This chapter moves into the kids playing in the Junior Goodwill Games; I got the sense from D3 that Ted had watched them play on television and saw their weaknesses, he didn't just watch their tapes, he'd been watching them for far longer than that. And I'm among those who thinks if Ted had been the one to coach Team USA, he wouldn't have allowed them to get complacent, and maybe they would've played better against Iceland the first time.

I also had to come up with my own explanation behind Cole's character - Michael Cudlitz is much closer in age to Emilio Estevez than he is to anybody who played the kids in the movies, so I had to come up with a reason for why he was still at Eden Hall at possibly way older than eighteen; I marked his age in this story as nineteen-and-a-half, though I think I'm being very generous with that; in reality, Cole was probably in his early twenties, and the only reason why he was allowed to stay there like a freeloader was because his parents were probably school governors or hockey booster club members or donors to the school, bribing to keep him there until the teachers finally decided to just let him pass to keep him from repeating freshman year four years in a row.

Chapter 6 – On the Rocks

The warm summer ended too soon for everyone's liking. Before everyone knew it, it was time to go back to school. Ted never thought he'd be one of those people, but when he saw Eden Hall Academy was in need of a J.V. coach, he didn't hesitate to go straight to Dean Buckley and interview for the position. Between his years of playing in the NHL and his years of schooling in physical therapy, he was more than qualified for the position.

Eden Hall Academy considered itself to be proud of being founded on tradition. Ted, Gordon, and Basil all went to high school there as boys, with Hal Vargas joining them three years later. Beyond that, it was proud of its athletic program, especially the hockey team. The school didn't bother with a football team; hockey was much more valued.

Ted wandered to the familiar ice rink to meet the lineup of boys trying out that day, orientation day, on the first day in the fourth week of August. The season would officially start in September, with their first game taking place against the Blake Academy Bears. The roster slot needed was thirteen kids for J.V. The Varsity team, meanwhile, was looking for replacements – many of the seniors graduated, leaving the Varsity team with only five remaining boys from last year. However, it was expected that a few freshmen boys would be expected to make the cut for Varsity.

Ted entered the rink, the icy air greeting him; he sat on the bench and laced up his skates before skating over to Coach Franklin Wilson, who'd been his Varsity coach when he'd been at Eden Hall.

"Hey, Teddy Bear!" Coach Wilson grinned. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm coaching the J.V. team now," Ted answered.

Coach Wilson nodded. "Understandable. It's a real shame they moved the North Stars to Dallas."

"Yeah, it was."

"Well, who would've thought we'd be coaching against each other? I'll be facing you in the annual J.V.-Varsity showdown at the end of September."

Ted nodded. He remembered the tradition of the upperclassmen playing against the underclassmen; he, Basil, and Hal had ruled against the underclassmen when they'd been on the Varsity team together in Ted's senior year. However, he knew he'd need to select a good group of boys who could stand up to the Varsity.

"So, tell me about the lineup of kids we've got signing up," he said.

"Well, we've got a returning Varsity member, Bradley Cole – he's on the team from last year, and the year before," Coach Wilson said, pointing out the hulking blond boy skating around and warming up.

"That guy's a teenager?" Ted asked, surprised at the size of Bradley Cole – he remembered the boy's father Dennis; Dennis had been practically superhuman, massive in size for his age and considerably tall. It was no surprise that his son Bradley was just as large and intimidating. Ted quickly peeked at the roster sheet, which listed the grade point averages the kids from the previous year had, and he was quick to see a lot of D's and C's on Bradley's report. "There has to be a mistake, Frank. It says here that Bradley Cole was on academic probation last year and the year before. Eden Hall requires everyone on the sports teams to be at least C average or better."

"He's a bit slow," said Coach Wilson. "And so what? Varsity needs him. He's an asset in more ways than one, especially when we play against Minnetonka Prep and Randolph Academy."

"That's no excuse," Ted argued. "If he doesn't have substantial grades to play, he shouldn't be on the team."

"Look, Ted, my hands are tied – Dennis is on the school board, and he's also a member of the hockey booster club – the vice president, to be exact."

"So, it's a story of nepotism."

"Ted, come on," Wilson said, an easy smile on his face. "You know how things work around here. Dennis and Tara Cole fund us and line our pockets; their son gets to play. It's as simple as that."

