Chapter 13: Spirit of the Ducks Part 3
Friday night couldn't come sooner.
On Friday morning, Coach Vargas didn't have them up practicing at the crack of dawn. He insisted that they not overprepare because it would just make them more nervous. His advice to them had been not to interact with anyone on Varsity, not talk to Milton Ryerson before the game, and to relax and make sure they ate meals that were high in protein and as balanced as possible.
Teddi was relieved that they successfully avoided Varsity as much as they could. The only ones who had less success were Sofi and Billy, who were in the AP and honors classes with Varsity and were more than happy to try getting in their heads. By the time the kids finished having dinner in the mess hall, they needed to head to the ice rink to start getting ready.
They went straight to the locker room and got to work changing. The girls went off to the bathroom area to change in the stalls while the boys changed near the lockers. As Teddi pulled on her new Ducks jersey, she felt her face stretch into a smile as she absorbed the sensation of having the number 96 stamped on her back and shoulders. Even though Evan, Logan, Spencer, the Johnson brothers, and Andrew wouldn't be playing, they would be sitting on the bench wearing their own Ducks jerseys, cheering the girls on as they played.
Teddi allowed Maya to braid her hair for her before she grabbed her helmet, leading the team out of the locker room. They heard the roar of the crowd as they prepared to take the ice, but before they stepped out, Teddi stopped her teammates by holding her arm up.
"When we get out there, we're touching the ice for Bombay," she said.
Her teammates nodded, and she led the way. As soon as their skates touched the ice, they knelt down and touched it. They heard Milton Ryerson's commentary on the game.
"Welcome, welcome, everyone, to the annual J.V. versus Varsity exhibition match! It looks like Teddi Conway is leading the J.V. team out onto the ice wearing the logo of the Ducks! The stakes are high since this game will determine whether the school's mascot stays the Barbarians or changes to the Ducks. Tremendous pressure!" Milton said, his voice booming into the microphone. "And it looks like the Ducks are kneeling down to touch the ice as a symbol of respect; they're dedicating this match to their mentor and Conway's step-grandfather, Gordon Bombay, the original coach of the OG Mighty Ducks of District Five, who is in the hospital right now. Now, whether these girls can hold their own on the ice, that's another story. Everyone remembers how Katie Vargas took that check to the goalpost last season, and that influenced her younger sister Finley to masquerade as a boy. Spencer Vargas has decided to give up his spot for his sister, while Logan LaRue and Evan Morrow willingly gave up their spots for their girlfriends – that's quite a statement Morrow, LaRue, and Vargas are making, stepping aside to give these girls a moment in the spotlight. Whether they'll come to regret this decision remains to be seen."
As Teddi finished her circle around the ice, she glowered at Milton. She was already sick and tired of his commentary and gossiping articles about her and her friends. Sneakily, as she passed the announcer's table to head to the Ducks' bench, she slammed into the table and knocked over his microphone, but when she passed the table, she was more than shocked to see a surprise guest sitting next to Milton, who smiled at her, winking. The ref whistled shrilly, but Teddi smirked.
"Sorry!" she yelled. "Lost control of my edge!"
This elicited a few snickers from the audience as Teddi took her seat on the bench.
"And today, we have a surprise guest, folks!" Milton said. "We are joined tonight by the Professional Women's Hockey League Minnesota team captain, Kendall Coyne Schofield, who will begin her very first season this October!" He turned to the blonde, blue-eyed female hockey player, who shared a look with him. "So, Mrs. Schofield, it's well-known you represented Team USA in the Winter Olympics, and you replaced Nathan MacKinnon at the 2019 NHL All-Stars fastest skater challenge, representing the Colorado Avalanche. What do you think these girls should expect playing against a team that's all-boys?"
"Well, Milton, I think the Varsity team should watch out," Kendall said. "Yes, the girls might be smaller in size, but that just gives them a slightly more significant advantage, especially if they've been playing with boys their whole lives. They'll be speedier, and they can dodge checking a lot faster. They'll have resilience, and they'll be able to hold their own in this kind of competition. So, no, I don't think the boys who willingly gave these girls a chance will regret it in the least."
