I’m awakened by Carl shaking my shoulder. “Wake up”, he says. I blink my eyes and roll over to look at the clock. It’s 6 o’clock. “Why are you waking me up so early”, I ask, groggy from sleep. He sits on the edge of my bed. “Don’t you remember? Mom and Bobbie are coming to stay with us for a few days. Their flight is coming in at seven. We can go to breakfast if you want”, he says. I sit up in bed. “I forgot they were coming. Let me change, then we can go”, I say. Carl agrees and leaves the room. I open my closet, looking for a good outfit to wear. I decide on jeans, a Michigan hockey t-shirt, and my Michigan sweat-shirt. I go into the bathroom to put my hair up in a ponytail. When that is done, I say the “Hail Mary”, the “Our Father”, and the “Glory Be”.

We arrive at the airport at 6:45. I rest my head against my seat. “I can’t wait to taste mom’s pancakes again. Bobbie, Helen and dad have probably been eating them every morning”, I tell Carl. He smiles a little. “Bobbie just sent me a text. He says he can’t wait to see us”.

“Hi, mom! Hi, Bobbie”. That’s my greeting as I run to meet them. Mom hugs me. “Oh my gosh! You’ve grown since I last saw you. Carl must be feeding and working you well”, she says, winking at Carl. “Mom, can we have your pancakes while you’re here”, I ask. “Yes”. I run to Bobbie. He picks me up and hugs me tight. “I’ve missed watching you play”, he says. “Well, you’re in luck! I have a game today at seven”, I reply. Bobbie smiles. “Answer me truthfully. Has Carl been mean to you?” I laugh. “Not really. He’s teased me a couple times, but nothing too mean”. Carl smirks and gives Bobbie a look out of the corner of his eye. Every time Bobbie comes over, he always asks that. It’s our little joke.

Carl, Bobbie and I are sitting at the table. Mom is making pancakes. I lick my lips. “I’ve been begging for these ever since you left”, I tell her. She smiles. “I know. You and Carl are pancake hogs”, she says. Carl and I both glare at her. “When was your last game, Carl”, Bobbie asks. Carl points at me. “Lizzy can answer that”. “Yes, I can! It was yesterday. We played against the Penguins. Carl got a goal and two assists. We won four to nothing”, I say. Bobbie nods. “Good. Pittsburgh is a tough team to play against. How many shots did Crosby and Malkin have?” Carl answered. “Crosby had twelve and Malkin had nine”. I shiver. “And not one of them went in”, I say. Bobbie smiles. “You don’t like Crosby, do you”, he asks. “I don’t like playing against him. He’s a good player. I didn’t like it when he snubbed some of the Red Wings players when they won the cup in ’09. That was unsportsmanlike”, I reply. Carl nodded. Mom set our plates down on the table. “Here are those pancakes you’ve been begging for”, she says to me.

At around 12:30, Step came to visit. I smiled when I saw him. “You’re going to be impressed when you watch me play tonight”, I tell him. “I know. What’s your number?” “My number is 12. Do you know why I wear that number”, I reply. Step smiles. “Because Carl wore that number when he played at Michigan”, he says. Mom laughs. “She’s always looked up to Carl. Now, she wears his number. In the future, she might follow his footsteps of going into the NHL”, she says. I smile. “I might, mom. I just might”.


Carl drops me off near my locker room. “Good luck. We’ll be watching”. I smile and hug him. “Thanks, Carl. I won’t disappoint”. With that, I run off. Carl shakes his head. “I love that kid. She’s defiantly plays my style”, he says under his breath.

“Alright, Red Hawks. Listen up”. That’s our coach. I look up. “The team we’re playing tonight, the Wolfhounds, have just come off a victory against the Blizzards. They’re a tough team. We have to beat them at their own game”. I nodded in agreement. “Beat them at their game, and play yours. Who’s ready to win?” The whole team shouted. I said a quick “Hail Mary” under my breath. I put my helmet and gloves on. My line mate, Jacqueline Beckett, gave me a nudge in the side. “Who’s watching you tonight”, she asks. “My two brothers, Carl and Bobbie, Carl’s girlfriend, Erica, my mom, Step, and Richie”, I reply. Jackie’s eyes grow wide. “You’re friends with Derek Stepan and Brad Richards”, she asks. “Jackie, my brother plays on the Rangers team. Of course I’m friends with them”. My other line mate, Odette Black, came and stood in line behind Jackie. “Lizzy, are you ready to kick some butt”, she asks. I nod and we fist bump.

