let's minimize the mistakes and work together, we will win," Coach B said to rally them.
Sunny knew that the last part was directed at him, even if he was addressing the team. Coach B was discreetly telling him not to mess up.
Coach Ivanov then took the lead.
"Today's starters are, in net, Josiah-Jaxon Blanchet. Defencemen, Rudy Adolphus and Finneas Bailey. Forwards, Elliott Rockwell, Tobias Graham, and Tracy Everett."
The team clapped for their starters before huddling together. Alec took to the center and put his fist up, and the guys joined him by putting up their fists.
"It's time to lock in, boys. They pushed us to the brink last year, and we came out on top. We know they'll come out swinging, so let's show them why we made it to the finals last year. Hart on three! 1, 2, 3…"
"HART!"
The boys pumped their fists and got in line. They were in the same order as the last game, and they started heading to the ice. This time, Sunny wasn't as nervous when he heard the crowd.
"They're coming, Basil. Get ready," Aubrey ordered her friend.
Basil fumbled with his camera for a second before moving closer to the ice. She watched as he took pictures of the team when they were getting on the ice. After Basil explained he worked for the school paper, the team wanted him to interview them so they could have an article on it. The only one who was against it was Sunny.
He didn't want Mari to read it or see any pictures of him on the team. Basil promised to keep him out of it, but Sunny still wasn't on board with the idea. It wasn't until his teammates begged him to let Basil write about the team that he was fine with it. As long as Basil kept his promise.
Basil did, and to prove he would, he destroyed the picture he took of Sunny in practice. Sunny was very grateful he did that.
"I think I got enough for now," Basil said after returning to his seat.
It was just her, him, and Sunny's mom today. Kel wanted to come, but Hero said he needed his help to distract Mari. He was disappointed, but Basil promised to show him all the pictures he had taken and tell him what happened during the game.
Basil showed off the pictures he had taken of the players. He had multiple pictures of them getting onto the ice. He then showed them a picture of JJ stretching, a picture of Tobias shooting a puck into the empty net, and one of Alec, Rudy, and Wyatt getting some pucks by the blue line. Basil was at a good angle to get clear pictures.
He also snapped some pictures of the other team as well. They were wearing white jerseys that had yellow stripes on the elbows with black stripes sandwiching it. It was the same with the stripes around the waist. On the center of it was a black silhouette of a cougar's head.
Aubrey felt something fall on her lap. She saw it was a picture of Sunny shooting a puck. He looked focused as he was following through with his shot. She looked up in time to see Basil giving her a wink, causing her to blush.
Even though Sunny didn't want there to be pictures of him, Basil still took them, but he would give them to Aubrey. She thinks Basil's doing this to embarrass her, but she still keeps the photos. She liked having pictures of her boyfriend hanging up in her room.
"Hey, it's so good to see you!" Aubrey heard someone say. She saw it was Harper, who was carrying a cherry red shirt in her arms. She was also being trailed by two light-skinned girls.
They looked the same, with the only way to tell them apart was by their clothes and hairstyles. One girl had her hair in a twisted bun and was wearing a number 9 Hart shirt. The other girl had her hair in a high ponytail with a pink headband and was wearing a number 70 Hart shirt.
"Hey, Harper," Sunny's mom greeted her before looking at the girls. "And I see you brought your daughters."
"I did. They wanted to see their brother play," Harper said, and the girl wearing the number 9 shirt rolled her eyes.
"I only came here to watch Rudy play," she said defiantly. The girl in the number 70 shirt could only sigh as she shook her head.
"You said that last week, and Dad ended up benching him because he couldn't cool his temper."
"Well, he's gonna play today after the talk we had last week."
"You mean when you yelled at him and he agreed with everything you said," the girl wearing number 70 said, causing her sister to grit her teeth and clench her fist.
Their mom quickly intervened before things got ugly.
"Ivy, stop teasing your sister! Aurora, would it kill you to show support for your brother?"
The two girls huffed as they turned their backs away from each other. Harper sighed as she massaged the bridge of her nose, annoyed by her daughters' antics. She brightened up a little as she unfolded the shirt she was carrying and showed it off to Sunny's mom. It had the Hart logo on it and the number 15 on the back.
"I made you the shirt!" Harper squealed. She handed it off to Sunny's mom, who placed it against her body to see if it was the right size.
"It looks great. Thank you," Sunny's mom said as she put it on.
"It's no problem. I can make more if you want. I'm sure Mari would love to have one."
