Love, Ice Hockey & Concussions

it was a slow day at work, only a few admits and discharges. At 7, i got to go home. I walked in the apartment, threw my bag on the chair and went to my room to find John in bed having sex with another girl. “WHAT THE FUCK?” i shouted. John and the girl jumped up startled. “oh, hey babe, i didn’t know you were getting off this early.” he said, trying to act surprised. “we’re done!” and with that, i grabbed my bag and stormed out. i didn’t know what to do, i didn’t want to call Haley because she wasn’t in town this week. i decided to call Lindsey up; she has been my best friend since Claude and i dated.

“SAMANTHA !!!!!!!!!”

“LINDSEYYYY !!!”

“girl, how have you been? i haven’t seen you in forever!”

“i’ve been okay. Hey, i was wondering, if you wanna catch up & go to the bar tonight?”

“i’d love too! Ben’s?”

Ben’s was a local bar in Pittsburgh; it was a popular sports restaurant and pub. Lindsey and i used to go there to watch Sidney play during his away games. Sidney Crosby, the captain for the Pittsburgh Penguins. We’ve known each other since we were five. We grew up going to the same schools, well until we got to college, then we went to different schools; all because i had to move to Philadelphia, he would tease me if he saw i was wearing a Philadelphia Flyers t-shirt.

i dialed my mom. “hello?” my mom answered. “hi, mom.” I managed to get out through the tears. “hunny, what’s wrong?” she knew something wasn’t right, since I was crying so I had to tell her. “me….me and Jo---John broke up.” My mom knew that i didn’t feel like talking about it right now, “oh, sweetie I’m sorry. i hope you know that you can always come stay here.” i smiled and wiped the tears from my eyes. “thanks mom, i’ll be over in a few minutes.” i arrived to my mom’s house in five minutes, she gave me a hug and i went upstairs to take a shower. i wanted to get the funk hospital smell off and get ready to meet up with Lindsey at the bar. i got out of the shower and changed into my jeans, my Flyers 28 t-shirt & hoodie with my brown boots. My hair was naturally wavy, so i didn’t have to do much to get ready except apply my make-up. I walked downstairs to find my mom cooking dinner. “mom, i’m going to Ben’s with Linds. i don’t know what time I’ll be home so please don’t wait up.” i explained. “okay, be careful. call me if you need a ride.” i assured her that I will, gave her a big hug and headed to Ben’s.
i haven’t been to Ben’s since i broke up with Claude, so i didn’t know what to expect. When i got there, it was crowded, as usual. i guess there’s a game on. i thought to myself. i walked in to the Penguins and Bruins playing on the big screened televisions. Oh shit… i tried to hide my flyers t-shirt as mostly everyone in the bar are Pittsburgh fans. i found Lindsey at the bar,“hey, girl !” she yelled over the loud noise. “hey!” i replied back and made my way to where she was sitting. “what period?” i asked in reference to the game. “third, 5-3 Pens” Lindsey answered. damn. “how’s the Wildcats playing?” she looked at me. “we’re doing really good. we have a game tomorrow.” i said, smiling. the wildcats is the club ice hockey team i play on, we’re an all women checking league; one of the best in the area. it’s hard to manage my job and hockey, but i do it well so i have time for both. Lindsey and I had a few drinks and decided to leave after the game ended; the Penguins won. i drove to Lindsey’s house, because it wasn’t that far from the bar and i had my hockey gear and my jerseys in my car so i could drive straight to the rink tomorrow night for our game.

In the morning, i awoke at 8am to Lindsey making pancakes, bacon and eggs in the kitchen. “good morning!” she said, as she sat down a warm plate of breakfast in front of me. “good morning!” i gave her a thank you and we both ate. Lindsey and i talked and hung out for a while, before i realized that it was 5pm and i had to get on my way to the ice arena. “Sam, you know you could stay here so you won’t have to stay at your mom’s, but that is up to you.” She explained as i gathered my things. i gave her a quick hug and a thank you, then headed to the rink. i walked in the Consol Energy Center; Pittsburgh Penguins home arena. it was huge, nothing like i expected. there were a few fans there but not much, so i made my way to the locker room, there was 4 of them; the Pens locker room, 2 visitor locker rooms, then there was ours. My coach was going over a few strategies with some of my teammates. i plopped down in my stall and began to get dressed. tonight’s game was going to be tough, not only was it the most important, but it was against the Philadelphia Bears; our rival. when everyone was suited up, we said our team prayer, slapped the bobcat painted on the wall on the way out for good luck and headed for the ice. When we were coming out of the locker room, i saw fans in the seats over us which made me smile. as soon as i stepped on the ice, i couldn’t believe what i saw. it was unreal. The whole stadium was filled with people, rooting for us or the visitors. this night was definitely going to be one to remember. and, believe me, it was just that.


Sidney’s POV

we won the game against the Boston Bruins, so the guys all went out to celebrate. i was exhausted and too tired to do anything tonight and just went back to the house me, neal and fleury were staying at. i knew they would probably be getting back around 2, when the bars closed so i decided to get to bed before they came in all drunk and loud.

the next morning when i awoke, everyone was still asleep. figures… i thought to myself as i poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat down to watch tv. ESPN was on, showing highlights of last night’s game. Then, suddenly i remembered that there was going to be a big game there tonight; our women’s team, The Pittsburgh Wildcats. i finished my cereal, got dressed and wrote a note to neal and fleury:
went to a meeting, be back later. Call if need anything.
-Sid
i grabbed my keys and headed out to run errands. Luckily for me, my coach had tickets to the Wildcats game tonight, so i purchased one. the game didn’t started till 7, so i had time to go back home and get ready. when i got back, neal was on the couch with his girlfriend and fleury was making something to eat. “hey, there you are!” neal said, surprised. “hey, you guys are awake!” i said, jokingly. i walked in the kitchen to find marc cooking, which looked like spaghetti. “hey, Sid, i’m making dinner, it’ll be ready in a few minutes.” he explained. “umm, i’m going out tonight, i’ll just stop some place to eat.” i quickly replied. He acknowledged it and i went upstairs to take a shower. when i got out, it was already five-thirty. i threw on a pair of clothes, told the guys that i’ll be back later and drove to the arena.

i walked in the consol energy center; our home arena. there were a few people already in their seats patiently waiting. it was weird being in the crowd this time and not on the ice. soon enough it was almost 7 and the stadium was packed with all fans from both teams. Suddenly, an announcer came across the intercom. “ladies & gentleman, here are your Pittsburgh Wildcats !” the announcer yelled. and, there they were. the other team wasn’t announced, simply cause their the visitors. i saw the girls’ warm up, skating around and shooting pucks on goal. After that, the national anthem was sung and the game started. there was this one girl on the team that i couldn’t stop watching everytime she was out on the ice, number 37. there was something about her, she played like i did; fast, fierce, and competitive.

Notes

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