Teddi couldn't help giggling at Kendall's passive-aggressive remark. As she sat down, Coach Vargas came over to them, smiling.
"Alright, kids," he said, "it's time. Now, remember: stay focused out there. Hands in. Quack."
Teddi grinned, and soon enough, she and her new teammates quacked loudly, and the whole crowd quacked along with them as their quacks grew louder.
"QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! QUACK! GOOOOO DUCKS!"
"All right, let's start this. And I know who I want," Vargas said. "Katie, you're the starter. Gabriel, Gordy, cover her. Koobler, Underwood, defense! Let's go!"
The team nodded, with Katie leading the charge and hopping over the guardrail. She took center ice and stared down the Varsity center, Ryan Lynch, who all but sneered at her.
"You're gonna regret this one, Vargas. We'll crush you!"
"Save the trash talk!" snapped Katie, putting her stick on the ice as the referee came over, reminding them of the rules before dropping the puck down. Katie fought for the puck fiercely, but Lynch fiercely elbowed her in the collarbone and sent her crashing down, skating hard across the ice. Katie was just as quick to brush it off and skate after him. She shifted quickly into defensive mode as Lynch took his shot, but it was caught by Billy's fast glove.
"Big save by Billy 'The Cheetah!'" Milton announced. "At this rate, it's gonna take a miracle for these Ducks to hang on."
After Billy caught the puck, he went to clear it out of the zone, only for Alec Kentinsworth to rebound with it. He went to check Koobler, but that proved to be his biggest mistake when Koob threw his weight around and knocked him over before he cleared the puck out of the zone. Katie raced after it, using her speed to her advantage as she glided. She barreled toward the Barbarians' goalpost, only to get checked into the boards by Stone, who cleared the puck away and gave Lynch a chance to regain control of the puck. Lynch passed the puck off to the left winger, Xavier White, who went fiercely into the Ducks' zone and took his shot, only for Billy to block it again; he went to retake it, but Koobler and Katie gathered in front of the post and helped Billy defend it by clearing the puck away. They heard a shrill whistle cut through the air and the Varsity coach yelling for a line change.
"Thanks for helping me clear the garbage," Billy said, panting as he sipped some water.
"Anytime, man," Koob said, punching him on the shoulder as Vargas called for a line change.
"Conway, Samitar, Hanson-Bhatt, Kasper, Gibby, change it!" Vargas barked, and Katie watched as Teddi, Sam, Sofi, Lauren, and Maya took their positions on the ice.
As Teddi skated to the center ice, she stared down the new center, Harry Hart, who glowered at her.
"I'm gonna send you back to ballet class where you belong!"
"And I can skate circles around you!" spat Teddi as the puck dropped. This time, Teddi had the faster stick and ducked under Hart's arm as he moved to wind it around her shoulders. She weaved along, dodging attack after attack, and briefly glanced up to see her father, Ted, and Alex sitting in the crowd, grinning. Connie and Julie were both smiling broadly, and Guy proudly sat beside his wife. Even Fulton Reed was joined by his wife Tammy (whom he finally fessed up to having feelings for and had gotten married to shortly after she gave birth to their child a year ago) and his infant son, Grey, who wasn't the least bit crying or screaming despite the crowd's roar. Dean Portman was also joined by his fiancé, Leslie, who was pregnant with their daughter, whom they planned on naming Rogue. Goldberg sat with his wife Rachel, whom he married a year ago and recently had his son, Gideon, with. But in that split second, she turned her gaze toward the crowd, which Alec took advantage of, sticking his stick out and tripping her. But the ref didn't call a thing.
"HEY REF!" she heard Vargas roaring, pissed off. "THAT'S NOT A NECKLACE YOU'RE WEARING! BLOW THE DAMN THING!"
"Penalty shot for the Ducks!" the referee said, and Teddi lined back up again so that she could take it.
But she even struggled with doing that.