Aubrey knew Mari would want one after the recital. She loves everything that involves Sunny and would want to show her support. Aubrey also wanted one as well to show off her support for her boyfriend.
"Excuse me, miss…" Aubrey spoke up. Harper looked at her and smiled. "I would like to have a shirt."
"Sure thing, honey. I'm sure you want to show off your support for your boyfriend," Harper said, causing Aubrey to blush. "Aurora's the same."
"Mom!" Aurora exclaimed. Harper and Ivy laughed at her expense as she tried to uphold herself.
Aubrey, on the other hand, tried to hide her embarrassment. She hid her face in her hands and tried to make herself as small as possible. It didn't work too well because she could feel Basil's smug grin digging into her.
"I guess it's a good thing I'm giving you those pictures of Sunny," Basil said in a teasing tone.
She peered through her fingers to see the players getting ready for the game to start. She didn't hesitate to get the attention off of her.
"Hey! Game's starting!" She blurted out.
Everything calmed down after that. Basil got his camera ready to take more pictures, and the parents got ready to cheer on their kids. Aubrey was glad to have the attention off of her, but she knew Basil would try to tease her later. She'll try to make up a good excuse for when it happens.
"Thanks," Aubrey heard Aurora tell her.
"Don't mention it."
Alec wasn't lying when he said the Cougars would try to gain the advantage with their line matchups. Whenever he was on the ice, Finley, who also wore 15, was on as well. He did his best to keep up with him, but Finley was so fast that he tired out quickly. He ended up relying on his teammates more than he wanted.
He hasn't even gotten a chance to go on offense. It didn't take him long to realize that when he wasn't on the ice, the Cougars' top lines were on the bench. He thought Alec and the others would have taken advantage of it, but he assumed the Cougars had improved their defense since the last time they played. None of the shots Alec or Victor took were clean.
"We need to be more aggressive," Sunny heard Coach B say. "We can't keep playing on our heels."
Sunny then felt Beau nudge his arm.
"They're gonna try to get Finley the puck the moment he's on the ice. We need to take advantage of the time he's off it."
Sunny nodded to what he said and got ready. He saw Jake coming to the bench, so he put one leg over the wall. When Jake got off the ice, Sunny got on and skated around the center of the ice.
They had possession of the puck, so Sunny got open around the Cougars' blue line. He signaled for the puck, and Mikhael passed it to him. He didn't waste any time entering the offensive zone. The Cougars got in their defensive position, and Sunny saw that Finley wasn't on the ice.
He skated to the right face-off circle, and number 37 on the Cougars followed him. He tried to poke the puck away, but Sunny passed it back to Rory. He then skated by the right face-off circle and watched Rory and Mikhael pass the puck back and forth. Number 5 skated over to cover him, so he moved closer to the net.
Sunny watched Mikhael make a move to the net, and both number 19 and number 41 tried to stop him. He then passed it to Wyatt, who was in the slot. The center tipped the puck to the net, but the goalie used his pad to knock it away. It slid to the right face-off circle, and Sunny possessed it before anyone on the Cougars could.
Sunny didn't see anyone open, and number 37 and number 7 were skating at him. He skated behind the net to get away from them and to get a better view of the ice. Wyatt wasn't open, but Beau was. So, Sunny passed the puck to him, and he was ready to shoot.
Beau shot the puck, and it went flying through the air. It squeaked past the screen that Wyatt set up, and it bounced off the bar, making a loud ding. The puck didn't go in, but it was still in play. Wyatt tried poking at it, but number 5 slid it away from the goal.
Rory was able to keep it in the offensive zone. He passed it to Mikhael, and everyone was able to organize themselves. Mikhael passed it to Wyatt, who was instantly in a puck battle with number 41. He tried to keep possession of it, but number 41 poked it to number 19, and he was able to take it to the center of the ice and dump it into the Hart's zone.
The Cougars changed lines, and Sunny lightly grumbled when he saw Finley getting on the ice. Thankfully, his team was also changing lines, so he didn't have to defend against him for a while. He was frustrated because that was the best chance for his line to score without Finley on the ice, and they came up empty.
"Hey, great work out there. Great pass and a great shot," Coach B told the fourth line. "Keep doing what you're doing, and the puck will bounce your way next time."
Coach B went back to watching the game, and Sunny did the same thing.
He watched Finley skate around in the Hart's zone with possession of the puck. Victor tried poking it away, but Finley passed it along the wall to number 90 on the other side of the zone. He shot it, and JJ was able to knock it down with his glove. Finneas got the puck and passed it to Alec, who was in the center of the rink.
