Oh Captain, My Captain (Sidney Crosby)

Chapter One Hundred Eleven… FINAL

-Alex-

I grew up loving the movie Miracle, that’s what got me into the sport of ice hockey. I loved the determination in those boys’ eyes, and even those I was a girl; I wanted to experience that same determination as them. Herb Brooks, the Coach of the 1980 Olympic “Miracle” Team once said; “I want speed and excitement, and I want our players to go out there and have the times of their lives. We’re not going to be hanging around waiting for something to happen. We’re going to make things happen ourselves.”

I’ve hung onto the quote and used it as motivation every time my skates touch the ice. It doesn’t matter if we win or lose, even though we hope to win, it doesn’t matter if I made the goal or assists, it doesn’t matter how many penalties we had, how many fights we got into, how many times we cursed out a player, all that matters is that we played our hearts out and we played as a team.

So when I fell to my knees, feeling the shock come to my face at seeing the sight in front of me, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Fans were on their feet, hands in the air, smiles on their faces. I could see them, I could see their happiness, but I could hear them, my own shock covered up all the noise.

‘…Did he just dive out of the way?...’ I thought as I looked at the goalie, Tuukka Rask getting up from the ice and staring at the net, ‘…Did that go in?...’

I felt myself being picked up and being shaken, everything came back to me and I saw my teammates in front of me cheering. They were laughing and all patting my helmet.

“Holy shit!” was all I was able to get out and the team laughed.

I had stopped and eyed Rask, determined to get this goal and be a goal ahead of the Bruins with the clock counting down the final four minutes of the game. I had showed the same determination as those boys did back in 1980, I was determined just like they were. They tried so hard to beat the Russian team in the Olympics, and I was that determined, I tried that hard to beat the Boston Bruins for the 2014 Stanley Cup.

I shot that puck so hard, every inch of my strength was put into that shot, my heart and soul was put into that shot. My stick snapped in two, but I only wanted to pay attention to the puck as it flew down the ice. It was going too fast, Rask must have known that if he tried to stop that puck, he was going to get seriously injured, a frozen rubber puck shot by and extremely determined and frustrated woman, he had no chance. That puck was shot so hard and so intensely, that it went right through the net and smashed right into the glass. The puck got stuck in the glass and you could clearly see the cracked glass. There was a delay in the alarm because the puck had landed right in front of where the buzzard man sat, and I’m pretty sure that he saw his life flash right before his eyes.

The team poured out onto the ice and crowded around me, cheering as they saw the score change from five to a six. We were a goal ahead of Boston, now all we needed is to make sure to push them back for the next four minutes.

I skated out of my teammates grasps and skated over to where the puck was stuck in the glassed and laughed, I couldn’t believe that I had done that. The ref came over and pulled the puck out of the glass and then looked to see that there was a hole.

“Damn,” he whispered and I laughed.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit it that hard,” I said and he laughed and shook his head.

“I think you should be telling that to him,” the ref said and I looked towards the man in charge of hitting the buzzard when we score to see that he was holding his face and probably praying too.

“I’m so sorry,” I said as I tapped on the glass and all he did was hold up his hand.

I nodded my head and then turned around to see Rask bent over and looking inside of the net muttering stuff in a different language. He turned his head and saw me and then stood up straight.

“Impressive,” was the only word he said to me and I nodded my head and skated passed him and headed back over towards the bench.

I hopped over the boards and collapsed onto the bench, “I’m beat,” I laughed and Coach patted my shoulder.

“Good job!” he said and then threw my bottle of water at me and then handed me a new stick, “Can you go on?”

“Yeah,” I said and he smirked and patted my back again.

Brandon skated over towards our bench and stood in front of me with a smirk plaster on his face, “You’re crazy.”

“Thanks,” I laughed as I took my helmet and nudged my head for him to head back over towards his team.

I ran my fingers through my long hair and then threw it back up into a pony tail and held my helmet on my lap. This break was much appreciated. We had to wait for the staff to bring a new sheet of glass out to replace the one that I put a hole in.