It seemed the Barbarians were more than determined to play a filthy game. Several tripping and cross-checking penalties were unaccounted for, and several had been injured. Shane Stevens ended up getting checked so hard that he had a concussion. Peter Petronski had a stick hooked around his knee, which meant that he more than likely tore it. Hector Morales got checked so hard into the boards that the glass actually cracked. Brandon Davis had gotten a mild concussion. Oliver Underwood had gotten flipped over and landed on his neck, spraining it slightly. But the worst of them was Gordy, who'd gotten checked so badly his shoulder dislocated, and Alec Kentinsworth had ended up doing a nut shot on him, slamming his crotch into Gordy's face, much to the anger of Connie and Guy, who screamed for the refs to call something.
"COME ON REF! ARE YOU BLIND?" Connie was shrieking fiercely.
The whole first period seemed to consist of nothing but cheap shots. Nobody was scoring anything, which meant both sides were playing hard defense. Still, a tie wasn't going to help them. By the time they started the second period, several of them were bruised and battered. But Teddi wasn't willing to give up just yet. She started the second period with Henry and Nick on her side, but things just as quickly fell apart when Nick got so viciously cross-checked that he couldn't get back up, which meant that Sofi had to replace him as the right winger. But it wasn't long until Henry had to be replaced because just when he seemed close to taking his shot at the Barbarians' net, Alec Kentinsworth angrily slammed his stick across Henry's stomach, causing him to double over and cough as he clutched his ribs. Teddi heard Casey and Charlie yelling profanities from the crowd, infuriated.
"REF! ARE YOU GONNA CALL SOMETHING? HE ALMOST BROKE HIS GODDAMN RIBS!"
"Henry!" Teddi skated over to her little brother, who was severely winded. "Are you all right?"
Henry coughed harshly. "I'm fine. He just winded me!" He gagged harder, rubbing his ribs as Teddi helped him off the ice. That meant Sam ended up needing to replace Henry. There were ten minutes left into the second period, and there was still no score.
They wrapped the second period with zero to zero.
The Ducks returned to the J.V. locker room, several nursing their injuries. Henry was still rubbing his ribs, and Teddi demanded that he sit down so she could look at him. When she saw that his torso was already turning purple, she winced and flagged down a medic.
"Get him some ice," she said.
"Teddi, I'm fine. I can play if I want to," Henry argued.
Teddi shook her head fiercely. "No, you're not, little brother! Don't be stupid!" She sat down beside Logan, taking a swig of water as the medic pressed an ice pack to Henry's ribs.
"Look," Coach Vargas said to them, patting Katie and Finley on the shoulders, "you all are playing really hard out there. I'm proud of you guys."
"But they're cheap-shotting us to death out there," said Anthony Herondale, who had yet to get any playing time; they knew Billy was the more superior goalie than Anthony was, and judging from the way things were going, Vargas was going to consider putting Anthony in as another winger, since they couldn't simply rely on who they had. Even Jimmy Moreno would have to get moved in as another right-side wing.
"I know they are, I know they are," Coach Vargas said. "But we've got one more period left to go, and I know we still have a chance to win this one."
"But it's gonna take a miracle for us to make it," Nick commented, taking a swig of Gatorade.
But just as he said that, the door to the locker room swung open, and the Ducks from District Five were shocked to see a familiar face coming in through the room.
"'Jace Cole has been awarded a full academic scholarship to the Minnetonka Preparatory Academy,'" their very own Jace Cole said, reading from the documents about his scholarship. "I had this lying around my house back home in Orange County, and my attorney worked out a deal with my dad saying he would pay for any and all expenses to send me out here and that whenever I need to come home for holidays, he'd cover the cost of the plane tickets, and you know what? Dad agreed! It's official, you guys! I'm back!"
"YES!" Sofi and Evan barreled at Jace, tackling him in a fierce bear hug as the other Ducks quacked joyfully. Teddi and Logan shared a grin with one another.
"Let me guess," Logan said. "Banks?"
"You know it!" Teddi laughed, jumping up from the bench and joining in on the celebration, hugging Jace tightly. But before they could celebrate, the air went still when Evan spoke the sudden realization.