Alec took the puck into the offensive zone, and Ranger followed after him. It was a two on two situation where both of the Cougars' defensemen were back to defend the net. Alec passed the puck to Ranger, who was about to shoot, but number 2 got on one knee to stop him. Ranger passed it back to Alec as he scanned the ice for a teammate.
As this was happening, the Cougars changed lines, and Victor, Rudy, and Finneas also got on the bench. The Cougars' players quickly got to their zone to defend, while Elliott sped up the ice. He went straight to the net, and Alec saw him. He passed Elliott the puck, and it went through two defenders.
Elliott received it and instantly shot it by lifting his stick. The goalie tried to stop it, but his attempt was in vain because it fluttered past him and into the net.
*BRRRVVVVVVVVOOOOOOOOOMMM*
Sunny jumped from the loud noise as his teammates celebrated. He watched Elliott use his stick to strum along to the song that was playing before being hugged by his teammates on the ice. They then skated over to the bench and fist-bumped their teammates.
1-0, Hart.
"Great heads up play! Good job on finding the open man, Alec. Elliott, great hustle and finish," Coach B told them. "Let's keep the pressure going. Don't let up!"
Sunny looked at the scoreboard and saw there were only three minutes left. There was still plenty of game left, but right now, they had all the momentum. If they kept it up, then they would win.
The rest of the period went by with not much action. Both teams had a few chances to score but came up empty. Aubrey nudged Basil to see the pictures he took.
"I was able to get some good ones. I have one of Sunny's team goalie making a save, one of number 92 shooting, and a picture of the goal," Basil told her as he showed off the pictures.
Basil was only able to get a side angle of JJ making a save, but Aubrey could see him extending his glove hand to catch the puck. Since the action was on the other side of the rink, Basil was only able to get a shot of Tobias' back as he was winding up to shoot, but it was still a good picture. It was the same for Elliott's goal, but Basil was able to capture Elliott's follow-through with the puck fluttering into the goal. These were great, but Aubrey knew he took more.
"And the rest?" Aubrey asked, and Basil gave her a knowing look before pulling out more pictures.
They were all pictures of Sunny. There were some of him sitting on the bench, some of him in the defensive zone, and some of him in the offensive zone. She was glad Basil got a picture of Sunny making the pass to Beau from behind the net. She knew that he would love to see that one.
"You must really like number 15. You have so many pictures of him."
Aubrey jumped when she heard Ivy's voice in her ear. The eavesdropping girl gave her a cheeky grin as she sat back in her seat.
"It's fine. Aurora's the same way, except she doesn't have anyone to take pictures for her."
Aubrey expected to hear the girl's sister yell, but nothing happened. It was then she realized Aurora wasn't there.
"What happened to your sister," Aubrey asked.
"She went off to the big rink to practice. She should be back before the second period starts," Ivy answered. "She's a figure skater and she has a big competition coming up."
"That's cool," Basil chimed in. "It's great that your siblings do something similar."
"Well, she had to find something to put her skills to the test since she doesn't want to play hockey," Ivy said. "She doesn't like getting hurt."
"You play?" Basil asked, and Ivy nodded.
"Yup. I'm a right winger like your friend."
"I thought you would've been a goalie like your brother," Aubrey said.
Ivy snickered and shook her head.
"I wanted to be a goal scorer. I really like the feeling of lighting the lamp. Plus, my brother and I can help each other get better," Ivy said.
"That's awesome! Let's hope you helped him enough for us to win," Aubrey jokingly said.
"No doubt."
The second period was going by in a flash. There was a lot of skating back and forth with little stoppage in between. A big part of that was caused by both defenses picking up their game. The Cougars were able to shut down every scoring chance the Hart had while the Hart was able to smother them before they could get into the offensive zone.
The only time either team could get something going on offense was when both teams' top lines were on the ice. Alec was able to get the puck to his teammates for them to score, and Finley was able to pierce their defense to create some scoring chances. The Hart still had the momentum, but it was fleeting. They knew the tides would change if they didn't do anything to stop the Cougars' best player.
Sunny got on the ice and backchecked into the defensive zone. Finley was on the ice, and he had possession of the puck. He entered the zone with some speed, and Sunny quickly cut him off. He tried to make Finley's shift as difficult as possible.
Mikhael and Rory were the defensemen on the ice, so Sunny wanted to step up his game to help them.