Ted shook his head; he knew some things would need a shakeup around here, especially as he saw Rick Riley; he recognized Rick instantly as Tom Riley's boy, and he could also pick out Luke Banks, who was a junior and a hopeful return for the Varsity team. Even Scott Holland, the son of Quinton and Mary Holland, was seen as a potential for Varsity – Quinton had been an incredible Eden Hall Warriors goalie when he'd been in school and was listed in the Eden Hall Academy Athletic Hall of Fame and had even been named Boy of the Year.

A lot of these boys were probably hopeful they'd make Varsity because their parents had been on Varsity. But Ted firmly believed that they shouldn't be selected just because of who their mommies and daddies were – he wasn't going to have any of that, not here. He knew from the beginning that he'd have his work cut out for him, and that he'd have to lay down the law and prepare these boys for high school-level playing, something that went beyond trick plays.

So, he watched the tryouts. He saw quite a few standouts, mainly Dallas Mullin and Bruce Kabine. Scott Holland also stood out. But looking at Rick Riley, the boy was cocky and arrogant – he played with a lot of aggression and seemed to breathe an air of elitism, and he wasn't willing to work with anyone when Ted and Coach Wilson had them pair up into smaller groups, and even when they held the scrimmage at the end of tryouts, Riley hogged the puck all to himself; he even seemed to think he nailed his tryout and that he'd just simply get on the Varsity team in a landslide.

But Ted had other ideas in mind. He knew these boys would probably hate him for it. But he knew that as the new J.V. coach, things couldn't be the same. These boys wouldn't make it to the high school level if they went in expecting to get into Varsity because their parents influenced the school government.

The next day, Ted received a knock on his office door. He peered up to see Bradley Cole and Rick Riley standing there, blinking at him in confusion.

"Can I help you boys?" he asked them.

"Yes, Coach. Um, we think there's been a mistake. We should be on the Varsity team," Rick said. "Right? Why are we listed for J.V.?"

"I chose to put you guys on J.V.," Ted answered back, and he didn't once regret his choice. Riley had a lot to learn before Ted could even consider promoting him, and Cole needed to learn some discipline.

"Yeah, that's really funny," Rick said. "Seriously, are you joking?"

"No, I am not," Ted said firmly. "I stand by my decision. I know your boys' pedigree – you're both former Hawks. That didn't go unnoticed. However, you boys might think you've got what it takes for Varsity. But I don't. I think you two still have much to learn before earning those positions. I also looked at your past reports – Cole." He turned to Cole, who blinked at him stupidly. "Eleven unexcused absences, thirty incompletes in Spanish and history, a D minus in Algebra, an F in English comprehension, being held back for two years, and needing to repeat freshman year; how did you manage to stay on Varsity last year with grades and disciplinary complaints like that?"

"I don't know, sir," Cole repeated back dumbly. But Ted had a distinct feeling Cole knew; he just wasn't willing to share that his parents probably bought his way onto the team since he clearly didn't have the grades or the discipline for a school like Eden Hall, which would typically toss you right out if the board members felt you didn't follow their strict expectations. It was the classic mentality of everyone else having to follow the rules, but you were exempt from those guidelines because your parents would cover for you and make excuses. Ted fought his very hardest to contain his disgust – this sort of thing had been going on when he was in school, and he'd always thought it was wrong. Now that he was a teaching staff member, he had a chance to change something.

But he felt that fight would be futile, anyhow, because the board members would simply shut him down.

"That's not gonna cut it," Ted said, deciding to further his argument. "I'm not gonna accept anyone average on my team; I think that's unacceptable. And quite frankly? You two have got skills. I'm not denying that. However, you two need to learn something that I don't think you quite understand."

"And what would that be?" sneered Rick.

"Teamwork," Ted replied icily. "There's more than one player on a team. If you think you're the only one and you rely only on yourself, everyone else falls behind and has no room to show what they can do. And the other thing you need to get is discipline because I won't tolerate any showoffs on my team; I don't care what your background is. You're all here to do one thing. Can you guess what that is?"

"Win?" Cole asked.

"No. You're here to learn. And quite frankly, you'd learn much more from losses and earning your way up into Varsity. I don't care if you'd been on Varsity a year ago; you might've suckered Coach Wilson, and you might've impressed him, but based on what I saw yesterday, what you two displayed won't cut it, at least for me. Be glad that at least you're on a team. And I hope to God you two learn one thing if you don't learn anything else: that high school hockey is hard work. And if you want your spots in Varsity, you'd better be willing to actually work for them because future colleges aren't going to hand out roster slots and scholarships if you don't do the work. And I'm sorry that you two expected you'd be on Varsity even though you haven't earned your way in, but I don't care who likes me and who doesn't. I'm here to teach you to do better than you think you can. Are we clear?" Ted locked eyes with both Cole and Riley, hoping he conveyed the message to them.

