The Road to the Cup ~ Wattys 2015

Fix It

We struggled following Geno's concussion. Our entire offense had to be reworked and Johnston and I would change lines mid-game to attempt to fix the problems we encountered. Our ranking slipped as we lost several games and the other teams in our division won. The Capitals ranked above us and the Islanders were tied with us. The wild card spots were taken by Atlantic teams because they had better records than we did. We had to do something.

"Is there anyone we can pull up?" Johnston asked for the thousandth time.

"Nope, we've ran out of room and money," I replied.

"Damn it," he muttered.

"They're fighting, and-"

"But it's not working!"

"It doesn't always work," I said through clenched teeth, trying to maintain my composure.

"Fix it," he said, leaving me standing in the film room where we'd been drawing out plays. I put my head in my hands. This was stressing me out; I couldn't remember what I did when we hit slumps with my other teams. Even if I did remember, there was no guarantee that it would work because this was a totally different team.

My dad answered his phone on the third ring, "Hey, kiddo, do you want to talk to your mom? I assume she's not answering her phone again."

"No, Dad, I want to talk to you. I need help."

"Is it help with boys? I'm never good at helping with boys."

"You might not be good at helping with boys in the romantic sense, but you're good with hockey," I replied, smiling a little.

"Not as good as you are, Erin. Do you see where you are? I was never good enough to get there."

"It was luck, Dad. I happened to be coaching the right team at the right time," I was referring to Shero finding me at Union.

"It's not luck, Erin, you know that. Luck isn't real. Everything you do shapes the result. You control your future."

"What are you saying, Dad?"

"You got the job because you're a talented coach and you always know how to motivate your team, not because of that right place, right time bull crap."

"Okay," I nodded, even though I knew he couldn't see me.

"Anything else I can help with? Maybe something in the romance department?" He joked.

"No, Dad, I think I've got it under control. Thank you. I love you all."

"We love you, too, kiddo. Good luck with the boys. Goodbye."

"Bye, thanks, Dad," I hung up.

I ran out of the film room and through the locker room to the ice to see if anyone was still there. Sidney was.

"Where'd they all go?" I asked Sidney as he skated up to the bench where I was standing.

"Home. Johnston told them all to leave. He looked really pissed, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, everything is great. I need to go shopping and then we need to get them back here," I said.

Sidney scrunched his eyebrows together, "Why? Are you planning something?"

"Maybe," I grinned excitedly.

"What is it?" Sidney's eyes lit up.

"You'll have to wait and see."

"Why? Can't you tell me?" He whined.

"Nope, you have to wait."

"Can't you give me a hint?" He pouted at me.