Finley deked to the right, and Sunny followed after him. He used his stick to poke the puck, but Finley was doing a good job keeping it. Sunny didn't let up and added more force. He wouldn't stop until he got the puck away from Finley.
The two were in front of the net. Sunny kept poking away at the puck, but Finley wouldn't give up. He could hear Finley's teammates calling for the puck, but he wouldn't pass it to them. He was trying to do the work himself.
Sunny made one last jab at the puck and knocked it away, but Finley fell to the ice. The puck slid to number 17 on the Cougars, and he passed it to number 2. Sunny got back to his zone to defend. Number 2 passed it to number 8, and he passed it to number 90, who shot it.
JJ caught it, and the play was blown dead. Beau skated to Sunny and pointed at the penalty box.
"It's a penalty," he said.
Sunny looked over at the ref and saw him doing the tripping penalty motion. Sunny groaned and skated to the box. He couldn't believe he had committed a penalty. Now, his team was down a man, and the Cougars had the momentum with a chance to tie the game.
Sunny sat on the bench and watched his team try to kill the penalty.
On the ice for the Hart were Alec, Ranger, Rudy, and Finneas. For the Cougars were number 21, number 89, number 25, number 37, and number 7. Sunny felt relieved when he saw Finley wasn't on the ice, but he knew the Cougars would try to get him out there as soon as possible. Sunny hoped his teammates could kill as much time before Finley got on the ice.
The ref dropped the puck, and Alec won the face-off. He managed to get the puck to Rudy, who skated behind the net. Number 21 went after him, so he got the puck to Ranger. He didn't waste launching down to the other end of the ice.
1:51 remained on the power play.
The Cougars' goalie left the crease to get the puck and pass it to number 89. The Cougars didn't make any changes, but Claude replaced Alec, and Reuben replaced Ranger. Sunny assumed the plan was to keep the top penalty-killers fresh for when Finley got on the ice. He only hoped it would work.
Number 89 passed to number 21 at center ice. Rudy skated at him, causing him to skate back into his zone. He waited for a few seconds before passing it out to center ice. It was then Sunny realized Finley was on the ice.
He wasn't moving as fast as he was earlier. He was still winded from his last shift, but the Cougars' coach wanted to take advantage of the matchup. It was working because Finley was in the Hart's zone. He was already close to the net, with only Reuben and Rudy back to defend.
1:34 remained on the power play.
Reuben defended against Finley by getting low to the ice to block his shot. Finley passed it to number 7, who was by the blue line. He skated along the blue line while the Hart's penalty killers remained close to the net. Number 7 passed it to number 21 by the right face-off circle.
He shot it, and JJ was able to knock it away with his blocker toward the slot. Rudy chased after it, but number 25 got it first. He shot it, and JJ swallowed it with his body.
1:19 remained on the power play.
Both coaches used the stoppage in play to change players. Alec and Ranger went back out on the ice, and Milton and Jaden replaced the tired Rudy and Finneas. Finley, who appeared winded, stayed out for his team and was joined by number 19, number 41, number 94, and number 2.
The ref dropped the puck, and Alec tied up number 19, allowing Ranger to steal it and pass it to Milton. He didn't waste any time by launching the puck to the other end of the rink. The Cougars left the offensive zone while number 19 went to get the puck from the goalie. Finley also used the time to swap out with number 57.
1:11 remained on the power play.
Number 19 skated with the puck in his zone, waiting for an opening. He tried to leave, but Alec was there to make him backtrack along with number 94. He passed it to number 94, and he took it to center ice. Alec met him there, and he passed it to number 41, who was at the bottom of the zone.
He entered with speed, only to slow down when Jaden skated in his way. He looked for an open teammate and saw number 57 open by the left face-off circle. He used the walls to slide the puck over to him. Number 57 didn't receive the pass cleanly, allowing Ranger and Milton to defend him.
Number 57 then passed it to 19, who was skating down the middle, unguarded. He shot the puck, and it flew over the net and crashed into the protective glass. Ranger chased after it, but number 57 got to it first. He then passed it to number 94 by the right face-off circle.
Jaden was there to defend him, so he passed to the blue line to number 2. Sadly, number 2 wasn't in the right spot, so it slowly trickled into the neutral zone. Alec made a move for it, but number 2 got to it first.
0:52 remained on the power play.
Number waited for his teammates to leave the zone before dumping it off to number 94. He rushed into the offensive zone at full speed. Milton was there to slow him down, while Alec tried poking the puck away. Number 94 then passed the puck to a streaking Cougars player.