But he knew deep down he didn't. He knew Riley and Cole would put up a major fight. But Ted was ready to face that fight head-on. He wasn't afraid of the alumni group or the hockey booster club, not one bit.

He should've predicted how quickly things would turn.

Within a week or so of having Riley and Cole on J.V., he saw neither willing to work to adapt. Cole had already skipped three of his classes within that first week; teachers were reporting some disciplinary problems with his bullying other students. Riley fought him at every turn whenever Ted critiqued him on his skating or his defensive play. Ted wasn't surprised when he was called into a meeting with the alumni group, the hockey booster club, and the school board to discuss the matter at hand.

Sitting before the alumni group and Dean Buckley, he quickly picked out Tom Riley and Dennis Cole, who looked cold as undertakers in their Armani suits.

"Ted, you know why you're here," Tom Riley said. "We must sort out this little problem; you see, my boy, Richard belongs on Varsity. His older brother is on the Varsity team. Bradley Cole has been on Varsity since the '91-'92 season; he has the talent for it."

"But not the grades," Ted argued. "This school requires a C average or better; his grades are below average. I think he'd be on academic probation and shouldn't be allowed to play at all. I was actually doing him a favor, putting him on my team until he cleaned up his act. Even his teachers have complaints against him. Have you not seen his disciplinary reports from a year ago?"

"Does that matter?" Dennis asked. "Look, he's just very gifted, and the teachers don't understand him."

Ted internally rolled his eyes. He felt like retorting that if Cole were so gifted, why would he have been held back two years in a row? But he held his tongue; he knew that if he asked that, these board members would chew him up and spit him right out.

"But if he's going to play, he should adhere to the standards that are set, standards that you all put in place to begin with," Ted argued. "And I put Richard on J.V. because he's talented, but he still has a lot to learn before he earns the responsibility of being on the senior team. I think a level of maturity needs to be met, and I do not believe that Richard displayed that in try-outs."

"Well, I really don't care what you think, Theodore," sneered Tom Riley. "You will move my son to his rightful place, where he belongs."

"And if I don't?" Ted challenged back.

"Then you can say goodbye to your coaching position," Tom replied coolly.

Ted could only stare back at Tom, feeling as though someone had pulled the rug out from under him. Could these board members and alumni really take his job away? He needed this to provide a stable income for his family. And Tom seemed to know this, too, because his voice was icy and sharp when he spoke next, and it was enough to make Ted's blood go cold.

"And I know you've been out of work since you left the NHL. So, I must ask, if you didn't have this position, how would you afford to take care of your daughter's little problem? Many have heard about that terrible accident you got into two years ago; I can imagine you're still paying off a lot of fees, fees that can't be paid off without a paycheck."

"What happens with me and my family is none of your damn business," Ted snarled. "So, leave my kid out of this!"

"Then, do we have a deal?" Tom asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

Ted glowered at him but said, "Fine. I'll talk to Coach Wilson about bumping Richard and Bradley up."

"That's all I ask. Well, Dean, I suppose this little problem has been fixed."

"Yes, it has," Dean Buckley replied, but not without giving Ted a sympathetic glance.

Ted shook his head and rose from his seat, stalking out of the board room toward the staff room to have his morning coffee. When he arrived in the faculty room, he grabbed a copy of the newspaper and flipped open the sports page, only to be met with the glaring headline:

BOMBAY PICKED TO COACH TEAM USA

Gordon Bombay

"It's great to be home."

Ted's eyes widened as he read the article, and they flashed to the photos of the team roster. Listed for the Ducks were Lester Averman, Adam Banks, Charlie Conway, Guy Germaine, Greg Goldberg, Jesse Hall, Connie Moreau, and Fulton Reed. For the newer kids, there was Julie "The Cat" Gaffney from Bangor, Maine; Luis Mendoza from Miami, Florida; Dean Portman from Chicago, Illinois; Dwayne Robertson from Austin, Texas; and that figure skater from the Olympics; Ken Wu, from San Francisco, California.

