The next day was the National Championship game at six. We had team breakfast at nine, lunch at one thirty, and then we got to the rink at four.
I got up early again and worked out, managing to avoid the team when I got back this time.
I quickly showered and threw on a sweatshirt and leggings before making my way down to our banquet room for breakfast.
"Hey Penelope," Logan said with a smile as I walked in and got in line behind him.
"Hey," I said.
"Sleep well last night?" he asked.
"Yeah, you?" I asked.
"Been up since five, could barely sleep," he laughed, "Excited for the game tonight I guess."
"I don't think I'd be able to sleep if I was playing for the National Championship tonight either," I laughed.
"You ready for the big game?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said, "I've got the camera charged with two back up batteries and three empty memory cards all in the bag."
"Way to be prepared," he laughed.
"I don't want to miss anything," I said, "I really wish I had another camera body though. I'd like to have my small lens on one camera and my big one on the other for the end of the game."
"How much is a new body?" he asked.
"Twelve hundred," I said.
"Holy shit," he said, "That's a lot of money."
"Yeah," I said, "That's why I started selling prints. Hopefully I'll sell enough to pay for it between that and my job at the rink this summer."
"That's a good plan," he said.
"I've almost got enough to buy a new bag," I said, "I'm really hoping my parents are getting me the camera I want for a graduation present, but if they don't I'll probably have enough by the time the season starts."
"Do you get a lot of people that want prints?" he asked.
"Kind of," I said, "A few fans, one lady wanted one for the player she takes care of and I gave a few to one of my mom's friends. A few senior parents have called me the past couple weeks too."
"Were you at the game where I scored my fiftieth goal?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said with a grin, "I got a picture of the puck hitting the net too."
"I was just going to ask that," he said, "I'll have to tell my dad, he'll definitely want one for up on the wall at home."
"Is your dad coming tonight?" I asked.
"Probably not," he said, looking down at his plate, "he's working so I don't think he'll be able to take the time off."
"That sucks," I said.
"Yeah, it's okay," he said, "You'll just have to get a ton of pictures right?"
"Right," I smiled.
###
The hours seemed to drag on and on as we went through the day, finally it was time for the game.
I was standing in the same spot in the corner where I had stood the game before with my camera, waiting for the teams to take the ice.
This year's matchup was a big one, we were facing St. Norbert College, our biggest rivals. They had beat us in the only other National Final game we had been to a few years back and knocked us out of quarterfinals the first time we got to Nationals. This year, we had swept them in the regular season and beat them in the league championships, so it was guaranteed to be a good game.
After one period, we were tied at one, as was expected. Logan had a penalty shot goal and Norbert had scored on a three-on-five. Both goaltenders had stood on their heads, but Norbert's goalie threw his stick to block a shot, causing a penalty shot for us and of course the unanimous decision for the shooter was Logan by both the coaches and players.
The second period saw an explosion of scoring by both teams with each team scoring three times in twenty minutes. It seemed like nothing could break the tie. As soon as Aladine would pull ahead, Norbert would catch up, nipping at our heels.
It wasn't until the third that we seemed to control the game better defensively. We were racking up tons of shots, ten in the first ten minutes of the game, until two penalties were called one after the other. The first was to Logan for roughing and the second was thirty seconds later to Max, the goalie, for tripping, leaving us on yet another three-on-five penalty kill.
There were only five seconds left on Logan's penalty when a pass to the Norbert defenseman went awry and popped out of the zone and to the redline right as Logan was coming out of the box. He took off down the ice like a bat out of hell and gracefully flicked it over the goalie's shoulder, causing the bench to simultaneously jump in excitement. We were now up 5-4 with five minutes left.
With one minute left, Norbert used their timeout to pull their goalie. During the timeout, I made my way over to the glass next to the bench to capture the celebration from there. Norbert never gave up, putting shot after shot at our goalie for about twenty seconds. Max had just sent the puck into the corner when Logan picked it up and hurled it down the ice right into the empty net. The bench went nuts, the coaches and players alike were high fiving each other as the players on the ice crowded around Logan, making for a great picture.
There was only thirty seconds between Aladine College and their first National Championship title.
As the final seconds ticked away on the clock, the scratch players made their way over to the door that I was standing by. When the horn finally sounded, the players flew off the bench and piled onto Max, helmets, sticks and gloves littered the ice. As they crowded around Max, the other guys opened the door to run to the dog-pile, I was following close behind with my camera as they finally let Max breathe and began hugging each other and the coaches.
They lined up to shake hands after about a minute or two and then both teams lined up on the blue line for the All-Tournament Team and MVP announcements.
Max, Logan, Troy, and Sam, a junior, were all named to the first team, while Jason, a sophomore, Kyle, a freshman, and Cole, a freshman, were all named second team. There was no surprise at all when Logan was named tournament MVP after scoring six goals in three games and racking up 12 points in those three games.
After the other photographers and I took a team photo, Coach Phillips invited the Aladine supporters come out on the ice to celebrate with them. It was a tradition in Aladine ever since they won their first league championship their inaugural season, ever since then, they had opened the doors to the ice and let all the fans come celebrate with the team.
I was busy taking pictures of all the fans getting autographs when Logan came skating up, stopping swiftly as he got in front of me and sweeping me off my feet and spinning me around.
"We did it," he said, grinning ear to ear as he put me down.
"You did," I said, the grin on my face matching his.
"We've got a shirt and a hat for you," he said.
"You didn't have to do that," I said.
"Yes we did, you're team staff now," he said.
"Thanks," I said, blushing.
###
An hour and a half later, we were finally back on the bus to go back to the hotel, where the banquet room was already reserved for the celebration that was bound to ensue tonight.
I decided to stay in my room during the festivities, especially considering what happened the last time I decided to go to a party. Besides, Jordan was going to be there and there was no way in hell I wanted to be in the same room with him, especially with alcohol involved, those conditions equated to nothing short of a nightmare full of bad decisions and regrets for me.
I didn't hear Logan and Troy come back to their room until three in the morning, which was earlier than I thought they would be turning in for the night. I let out a sigh as I turned out the light beside my bed, ready for the day to finally be over.
###
***