Carl stood in the stands, waiting for that 12 on the red and black jersey to come out. Step stood next to him. “Who are they playing today”, he asks. “The Wolfhounds. They’re fresh off a victory”, Carl replies. Just then, Richie reached over and tapped Carl’s shoulder. “Hags, I think Crosby’s sister plays on this team”, he says. Carl’s eyes get big. “Oh, no. She’s just like her brother. She goes after the team’s best players”. “Carl, I see Lizzy”, Bobbie and Erica yell at the same time.

I stepped out onto the ice. It felt good to be back out here. As I skate my first lap, I see someone on the ice. “That pose looks familiar”, I whisper to Odette. “It is familiar. Crosby’s younger sister plays on this team”, she says. I bite my lip to keep from shouting. I can see her heading towards us, but I keep skating. “Hey, Hagelin, I heard your friend got hit pretty hard by my brother yesterday”, she says. “I saw it. I was there. Brad is strong and tough. He could beat your brother in a fight any day”, I reply as I skate past her. “Are you sure? He fell pretty hard”, she says. I could see the smirk on her face. “All players fall sometimes, including your brother”, I shot back. “He falls only once during a season. Does your brother ever fall”, she asks. I glare at her. “Sure, he falls. That doesn’t mean he’s not a good player. If you watched the Skills competition this year, he’s the fastest player in the NHL! He could skate two laps while your brother was still on the first”, I reply. With that remark, I sprinted off. I slowed because I was passing where Carl and the gang were sitting. I smiled and waved at each one of them. They waved back. I could hear coach calling us and I sprinted back to the bench.

“For this first shift, I want Hagelin, Black, Beckett, Adams and Cole out there”, coach says. He turns to me. “I want you to use your speed and keep an eye on Crosby. She tricky like her brother is”. “I hear you, coach”, I say.

We’ve just won the opening face-off. I sprint after the puck. I can hear someone skating behind me. I turn quickly, hoping to lose my pursuer. I get the puck from behind the net and skate away. I see Jackie and Odette to my right. “Jackie, puck”, I yell as I pass it to her. She gets the puck. I skate to the side of the net. I can see Crosby out of the corner of my eye. I move away, just as Jackie passes the puck to me. I receive the pass and take a shot. GOAL! “Yes”, I yell as my line mates swarm me.

“Crosby’s sister is going after her”, Carl says to Bobbie. Mom shakes her head. “I could see them smack-talking each other during warm-ups”. Step gives a yell to Carl’s left. “Lizzy just scored! Lizzy just scored”, he shouts, pumping his fist. The rest of them jump up, high-fiving and hugging each other. Carl looks at the players as they skate back to the bench. He sees me skating towards my goaltender. He yells my name and I look up. I wave, pump my fist and smile. I hold up one finger. “Number one”, Carl yells. I smile and skate back to the bench.

We got back onto the ice for the start of the second period. Little Crosby found me and started yapping. “You may have gotten the first goal of the game, Hagelin, but I’m going to score the last one. A goal that’s going to make you lose the game”, she said. I glared at her. “People like speed rather than mouth”, I retorted. She looked at me, surprised and angry at the same time. “I’m the number one scorer in the league. What are you? 12th?”, she shot back. “I’d rather have speed and no goals than have no speed and be at the top of the scoring list. Your brother may score more goals, but my brother has speed and isn’t a puck hog. Unlike you and Sidney”, I snap as I get ready for the face-off. I knew she was going to be mad, but I didn’t care. It was bad enough that big Crosby made fun and trash-talked Carl, but now his sister was doing it to me.

By the end of the second, I’d had two more goals, a hat trick for the game. We were winning, five to two. Little Crosby had no goals and only four shots the whole game. I went into the locker room, quite pleased with the way the game was going. I sat down at my locker and said another “Hail Mary”.