Ted almost couldn't fathom it as his eyes skimmed the article, reading it over and over until it finally sunk in. The Ducks were going to the world stage with the Junior Goodwill Games, which would take place next month and continue for a few weeks. As he read the article, Ted couldn't keep the smile off his face, knowing this was exactly what Gordon wanted: bigger and better. What could be bigger and better than the national stage? Those kids were going to be world-famous; they weren't only going to have an NHL team named after them, there would be toys, maybe video games, possibly a Saturday-morning cartoon on Disney Channel – there wouldn't be a child in the world that didn't know about them. Ted could foresee them going to a school like Eden Hall Academy on scholarship; this was going to open so many doors for them, and he would be proud to coach a group like this, a group of kids who worked really hard to earn something.

He continued to smile all day and made it a point to call Gordon after work to congratulate him on being the official coach for Team USA. Ted knew that he would watch the games every time they aired and cheer those Ducks on to bring home the gold.

Ted's coaching of the J.V. team was successful. They triumphed over Blake Academy and crushed Minnetonka Prep, and while Scott "Scooter" Holland was showing fantastic promise in the net as the first-line goalie, his other J.V. players were standouts, a lot of which he could see would be bumped up to Varsity next year; he could foresee them earning those Varsity roster spots fair and square. He watched as they began working together as a team, especially after he gave them his lecture about confidence and defense, the very words that Jan had fed him two years ago but abbreviated differently – he wasn't about to get mushy and personal with the boys; he wasn't there to be their friend. He was an authority figure and a teacher – he needed to keep things professional.

And at the end of each week, he went home to watch the Jr. Goodwill Games hockey tournaments, particularly Team USA.

They triumphed over Trinidad and Tobago and Italy in the first two weeks. Dean Portman and Fulton Reed were being labeled in the papers as the "Bash Brothers" due to their aggressive play as team enforcers. It was a good thing they were so aggressive because, from what Ted saw, they fiercely protected the other kids out there.

But there were other things he noticed. Yes, Adam Banks and Charlie Conway were the standout scorers. But Gordon changed – for one, his hair changed to something slicked back, looking very much like Wolfe "The Dentist" Stansson, someone Ted had the unfortunate displeasure of facing on the ice multiple times until Stansson was run out of the League and the country. He still recalled when he witnessed Stansson punching out his own coach, how Stansson knocked players' teeth out with his hockey stick – how he became the coach for Iceland, Ted didn't know. All he knew was that Stansson was a disgrace to the sport of ice hockey and brought great shame to it. However, he was certain bullies like Richard Riley and Bradley Cole thought the guy was some national treasure for being a complete goon, a style Ted never considered himself to play by, as whenever he'd been out there on the ice, he'd never wanted to hurt anybody. If he accidentally did, he sat in the penalty box and accepted his punishment, knowing he deserved it. It was about accepting responsibility for your actions.

Aside from Gordon's change in attire, Ted was quick to notice that his best friend spent a good chunk of time chatting it up with the press and posing for advertisement photos to endorse Hendrix Hockey Apparel – Ted knew that Gordon had been dreaming of bigger and better things and that Gordon was prone to having a bit of a fat head at times and could be easily distracted by the idea of being a winner. He just hoped that this wouldn't negatively impact the kids. However, he knew that what Gordon chose to do with his public image affected the team because he was their coach and represented them.

Another thing Ted noticed was the kids' weaknesses – they weren't very good defensive players. Little Kenny Wu was the smallest and not at all skilled at defense. Connie Moreau and Guy Germaine had no sense of self-preservation. But what surprised Ted more was that The Cat – Julie Gaffney – was so underutilized that Goldberg was put in before her. After each save that he made, it appeared he spent much time talking trash to the other team. He found it unfair that Julie wasn't being given her shot to show what she could do.

And when Ted watched them play against Iceland, he saw how these negatives outweighed the positives.

It started off badly. Dean Portman was kicked out of the game for not only getting in the middle of the Iceland captain and shoving him before the face-off could begin but also attacking the ref, which meant Team USA would be without vital defense.

"Are you kidding me?" Bella asked beside him angrily. "How's that fair?"

"He attacked the ref, Belles; normally, he'd be in the box for that attack against the other player. But attacking the ref is out of bounds," Ted explained as he watched Lucy color.

Within seconds without Portman there, the Vikings scored.

