FALLING FOR THE ICE KING

Chapter 9

Damien's POV

I’m momentarily stunned by the little blonde standing with my family. Piercing green eyes and long, curly blonde hair I want to wrap around my hands. She’s a knockout, I know that much, but what I don’t know is why Theo gave me that weird stare down.

After stretching out I take a few shots on the empty net, which is then filled with Rex’s wall of padding, and so I whack a couple at him, as do a few others. We don’t go too overboard, though, because the last thing anyone wants is an agitated goalie. Adam, Korhonen, and I pass a puck back and forth until it’s time to get off the ice so the Zamboni can do its last spin before the game.

I take in the sea of teal merging into a blanket of red. f*****g New Jersey. They annihilated us every time we played them last season, so I’m out for blood. As Captain, I know I’ve got to go into that locker room right now and try and find some sage words of wisdom.

Adam and I have a standoff as we both wait to be the last off the ice.

I win.

He jumps onto the rubber mats and I follow as we make our way down the red carpet that runs the length of the tunnel. Once in the locker room, I let my gaze wander. Our wolf and team emblem shows pride right in the center, a sacred spot no one dares to walk over.

‘Still Dre’ blasts out of the surround sound. Teal carpet and dark wood cubbies give the place a professional vibe, but it still smells like a high school locker room. Pads stink, it’s a sad fact.

Rex mutters to himself in the corner, cricking his neck from side to side. Gunner is talking with Callan, and the rest of the team are all bouncing knees, checking tape on their sticks or completely zoned out. I checked my phone one last time.

Mom: Good luck today, Damien, we’ll be thinking of you. Love you. Mama.

Dad: You’ve got this, son. The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.

I smile as I put my phone back in my cubby. Dad can be a little extra sometimes and Mom always signs off her texts like we don’t know who it is. They’re not here today because it’s my youngest brother, Jason’s first game of his senior year at Cornell. Mom gets super into it—she dresses in the college colors from head to toe and gets special shirts made for her and Dad.

Coach Kelly’s voice bellows around the room. For a softly spoken man, he sure can shout.

“Quieten down and listen up boys.”

All eyes turn to me. Clearing my throat, I straighten up and start my pregame pep talk.

“Right then, boys. First game of the season. We need to put last year behind us and forge forward. Like a phoenix rising from the fuckin’ ashes, we need to go out there and make sure those assholes understand that they can no longer come into our house and think they’re getting an easy win. We play smart, boys; we stick to our game—Wolves hockey. Every check we inflict is harder than the one before, every interception, every ‘red’ shot on goal denied, and every pass better than the last. The time is ours, Wolves. Let’s take it!”

Everybody starts howling and beating their sticks in time.

Fuck yes!

•••

Lining up in the order the announcer introduces us, Gunner is second to last as the alternate captain, and then myself. We do our high-five-handshake thing we’ve been doing since we got here and then jump out onto the ice as they announce his name. The crowd is especially loud tonight and I’m extra hyped because Jack is so close to the ice.

The pretty blonde comes into my head again just as the lasers flash and I know it’s my turn. I run out onto the ice to chants of my name, the noise deafening. I skate a figure eight, making sure I hold my stick up in the general direction of where Jack is, and take my place for the National Anthem.

Not only is it the calm before the proverbial storm, it’s always a moment I feel my uncle with me. I think of Tommy and the family he left behind. I think of the other men and women who have sacrificed their lives.

And I also think about how lucky I am to be here, to play the greatest game in the world, in this arena.

The song finishes, the lights go up, and I take my position for the face-off.

•••

We’re playing hard and smart, but the score is tied at 2. As the minutes tick down during the third period, we get a pretty sweet power play and they’re a man down.

Korhonen and Adam play it in behind the net, Korhonen passes out to Gunner on the left point, and he’s got just enough time on the puck for Korhonen and Adam to get into position.

I wait just to the right, as Gunner fakes a pass to me and gets it back to Korhonen, who shoots and gets it between the goalie’s right knee and elbow, bringing the score to 3-2, leaving no time left for them to equalize.

Back in the locker room, ‘How You Like Me Now’ plays through the speakers. I give Korhonen a back slap meant to say well done.

“You hustled your ass off tonight. How dya feel?”

“Good. Strong. I like skating with you.”

“Me too, dude. It’s good to have you here.”

He nods and then I let him get back to taking his sweaty gear off. The coaches simmer us down and congratulate us on the first win of the season. Only a few scuffles, no major penalties, which is something for a rivalry such as this. It means we stayed strong and none of us fell for their incessant chirping about how s**t we were last year.

We came out and showed New Jersey—and their fans—what we were made of and the game was off the charts. I have to shower and then change to deal with the media. So once I’m ready, I head straight into the press conference. Have a guess what their first question is…

“How do you feel going into this season compared to last season?”

“Well Dave, the D coach isn’t screwing the special teams coach’s wife. No s**t, that actually happened. And the right winger on my line isn’t playing with a busted-up knee. So I’d say we’re already winning.”

But of course I don’t say any of that and manage to always bring it back to the win tonight. I praise Rex on seeing off thirty-three of their thirty-five shots on goal, the rookies for keeping their cool, and when I’m asked about my goal in the first period, I explain it was a line effort and that’s how we made it three.