It was Finley.
He swapped in with number 41 and had a free shot at the net. Ranger and Jaden tried to stop him, but they were too late. Finley shot the puck, and it snuck past JJ's arm.
1-1, tie game. There was 0:43 left on the power play.
Sunny made the slow, shameful skate back to his team's bench. He could feel everyone in the crowd staring at him. Blaming him for what happened. If he didn't trip Finley, then his time might still be winning.
He wanted to get on the bench and hide, but he couldn't. He had to wait for the Cougars to finish their celebration. It filled him with more shame.
By the time Sunny sat down, Coach B was waiting for him. He couldn't look his coach in the eye, scared of seeing his disappointment or anger. It's like when he messes up his part in practice and Mari scolds him.
"Chin up, Sunny. There's still a lot of time left, and we were able to beat their goalie before," Coach B told him while patting his back. "You made a mistake while trying to make a play. You're not the first player I've coached to do that or the last player to do it this season. Try your best to make up for it during your next shift."
Coach B left to talk to the rest of the team and plan their next moves. Sunny kept his head down. He believed what Coach B told him, but he knew that if they lost, it would be his fault.
The third period was halfway over, and the game was still tied. After Finley tied it in the second, the Cougars had all the momentum. After his goal, the Cougars spent the majority of the second period on offense, and it was the same for the third. The Hart had a hard time mustering anything on offense when the top line wasn't on the ice.
Sunny knew why it was happening. It's because they stopped being aggressive on defense. None of his teammates wanted to risk going to the box and giving the other team another power-play goal. They were lucky to have JJ as their goaltender.
But, if they create one scoring chance, then they would be able to turn the tides in their favor. All they needed was one player to step up, they would win the game, and Sunny knew who it would be. It was going to be Alec.
Everyone on the team knew it was going to be him. The way he was handling himself on the bench and not losing confidence in his teammates. Being one of the few players to be aggressive on defense and the center of the top line. It was only a matter of time until he stole the moment away from their opponent.
All they needed to do was make sure they didn't mess up, especially the fourth line.
The Cougars went back to their original plan of matching their top line with the Hart's bottom line. They slowly moved away from the strategy when Coach B started putting the first D-pair with the bottom line. But whenever they weren't paired with the fourth line, it was certain that Finley's line would be on the ice.
Just like now.
The fourth line was on with Mikhael and Rory. Finley and his line were on and attacking. Number 19 had possession and entered the zone. Wyatt and Beau had cut him off, so he passed it along the wall.
Rory retrieved it from behind the net and passed it to Sunny. He skated by the right face-off circle and was greeted by Finley. He tried to poke it away from him, so Sunny passed the puck to Wyatt, who skated into the neutral zone. He took it as far as he could before dumping it off into the Cougars' zone when he was cut off by number 8 and number 90.
Sunny skated as fast as he could and managed to get the puck from behind the net. He saw number 2 skating after him, so he moved to the right face-off circle and turned for a quick shot. It went wide of the net and slid along the wall to the left face-off circle. Wyatt got to it before anyone else did.
Wyatt passed it to Beau, who was skating around the left face-off circle. He skated around in small circles to keep number 8 at bay and to find an opening to shoot. He couldn't find one, so he passed the puck to Mikhael by the blue line. He skated to the left face-off circle when he got it, and Beau took his place to have two skaters by the blue line.
Mikhael skated along the wall and managed to get behind the net, but it was stopped by number 19. Mikhael passed it along the wall before he could steal it. Sunny managed to possess it but was knocked down by number 2. He got the puck and made a pass to Finley.
It was a good thing Beau and Rory were back to defend because they were able to cut him off in the neutral zone and make him dump it off into the Hart's zone. When JJ got the puck, it allowed both teams to switch lines, except for the defencemen.
Sunny used the time to get a drink of water and to catch his breath. He was tired, and he knew that when the game was over, he'd be nothing short of exhausted. Getting hit didn't help because it knocked the wind out of him. He hoped they could get one more goal before regulation ended because he knew he wouldn't be of any help in overtime.
Sunny felt Wyatt nudge him and saw he was signing something to him.
"Are you good? Hit. Look. Bad."
"I am good. Knock. Wind. Me." Sunny ended it with a thumbs-up.