The kids were getting knocked left and right. Conway got knocked over, and Ted winced, suddenly remembering Charlie as the skinny, small little thing he'd seen play in Peewees; even though Charlie had grown a few inches taller, he was still small at the age of twelve or thirteen, and Ted saw that the boy had no sense of defense at all, focused only on the thought of scoring and getting that puck to the other side of the blue line. His heart sank as the Vikings kept on scoring. At one point, Dwayne Robertson kept hogging the puck – the kid was a complete show-off and didn't know how to share, which was a problem when the Vikings ended up stealing the puck away. Even Luis Mendoza had the puck, but the kid had issues with stopping even though he had incredible speed – the boy ended up colliding into the boards and missing the shot altogether. And little Ken Wu was sent out there only to get knocked down again, as he was focused on using his tricks from figure skating, but figure skating maneuvers weren't going to cut it against a team like this, no matter how agile he was.

By the time they got into the third and final period, Iceland led the game with four to nothing. Ted's heart leaped slightly when he saw Adam Banks take center ice; if that boy could make his shot . . .

But Banks got knocked right down. After Goldberg failed to save the puck for the first time in the third period, Bombay knew they'd have no chance with Goldberg in the net, so he went in Julie. Ted hoped Julie could give them some morale . . .

Apparently, Julie constantly being benched got to her; Ted watched as the Iceland goons skated up to her (Ted imagined them doing that to make fun of her), and Ted couldn't help laughing as he watched The Cat knee them both right in the groin. The two crumbled under the pain of Julie's knee, hitting them in their soft spots.

"Ted! That is so not funny!" Despite saying that, Bella laughed, too.

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner," grinned Ted, even though he knew Julie would get kicked out of the game for that, and Goldberg would have to go back in. But it only got worse; even Fulton's fierce shot couldn't make it past the goalie's glove. After that, Banks started; he had the puck, slid right in, he shot; he scored!

"Thank God!" Bella said, her hand over her mouth.

"Good job, Banks!" Ted said, applauding, but the celebration didn't last long. He watched as one of the Iceland players slammed his hockey stick over Banks's right wrist. He couldn't help hissing sympathetically; he could practically feel his own wrist aching just watching Adam get hurt.

Bella's eyes widened in alarm. "Oh, gosh, is he okay?"

"No, he wouldn't be. That stick hit his wrist, and he'll be really badly bruised; it's probably a nasty stress fracture," Ted explained, remembering plenty of players who'd gotten those before.

"But could he continue playing like that?" Bella demanded.

"No, he can't. He'll need time off the ice for that wrist to heal."

"Somehow, I don't think Gordon's noticed."

Ted winced; Gordon didn't seem to notice at all that his mini-Wayne Gretzky had gotten hurt. He seemed more pissed off over the fact that they were three goals down. And Iceland just kept scoring even more as the kids floundered, crumbling under the weight of bullying goons rushing them every which way.

The game ended miserably with twelve to one.

Ted groaned, burying his face into his hands, knowing those kids would be in for one hell of a lecture. But even he could see that their complacency was part of what led up to this; they'd gotten way too comfortable in their roles, not at all adapting to what Iceland was doing. And the fact that he wasn't surprised was what scared him the most.

"Something needs to change, and not just Gordon's attitude," he said to his wife. "Those kids need to learn how to play real defense. They can't keep going like this. Imagine if they continue at the high school level; the Eden Hall Warriors and the Blake Bears would eat them alive."

"They could learn something from you," remarked Bella. "You're the expert."

"It makes me wonder if it would've gone differently if I were there," Ted admitted as his stomach twisted, especially as he watched the post-game press interviews, with Conway, Banks, Hall, and Reed all commenting on how embarrassing that was and that they swore they'd bring it on next time against Germany. Conway had tears in his eyes; Banks looked like he was trying not to cry, and Ted suspected it came from both the pain in his wrist and the sting of that loss, knowing they were one more round away from being eliminated and sent back home.

Team USA was truly on the rocks, and from the looks of it, shaken.

Ted was glad that that loss against Iceland was the last loss Team USA had to endure; he knew in large part of it was because Jan flew out to California to show Gordon what an ass he was being. As a result, changes happened: a boy by the name of Russ Tyler got recruited to the team to be Adam Banks's replacement until Banks's wrist healed, and he proved to be an asset. His "knucklepuck" got them the win against Russia, and the next day in the paper, Ted saw in the sports section that the kids met Wayne "The Great One" Gretzky. He had to fight his envy at that, but he could imagine those children were thrilled at meeting such a hero.