"Wait, you guys, Jace can't play. You already have a full roster," Evan said.
Henry, who was still pressing an ice pack to his aching ribs, spoke up. "He can have my spot. I'm too hurt to play anyway. Besides, I was on third line. I couldn't play much to begin with. He's better than me."
"Are you sure?" Teddi asked Henry, knowing that it would kill him not to play.
Henry nodded. "Yeah. It's what I can do for the team."
"All right, Jace, welcome back to the flock," grinned Sofi. "Does he have a jersey?"
"I've got an extra one," said Coach Vargas, smiling.
"You knew about this?" laughed Evan.
Coach Vargas just winked at him.
With this renewed confidence boost, Teddi led the team back out to the ice, with Jace proudly sporting his new Ducks jersey. They skated onto the ice, quacking.
"Here we go into the third period of a well-fought battle," Milton said. "Oh, look! Here come the Ducks! But wait . . . they have a new teammate with them! It's Jace Cole, their campmate from Camp EPIC, and he's brought the Ducks a renewed spirit! It looks like Teddi Conway's little brother Henry has willingly given up his spot for Jace!"
The Ducks dispersed back to the bench, watching as Katie Vargas, Jace, and Anthony took the ice, with Koobler and Maywood on the defense and Billy back in the goalpost. Billy smacked his stick against the metal rods, warming up as he watched his teammates take position. Katie lined up with Jace and Anthony on either side of her, and Alec Kentinsworth sneered at Jace.
"Why'd you decide to come back?"
"Unfinished business," Jace spat back.
"We'll finish it for you."
Jace shook his head as the puck was dropped, and Katie slammed her shoulder into the new center, Liam Tucker. She got hold of the puck and quickly passed it off to Jace, who skated hard across the ice toward the Barbarians' blue line. He weaved quickly underneath the Varsity's arms as they tried to check him, and when he neared the post, he took his shot, only for the goalie to catch it in his glove. If Jace couldn't score against Varsity's goalie, then that meant things were really stiff.
But the Ducks weren't willing to go down without a fight. Katie lined back up at center ice to go for it again, except when she managed to get a good distance away with the puck; Stone, the meat-headed enforcer, got underneath her and flipped her over, causing her to land on her neck, spraining it.
"Ow!" Her scream cut through the air, sending Coach Vargas into Papa Bear mode as he leaned over the guardrail, his whole face red as he barked at the refs.
"REF! CALL SOMETHING!" Vargas snarled from where he stood behind the guardrail, watching as Katie lay there on the ice, keeled over, moaning and rubbing her neck. He leaped over the guardrail and raced over to her, his feet firm on the ground as she ran to her, surefooted and steady, his feet never once slipping underneath as he knelt next to his daughter.
"Katie, are you okay?"
Katie, who had tears streaming down her face, shook her head. "It . . . Oh, God, it hurts!"
"It's okay, it's just a sprain. Come on, get back on your feet, shake it off," Vargas said, grabbing his daughter's hand and pulling her up. Katie tried rotating her neck, but flares of pain shot down her spine as she rubbed it, closing her eyes in agony as the referee declared Stone was out for the rest of the game due to intent to injure, which meant the Ducks got another power play. Stone was replaced by Tommy Phillips, who skated out onto the ice as Vargas called for another line change, ordering that Sofi take center ice this time, which was a surprise since Sofi had been used as a winger the whole time; he also ordered Nick cover Sofi as right-wing because Nick had gotten cleared by the on-sight medic to head back out there. Nick, Sofi, and Sam lined back up, and Underwood and Bowman went back out on the defense. He had an on-site medic place an icepack on Katie's neck, and Spencer and Finley moved to sit near their sister, who remained hunched over due to the pain in her spine.
It continued the way it had for the past two periods, but the Ducks were hanging in a lot tougher on the defense and were getting fewer injuries because they were holding their ground much stronger. But when Underwood and Bowman got a little too overzealous and received a high-sticking penalty, the ref ordered them to go to the penalty box.
"COME ON, MAN!" Bowman roared. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? AFTER EVERYTHING THEY DID?"