After reading so many books and taking lessons from Wyatt's sister, Sunny had gotten pretty good at sign language. He still needed some more practice signing, but he had gotten better at understanding what Wyatt was signing. It made them feel closer and better at the game.
"Hey, guys," Beau butted in. "We have like two or three shifts left. We need to band together and make them count."
They then heard the ref's whistle and saw number 2 of the Cougars on the ice. They also saw Mikhael heading to the box as the ref rotated his clenched fists in front of his chest. Sunny heard his teammates groan as Rudy, Finneas, Claude, and Reuben got on the ice.
"A charging penalty!? Are you kidding me, Mikhael?" Beau grumbled. "We can't be taking dumb penalties right now."
Sunny saw how deflated his teammates were on the bench and the ones getting on the bench. Except for Alec. He still looked determined and tried to pump up his teammates.
"It's not over yet. If we can stop them here, then we'll have all the momentum," Alec said.
Sunny wanted to believe him, but their penalty kill was not off to a good start.
Claude lost the face-off, and number 21 passed the puck to number 37. He slowly crept to the right side of the net. Rudy and Finneas were covering up the easy shots he had, and JJ hugged the post. Number 37 passed it to number 25, and he shot it to the wide-open net. Luckily, Reuben was there to block it with his leg.
Claude quickly got to the puck and sent it down to the other end of the rink. It allowed Claude and Reuben to switch out. Reuben was a little slow getting to the bench.
"Are you all right?" Coach B asked after Reuben sat down. He seethed in pain as he massaged his hurt leg.
"It stings, and it hurts when I put weight on it," Reuben answered. Coach B nodded and whispered something to Coach I. He went to the locker rooms while Coach B grabbed the clipboard.
"OK, Tracy, you're subbing in for Reuben on the PK. Elliott, Beau, and Victor, you'll be getting some extended shifts while Reuben gets better. This'll be how the lines will be until further notice," Coach B addressed the mentioned players.
Sunny was so caught up with Reuben's injury that he didn't realize his team's penalty-killers were coming off the ice. They all looked exhausted,l. Rudy was even gasping for air.
"You good?" Tobias asked him, worried that he was going to throw up or pass out.
"Give me a second," Rudy choked out.
Sunny looked at the clock and saw that there were 51 seconds left on the power play. No wonder he was exhausted. He's been on the ice for a minute.
"Thank God JJ's on our team. I don't know how much longer I would've lasted if he didn't freeze the puck," Rudy said after gaining a little bit of his composure.
Coach I returned with an ice pack and gave it to Reuben. He placed it on his injury and let out a sigh of relief. Rudy saw this and groaned.
"Is he hurt?"
"Yeah. Tracy's taking his place," Tobias answered, causing Rudy to groan again.
"That's the last thing we need, especially with Finley on the ice."
Sunny saw the players getting ready for puck drop at the Hart's right face-off circle. He saw Finley, but unlike the others, he looked tired. Sunny assumed they were setting up the same play they did when he was in the box. Try to win the face-off and get the puck to Finley for him to shoot.
It didn't work the first time they tried it, but Alec wasn't out there for the face-off. Sunny thought they could match their way of thinking by putting Alec in for the face-off, but he knew it wasn't smart. He was out there for over a minute, and they couldn't risk having a tired body out there when they were down a man. He and his teammates needed to put their faith in the second PK unit to kill the rest of the power play.
Claude was ready for the face-off. He had Tracy to his right and Milton and Jaden behind him. He was going up against number 19, who had Finley to his left, number 41 to his right, and number 94 and number 2 behind him. Finley looked tired, putting more pressure on Claude to win the face-off. He needed to get Finley off the ice and keep him on the bench for the rest of the power play.
The ref dropped the puck, and before Claude could move his stick, number 19 had tied him up. Number 41 poked it away from the dot and to a wide-open Finley. Tracy wasn't in his spot to defend, and Milton and Jaden were too slow to get into position. It was all down to JJ to stop him.
Finley shot the puck with all his strength. It flew through the air and bounced off the bottom of the crossbar with a loud clunk. The puck hit the ground, and the momentum carried it into the net before JJ could stop it.
2-1, Cougars.
The air left the bench when they saw the other team celebrating. A game where they had the lead at one point has now flipped with less time for them to tie. Alec and Coach B tried to rally them, but the damage had already been done.
They had lost.
The Cougars' jerseys are based on the LA Kings' away jerseys. Replace the black with yellow and gray with black.
Also, for the Hart's goal song, you can use any rock song before 2002. I used Unbelievable by EMF.