Once that was finished, Sidney was out on the ice with Kunitz, Pascal, Kris, and Matt. They finished the game. Those last four minutes were meant to chase the Bruins away from out net, hold them back from getting a goal and tying the game.

When the horn went off, the game was over, we all threw our helmets and sticks down, jumped over the boards and skated to the center of the ice, holding each other and cheering for we had just won the 2014 Stanley Cup. I hugged my boys, but felt someone turn me around and saw Sidney. I smiled towards him and he pressed his lips onto mine and wrapped his arms around my waist. The crowd was cheering and I was laughing and crying because we had just won.

The red carpet was brought out and Sidney skated over towards the man who was going to hand him the Stanley Cup. I saw Brandon and skated over towards him; he smiled towards me and then wrapped his arms around my neck and congratulated me on the win.

“I love you, Alex,” Brandon said and I smiled towards him and nodded my head, “I’m proud of you!”

“Thank you,” I said and felt my eyes water up.

“Go enjoy your moment,” he said as he nudged his head for me to go back to my team and I nodded my head.

I turned back towards my team to see that Sidney was holding the cup in the air and my team had their hands in the air and they were cheering. I skated back over towards them and hugged my teammates. I saw the family members coming out onto the eyes and going over towards their people. Sidney’s parents came out and hugged him and then came over towards me and engulfed me in a hug.

“Alex!”

I turned around and saw my father coming out onto the ice and I smiled and skated over towards him, “Daddy!”

“I’m proud of you, Lexi!”

“I love you dad!”

“I love you too, baby girl,” he said and I hugged him and walked him over towards Sidney’s parents and introduced them, apologizing that it took so long for them to meet.

I looked around to see that Mel was with Geno and Sam was with James. They waved over towards me and I smiled and nodded my head, knowing that that was their way of congratulating me. A reporter had come out onto the ice and wanted Sidney to say a few words, since he was Captain and all. The guys skated over and stood around me.

“Coach,” Sidney said as he put the cup down and I watched as Coach pulled something out of his pocket and I was confused, “I want to congratulate my team, they played their hearts out and I’ve never been more proud to be their Captain.”

We cheered and laughed when we pretended to get emotional on them. Sidney was handed something from Coach and he asked to take the mic. What he was saying was being broadcasted through the speakers of the arena and he skated over towards me and smiled. I laughed because I was so confused about what was going on. I heard the guys laughing behind me and felt their hands on my back and shoulders.

“Alexandra Conners,” Sidney said as he stood in front of me and I smiled brightly not knowing what was happening.

“What are you up to?”

“I’ve been in love with you since the first time I met you,” he said and gasped figuring out what was happening, “You wore that cute little green blouse and black skirt.”

“God, you remember what I was wearing,” I laughed and he chuckled.

“You’ve been through the good times and the bad times, and I’ve never been happier, knowing that you were always there. I love you so much, and I was going to do this whether we won or lost,” he got down on one knee and my breath stopped and I covered my mouth. I started to laugh as I felt tears coming down my face, he opened the little black velvet box and I saw the ring. I gasped and my eyes widened. “Will you marry me, Alexandra Conners?”

“Yes,” I choked out as I placed my hands on his neck and pressed my lips against his, “Yes!”

Sidney stood up while my lips were pressed against his, I felt him slip the ring on my finger and hold me close. I pulled away and cried and then looked around to hear the arena was full of cheering. I felt something wet hitting my face and we pulled apart to see that Kris had opened a bottle of champagne and it was spraying everywhere.

That night was spent doing interviews and then out in the town to celebrate. Pittsburgh did not sleep that night. Bars stayed open later than usual, filled with people celebrating for their team had won the cup, the greatest prize of hockey.

The Pittsburgh Penguins had won the 2014 Stanley Cup and I was engaged to Sidney Crosby, Captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the love of my life, life wasn’t going to get much better than this.

“Individual honors and scoring championships are great, but my No. 1 goal is to win the Stanley Cup.” –Sidney Crosby (2007)

“Ninety percent of hockey is mental and the other half is physical.” –Wayne Gretzky “The Great One”

The End.

Notes