"Oh, man, Bowman and Underwood have been sent to the penalty box for high-sticking and bad sportsmanship."
"All right, kids! Change it up!" Vargas yelled. "Maya, Lauren, Sam, Gabriel, Jace! Change it!"
But as soon as he announced the new lineup, Nick accidentally jumped from behind the guardrail to join his teammates on the ice, but the ref blew his whistle.
"Too many men on the ice!" the referee explained.
"Guys, get back over here! Nick, go to the box!"
Nick shook his head, groaning as he took his seat in the box with Bowman and Underwood. The kids all gathered around Coach Vargas, who had them all in a team huddle. Looking at the clock, they were at two minutes left.
"Now, listen," Coach Vargas said, "the pressure is all on them. So, when we go out there, we've gotta hold our ground. Okay, I know exactly who I want. Conway, you're taking center. Finley, Hanson-Bhatt, you girls cover her. Kasper, Gibby, kick some ass."
"Wait, all girls, Dad?" Finley asked.
"I'm not a girl," Billy protested.
"You know what I mean!" Finley rolled her eyes. She elbowed Billy in the ribs.
"Yes," said Vargas sternly. "All girls. Let's shake it up and give Varsity a surprise they won't expect. Now get out there!" But Vargas pulled Teddi aside before she could leave to take center ice. "Listen, Teddi, we're really backed into a corner here. We hold them off for these two minutes, we'll get them in overtime, and we'll end the game with a shootout. But take your shot to go offense if you see it, and don't hesitate."
"I will, Coach," Teddi said.
"Okay, but I want to give you one more thing." Teddi watched as Vargas pulled out what looked like a "C" patch, and he pressed it against Teddi's jersey, smiling warmly. "Go get 'em, darlin'."
Teddi grinned broadly, feeling revitalized now that she had her captain's title back. She skated onto the ice with Sofi and Finley on each side of her, Lauren and Maya lined up behind them. The ref dropped the puck again, and Teddi was just as quickly knocked over onto the ice by the center, who skated off to take his shot at the net. Billy blocked the first shot, catching it in his glove, but then they were left open-net, giving Alec a chance to take his shot, only for Finley, Teddi, Sofi, Lauren, and Maya to gather up in front of the net and block it. Maya cleared the puck out of the zone, sending it flying back to the Barbarians' side. Teddi watched as Alec skated hard into their zone with the puck, and she skated backward on the defense with Sofi and Finley winging her, but before Alec could get close to the net, Teddi and Sofi worked together, using their collective bodyweight to slam into him just when Alec thought he was making the first move. They watched as Alec fell down onto the ice, shocked and embarrassed that two girls had taken him out.
"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Coach Vargas roared proudly, and Teddi got control of the puck, getting the breakaway as Sofi and Finley flanked her. She passed the puck off to Finley, who weaved hard along the ice and skated right up to the goalpost with just seconds left on the clock. She went in and took her shot, only for the goalie to block it, but before the puck could go back further, she retook it and went for a second shot, determined to find any opening. But then, Finley faked it and sent the puck over to Sofi, who was able to find a weakness in the goalie's defense and took her shot right on the open side of the net. The puck sailed in just as the buzzer went off, changing the score from Barbarians: 0 to Ducks: 1.
"YES!" Teddi shrieked, racing over to Sofi and tightly throwing her arms around her. "SOFI SCORED! YOU GUYS! WE WIN!"
The crowd burst into a chorus of quacking as Teddi and the others celebrated. Several of the original Mighty Ducks who'd been in the crowd raced down to congratulate the kids. Maya and Lauren skated over, pulling their helmets off and skating around. Maya, caught up in the celebration, was approached by Tommy, who leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
"Good game, Kasper."
"Thanks, Tommy," she replied. "And remember: you owe me a pizza."
Tommy smiled warmly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
Teddi and Sofi smiled as Logan and Evan went over to them, lifting their face shields to kiss them.
