Eden Hall Ducks - Adam Banks

Chapter 16 - (Almost) the End

"No way," Indiana stated, looking over at Charlie, who was smiling at the coach. Orion emptied the box in front of him, lifting up a jersey-- a Duck's jersey.

"Robertson," Orion called out, throwing the boy his jersey. The Duck's began to cheer, tapping their sticks wildly on the ice as they flooded the box to get their new and improved Duck's jerseys. They ended their practice like they hadn't ended any practice under Coach Orion before: by quacking in a circle at center ice.

The day had come. The junior varsity team entered the locker room quietly, not wanting to keep the energy too high or too low. It was safe to say that their team was nervous-- the varsity team was bigger, tougher, and better. But the Duck's had something that you couldn't train or coach-- they had heart. And heart alone was going to propel them through this game, win or loss.

The Ducks got dressed, all listening to the same warmup playlist. Orion walked in, giving a very similar pregame speech that he usually did. They were all trying to attempt like it was a normal game, but it certainly was not.

"Okay, guys. Heads up on every play, keep yourself safe, alright?" Charlie called out, his teammates nodding in agreement.

"We know how to beat these guys, right?" Indiana began. "Everyone on this team brings something special to this team. We just have to own it." Adam reached from his locker to Indiana's, patting the girl on the back.

"Stand up for each other," Russ added.

"And most of all? Lets kick some Warrior ass!" Indiana called out, causing everyone to cheer behind her. Charlie and Indiana lead their teammates to the bench area, where they stepped onto the ice after the varsity team, who had been skating around their respective zone.

"Fasten your seat belts and hold onto your hats, everyone. Oh, do we have a special showdown for you. David versus Goliath in a titanic grudge match. The winner can truly say that he is the symbol of Eden Hall. Tonight the Eden Hall varsity Warriors do battle with the Eden Hall freshman Ducks. That's right, folks, look at those uniforms. The sign of the Duck is here at Eden Hall for at least one night."

"This is for Hans," Charlie stated to his team, them nodding along. They began skating around their zone in a circle, taking their gloves off as they reached down and touched the ice. It was a symbolic and emotional moment for everyone, even those who didn't know Hans very well.

"It appears they're paying homage to their departed friend and mentor, Hans. The touching of the ice is a Norwegian symbol of respect."

"All right, let's go hunting for goose eggs, huh? Come on, hands in. On three... 'Quack.''' Orion placed his hands in the middle of their huddle, his words causing smiles to light up his players' faces. "One, two, three."

"Quack, quack, quack, quack!" They began to cheer. Suddenly, the crowd took over, chanting with them. It was a moment they would remember forever-- a moment where they finally felt unified within the Eden Hall community. Each team got their extra members on their respective benches and sent out their starting five players plus their goalies.

"You're gonna wish like hell you stuck with us," Rick stated as he skated up to the faceoff dot. "Both of you will," Riley continued, looking towards Indiana who had lined up on Adam's right.

"Save the trash talk," Adam stated, shaking his head at the boy and bending down over his stick for the faceoff.

"Okay, boys, let's go. Sticks on the ice," The ref called out. The two centers obliged, dropping the puck.

"The puck is dropped, and here we go. Ooh, Varsity comes out hard." The varsity team grabbed the puck after the faceoff, instantly taking possession into their zone. They took their first shot off the game, hitting right off of the top of Julie's leg pads and rebounding to the side.