The roar of the crowd was unlike any other. It was a mass that consumed everyone in the vicinity, freezing in the air like the sweat of my forehead. It was paralyzing in sheer volume; it was just a shame it wasn't for us.
St. Cloud was more than excited for this game and let's just say their school was pushing the patriotism very hard. Every seat was filled but that was understandable; this was supposed to be one of the best games of the year. Playoffs were in two months and it was looking more than likely that it would be Quinnipiac versus St. Cloud all over again. We were 16-2 while St. Cloud was 15-3 and it was getting tense. For the past four years it had been our two teams in the championship game. The first year St. Cloud won with their rookie center, Beckett Sampson, and the other two we won. I was just hoping to bring it home for the third time in a row.
In all honesty, I couldn't tell if Beck was the most liked player from Quinnipiac or the most hated right now. A lot of Beck's old friends went here and were on this team, surely they were still on good terms. Right? Then again, Beck was checking and getting checked a lot more then usual. That didn't say much though, because Axel already got in one fist fight that got him ejected for a game. I guess it would be fair to say that tensions were high right now.
We were only halfway through the game but we were losing by a point. Though I knew it wouldn't be that way for long as soon as I saw Zeke and Jonah on the left past the half, fighting with two St. Cloud players for the puck. On the right Beck broke away from his defender, skating past the half and towards the goal. Jonah snatched the puck as Zeke collided with another player, passing backwards to Sebastian.
That's when I got nervous. With Axel in the penalty box we were short one forward so Zeke, our left defender, was acting like a forward even if he couldn't pass the blue restraining line. His position high up on the court left Sebastian to cover two forwards in our zone. Passing the puck backwards to our one defender leaving me wide open was a huge ass risk, especially with Beck on the other side of the ice. He was the only player that could skate the whole rink, but since the puck was already on our side, he was practically useless in his current position.
But like the brilliant player he was, Seb passed the puck aggressively across the ice right in front of a defenders skate before it hit Beck's skate to stop the motion. Like lightning Beck took a shot on goal before anyone could react and the puck swished against the back of the net, flying past the goalies right hand where the blocker was on his wrist. It was so fast, he didn't even have time to remove that hand from the stick to deflect the flying puck.
There was a reason we were top in the country.
I couldn't help but smile behind my mask at the tie. Let's just say the crowd wasn't as pleased as I was.
At center ice Beck took the face off, stealing the puck from his former backup and going left, towards the side as he went up the rink. The puck got passed to Jonah but the St. Cloud defender checked him against the board, taking the puck up to the restraining line before Zeke cut him off, causing the attempted pass to skew left and land in front Seb's stick before getting launched back to Beck.
It was intercepted by Beck's successor, giving him the perfect shot to rip a shot on goal with no defenders due to our lack of players. My stick vibrated against my grip as the puck hit it with a loud click, bouncing off and out of the crease before I could snatch it.
The vulcanized rubber slid across the ice as Beck and one of the forwards rushed to get it, the right winger getting to the puck first only for Beck to check him. I got ready to block a rogue puck from the right as I saw the skate of the right winger go up by accident as he fell backwards. My vision wasn't slow motion, but I watched intently as Beck suddenly hunched over for a second, flexing his jaw as the player slammed into the ground and Beck's gloved hand went to his left abdomen.
The play isn't over until the whistle blows, though. That's why when I saw the puck escape between their bodies, I took the risk and left the crease to snatch the puck up before anyone could take it from me. My wrist flicked as the puck shot down the ice to Jonah just as the sound of the whistle rang in my ears. That's when my attention switched gears, going back to Beck as Seb and I skated over instantly to help him up.
I saw the deep crimson blood on the white jersey before I could even ask Beck in he was okay. The player beside him was helped up by his teammate, though the able bodied one was glaring at Beck a lot harder than the injured. I assumed the player he collided with was a friend and turned back to Beck while the referee made a call about Beck's injury.
"You alright man?" Sebastian asked when Beck was on his feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Beck responded as one of the trainers and Coach walked out onto the ice. If there was blood players had to be taken off the ice and couldn't return until the blood soaked gear was changed. Beck lifted up the hem off the jersey to expose the six inch gash across his tanned abs, going from the left side of his torso, past his waist and towards his belly button.
"Sampson we got to put some antibacterial on it and stop the bleeding, then we can put you back in. I'm going to pull the first string and send in the second," Bradley waisted no time. Going back in was out of the question, it was how hockey worked. You get a little blood then you get back on the ice. Seb broke his nose last year and kept playing when the bleeding stopped. Hell, I played an entire game with a fractured radius three years ago. It was the way of the hockey player.
"No, replace me with Travis. We have two minutes left on Axel's penalty. We can't have the second sting out with one man down. It's too much strain on the goalie," Beck's jaw twitched as the trainer touched his open wound with a pair of gloves. It was too much strain on me, to be completely honest. No NHL goalie has ever started in every game in a season. While this was NCAA, it was very similar. I was the only goalie on this team because the front office thought of Seb as a back up and they snatched the opportunity to train another center instead of a defender. That left me to play goalie almost every game, the whole game. Four second string players against five first string players is a hell of a risk that Beck and myself would not take, especially when I was expected to start every other game of the season.
At least if we replaced Beck, we would still have Seb, Zeke, and Jonah for two minutes until we could put on the other four second sting players and pull Travis, replacing him with Beck. "Put Travis in for two minutes with the first string, then let me take his spot on the second string."
Bradley looked between Seb and I for approval, to which the assistant captain and myself nodded, causing Bradley to submit. "Okay. You have two minutes to get that patched up and put a new jersey on, Sampson. Let's make it speedy, there's a lot riding on this game."
It didn't take much for Beck to let his jersey drop back down and skate to the bench, already pulling off his jersey to reveal the pads underneath and black dry fit shirt under them. I pried my eyes away from his abs as he removed his clothing to look at Coach and the trainer following Beck across the ice, who was already stopping the bleeding with a white towel he found. I guess he's anxious to get back in.
"Not a game without an injury," Seb stated, watching as the player who cut Beck skated off the ice for confusion protocol. It was a saying between the two of us, one that hadn't been used since I dislocated my hip.
"Well, the plebeians in the audience seem to find it entertaining."
"That's because us patricians need to show them what a good game actually is," Seb quipped. I knew that line would get him going. Sebastian was hilarious, especially when it came to acting like a pompous asshole. "Let's go, Danielle. It's time to show these plebs how it's done."
I couldn't help but laugh as he skated away from me, chuckling as he got back into position. I shook my head with a smile, returning to the goal. Travis jumped over the side of the bench, landing on his skates and taking the center of the ice. My eyes wandered to Beck in the bench who was already looking at me and shaking his head with a smirk as he held up his shirt to get his wound dressed. We were both thinking the exact same thing; I wish Travis busted his ass because that would have been hilarious.
Before the two minutes was even up, Beck was already standing with his arms crossed, observing the game like a cynical father. He was an eager fuck and he couldn't stand not being on the ice when he was supposed to be. In all honesty, the two minutes was pretty uneventful which made me nervous. If no one was scoring right now, I wouldn't hold my breath for the second or third sting to score in the remainder of the third quarter. We'd probably end up waiting until last minute in the forth.
I guess that just means I have to play harder.
And play, I fucking would.