"Good job," Evan told Sofi, pulling her helmet off to kiss her again as Logan kissed Teddi on the forehead before allowing her to break away from the flock to approach Vargas, who grinned at her broadly and caught her in a fierce hug.
"Nice job on defense out there, Captain!"
"Thanks, Coach!" Teddi grinned as she noticed her father, her grandmother, and Ted going over to her. Charlie caught her in a tight hug, smoothing her sweat-matted hair down.
"I'm proud of you, Teddi!" he said.
"I love you, Dad," Teddi said, smiling just as Charlie's phone rang loudly, cutting through the crowd's roar. Quickly, he answered it just as a banner came down over the Barbarians logo, replacing it with the Ducks logo.
"Hello?" Teddi watched as Charlie's face lit up. "Yeah, we'll be right over there now!" He turned to the team of Ducks and yelled. "HEY DUCKS! GORDON'S AWAKE!"
They couldn't get to Minneapolis General fast enough – the entire J.V. hockey team caught the first bus to Minneapolis, chattering excitedly as they prepared to tell Gordon that they won the wager. When they got to the hospital, Teddi barely waited for the bus to stop before jumping from her seat, eagerly rushing out the door and heading toward the hospital's front entrance, where her dad, grandmother, and Ted were already awaiting their arrival.
Teddi raced up to the front desk. "Gordon Bombay? He awoke a half hour ago?"
"Yes, you can go see him. But only a few at a time, and family first."
Teddi nodded, taking her little brother's hand into hers before following Casey and Charlie down the hallway toward Gordon's hospital room. As they ventured down the hallway, Teddi couldn't help the utter elation that jumped through her as she anticipated telling Gordon they had won and were now the Minnetonka Preparatory Mighty Ducks. But she had a feeling he'd get the gist of that when he saw her in her new Ducks jersey with her "C" patched onto her chest. She hadn't even bothered jumping in the shower – none of the Ducks had – they were just too excited to care that they were drenched in a pool of sweat.
When they entered the hospital room, they were relieved to see Gordon sitting upright, but he still had to be on breathing tubes that went up his nose, pumping him full of oxygen. Currently, he was eating Jell-O, which he looked utterly disgusted by. Still, when Teddi, Charlie, Henry, and Casey entered his room, he smiled broadly as Teddi carefully leaned down, hugging him gently.
Tears rolled down Teddi's face as she cried in relief. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"I'm all right." Gordon patted her on the back, kissing her on the top of the head before she pulled away, and he eyed her jersey. "Let me guess? Vargas let you in?"
"Yeah. And next year, you'll get to see the new girls' hockey team: The Mighty Hens of Minnetonka Prep," Teddi said proudly.
Gordon chuckled, squeezing her hand. "Look at you go! I knew you could do it!"
Teddi grinned broadly, and she and Henry climbed into the hospital bed, cuddling up next to him as he wound his arms around them. Then, he wrinkled his nose and commented, "What is that smell?" Then, Gordon seemed to realize they were sweaty and hadn't even changed out of their pads because he added, "Oh, God! Go shower! The both of you!"
All that's left is the epilogue, which I might post tomorrow to wrap things up. I am still debating if I want to do a sequel to this; I have some ideas brewing in my mind for something, but it's a matter of executing it and seeing how it works on paper, because I don't know how long I can milk this story out; I also have another story idea in mind that I thought up, nothing at all officially related to the Ducks cannon or my other stories, but something that's been in my head for a couple of days, where Charlie gets into a bad car accident that leads to him needing a blood transfusion, and Orion realizes he's a match; the doctors end up telling him that he had a half-sibling, Charlie's biological father, which makes him Charlie's half-uncle. I just haven't figured out how to execute it yet.
Thank you to the people who have reviewed and given support on this installment of my Game Changers rewrite. I also plan on posting rewritten, edited chapters for Duck Camp, the second installment of the series because there were lots of inconsistencies that needed to be fixed; I'm going to update them eventually; I have them edited and rewritten, I just need to post them online, but they will be coming really soon, maybe after my story on AO3 Cough Syrup is finished. Right now, my priority is finishing that one first.
Quack, quack, quack!