The third period began. I had gotten the puck and was skating up the ice with it. I passed it to Odette and continued to skate towards the net. I could see little Crosby skating towards her. I changed my direction and started skating towards them. I managed to bump little Crosby away from Odette, giving my line mate a chance to shoot. She missed, but I was glad to give my line mate a chance. I could feel little Crosby glaring at me. I turn and level my flashing blue eyes at her. She backs off a little, surprised. “I was trying to stop your teammate from scoring”, she says. I smirk a little. “I know what you were trying to do. And I was giving her a chance to shoot”, I reply. “I think you’re being a puck hog tonight. You’ve got a hat trick already”, she says. I shoot her a look. “Getting a hat trick and being a puck hog once in a while is one thing. But, when you’re a puck hog every night, as you and your brother are, that’s a different story”, I respond. She glares at me. I can see the anger in her eyes. I shrugged. “Glare at me all you want. Your team is the one that has to try and come-back”, I say before skating away.

Carl is watching this little interaction from the stands. “It looks like every time Lizzy and little Crosby argue, Lizzy always comes out on top”, he remarks. Richie smiles. “She knows the right thing to say. It makes little Crosby mad”, he says.


The game is over. We’ve won five to two. I’m skating towards the bench when I feel a tug. I turn and face little Crosby. “What do you want”, I ask. “A little explanation as to why your brother went after my brother in last night’s game”, she replies. “It’s hockey. Carl was trying to stop your brother from scoring. He also could have been going after the puck at the same time as your brother was. It’s not a big deal”, I say. Little Crosby glares at me. “Yes, it is a big deal. Your brother has speed, which my brother doesn’t have. I don’t want him going after Sidney”. “Too bad, Crosby. That’s the game of hockey. If you’re so concerned, you shouldn’t be watching it or playing it”, I snap. With that, I turn and skate away.

I meet Carl in the parking lot. “Nice game, squirt. A hat trick and an assist. That’s good”, he says. Mom, Bobbie, Step, and Richie say the same thing. “By the way, what was that little talk with Crosby’s sister all about”, Step asks. I tell them the whole conversation. Carl stares at me. “If Sidney Crosby wants speed, he’ll have to work at it. That’s how I got my speed”, he says. Just then, I spot little Crosby coming towards us. I walk over to her. “What now”, I ask, gritting my teeth. “Why doesn’t your brother become a scorer? That way, my brother can follow him during games and trash-talk him”, she asks. My blue eyes flash with anger. “I think your brother trash-talks my brother enough. Why don’t you go with your team? I’m hanging out with my family and friends. Tell your brother this: The NHL might like him. But, neither me nor Carl like what he does. He’s a good player. But, if he thinks my friends on the Rangers are going to back down just because he follows them during games and trash-talks them, he’s wrong. They aren’t afraid of him, and neither am I. He can score all he wants. Some kids might look up to him because he is a scorer. But, I look up to my brother. He has speed, and he’s not a puck hog”, I reply, anger in my eyes and power behind my words. I glare at her one last time, turn, and walk away.

Carl can see it in my face: I’m worn out from the game and from keeping Crosby’s sister at bay. He wraps his arms around my shoulders. “Come on, kid. We’ll get you home. You can have something to eat, and then you can go to bed”, he says. I walk forward a few steps, then stumble and fall to the ground. Carl helps me up. I walk forward again, and the same thing happens. Bobbie picks me up. “She’s so tired. I’ll just carry her to the car”, he says. By the time we get to the car, I’m fast asleep in Bobbie’s arms.

Bobbie, Mom, and Carl stay up talking. “How’s dad”, Carl wants to know. “He’s fine. Him and Helen might come next week”, Mom replies. “I hope so. I miss them. Lizzy does, too”, Carl replies. Bobbie smiles. “You know, that little girl of Helen’s has gotten bigger since you and Lizzy last saw her. She’s growing up so fast”. “Lizzy wants to see her. She loves that kid”, Carl says.

“Lizzy can come and babysit. Helen says she can do it any time she wants”, Mom says. “She’d like that. Lizzy loves little kids”, Carl says.