The day that the USA would play against Iceland and potentially bring home the gold was the same night as the J.V.-Varsity showdown, meaning he wouldn't be able to watch the game on television and would be hearing reports about it either on the radio or in the paper the following day.

He knew that this would be a tough game; the Varsity team was notorious for beating J.V. every year – Ted recalled how he and Basil dominated over J.V. when they were freshmen; part of that was because Frank Wilson was such a competitive coach – he wanted his boys to win and be undefeated, and it was because of that winner's attitude that the team cared so much about defending their title.

From where he stood behind the bench, he watched his boys struggle; Scooter was really good and held off for as long as he could, which was the entire game. He blocked every shot, but Varsity's goalie blocked every shot, too, partially because both teams were playing strong defense. The game ended with a tie of zero to zero, meaning they were in overtime and needed to go into a shootout.

Ted selected his best five boys: Dallas Mullin, Bruce Kabine, Logan Brown, Jed Avery, and A.J. Cooke. None of them could get a shot past Varsity's goalie, Randy Kellan. But Rick Riley, Luke Banks, and Rodney McGill scored three goals against Scooter, ending the game with one to nothing.

Ted led his despondent team back to the locker room, patting a few of them on the shoulder out of sympathy.

"Look, I know that was a tough one, but you boys really held in there. I'm proud of how you all did," he said.

"Yeah, but they outshot us in the shootout," pointed out Avery, shaking his head.

"I know they did," Ted said. "But this was just an exhibition match – it won't count. And there's always a chance next year. Besides, you guys have your game against the Cardinals next week, so use this loss as a learning experience to improve your playing, especially if we make it to the playoffs – I really think this team has a shot at it."

The boys all nodded, heading off to shower. Ted exited the locker room only to find Coach Wilson out there, his hand extended.

"No hard feelings, Ted?" Wilson asked.

"No." Ted shook Wilson's hand. "This game doesn't count anyway. Besides, this loss was good for them; they'd won twice already. I think that you learn a lot more from a loss."

"Really, Ted?" Wilson asked, eyebrow cocked upward. "Was that something you learned in your time playing under me?"

"No, something I picked up from my years playing pro," Ted argued back. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back home to my wife."

"Of course. We'll play against you next time. Good game."

When Ted flipped open the paper the next day and saw that Team USA won the gold after a shootout against Iceland, elation jumped through him like electricity. He nearly choked on his coffee as he read about how, at the last possible minute, Goldberg and Julie the Cat got switched, and Julie made a massive save against Iceland. To top it all off, Gordon and Jan had made a last-minute change to the uniforms from the Hendrix red, white, and blue to white, teal, and purple jerseys that had a duckbill hockey mask on the front, making the kids the USA Mighty Ducks, which Ted could only imagine united the kids even more.

He turned on the television to see the post-game reports. He saw Conway, who'd decided to step down to let Adam Banks play, speaking.

"Well, it was either I sit out or Russ, and you know, Russ, he's been valuable to us, and Adam, he's better than I am; he was the only one to score against Iceland the first time, and I knew the team would benefit. I don't regret it. You know, Russ really helped us toughen up; he plays forward just as well as he plays defense; he's just awesome."

"So, what are your plans after all this?" the interviewer asked.

"Go back to school, keep playing for District Five; I think Coach is going to continue coaching us for the rest of our regular season, and then we've got next season and then high school. I think we can only keep going up from here. You know, I think we've got the best team in the world, and we plan to defend our title in the state championship at the end of our season in March. This win for Team USA is only gonna help more."

"And Coach Bombay, would you say you agree with him?"

"I do," Bombay said. "I'm very proud of him stepping down like that. You know, it takes real humility to know when someone else is needed. And he told me he makes a better coach than a player; he brought Russ in when we really needed someone badly. He really is captain material, great player, awesome kid, just all around one of my best and he was selected to be on the roster for a reason." Gordon patted Conway on the shoulder, and the boy beamed a little wider; Ted could instantly see a bond between the two that went beyond coach and player, and as he watched the rest of the team interviews, all of them looking thrilled at the win.

Ted wouldn't lie if he said he felt victorious, too. Even though his J.V. team lost to the Varsity last night, knowing Team USA beat Iceland and came home with the gold was a victory for everyone in America, especially the state of Minnesota. And he could see the potential for those kids to go on to something even better than just being a district hockey team. They could make the cut for a school like Eden Hall if they wanted to go to school at his and Gordon's alma mater. And Ted wouldn't mind coaching them in the least, either.