How AAOOOSC! Got Started!

The wedding bells rang as Antti and Jonna walked down the stairs of a church in Finland. They went underneath hockey sticks that were being held up by people. You really had to do that? Antti thought to himself.
After the hockey sticks went away, Mr. Niemi walked up to his son. "I'm proud of you."
Antti smiled. "Thanks...."
"You picked a very nice lady as your wife."
"Aw, thank you!" Jonna placed his hand on her chest as she gave a warm smile, soaking in the compliment.
"I'll leave you two alone, now. I'll see you guys later..." Mr. Niemi swiftly walked away with big steps.
"Wait, does my father-in-law know that you're in the NHL?" Jonna whispered to Antti.
"Uhhh..." Antti frowned. "No...."

When the next season rolled around, Antti was lucky for the Chicago Blackhawks to play in Helsinki, Finland as their first game and that he was picked as the starting goalie; their oppoent were the Florida Panthers.
"There's gonna be an NHL game tonight...," Mr. Niemi muttered to himself back at his house as he strolled over to his couch. "Finally, I get to watch an American hockey game!" He plopped on the couch and turned on his TV to the game. "Chicago...versus...Florida... I wonder how this is gonna go..." He came in late, so he didn't get to watch the part where the players were introduced.
"Ja mitä venyi Niemi!" the TV reporter shouted. (And what a save by Niemi!)
"Niemi? Hey...that's my last name. The Chicago's goalie has the same last name as me...cool..." He nodded his head in approvement. "He must surely be happy to be playing here in Finland."
The TV zoomed into the goalie, introducing him right while the players were getting ready for the next face-off.
"Antti Niemi...blaa, blaa, blaa,...syntynyt Suomessa Vantaalla...blaa, blaa, blaa...toinen vuosi pelaa NHL...blaa, blaa, blaa...." (Antti Niemi...blah, blah, blah,...born in Vantaa, Finland...blah, blah, blah,...second year playing for the NHL...blah, blah, blah....)
Mr. Niemi gawked at the TV. "Antti?"
Antti took off his helmet, revealing his face and took a squirt of water.
"Nooo...how--but how? I-I..." Mr. Niemi's face grew dark. "You and I are gonna have a long talk, son."
Antti ended up getting a shutout, four to zero.

The next day, Antti walked up to his father's house and knocked on the door.
Mr. Niemi answered. "Yes?"
"I...I have something to tell you..." Antti knocked his fingertips against each other anxiously.
"Yea, you have a lot of explaining to do--"
"Wait, you already know--"
"Get inside." Mr. Niemi nodding his head towards inside.
Antti walked inside and his father closed the door behind him.
"I saw you last night. Playing hockey," Mr. Niemi told him.
I knew it. "Surprised?" Antti smiled a bit, worriedly.
"Yes. Very...surprised." He had a grave look on his face. "So, you decided to play hockey. Without me knowing--"
"Look, father, it was bound to happen sometime. You can't hold me back from something I've always wanted to do. This is my life and I can do what I would like to do--"
"But I'm still your father and you should obey me."
Antti sighed deeply. "It's a bit too late...right?"
"Nothing's ever too late to be done. So, you like being a goalie? Hm?"
Antti nodded his head. "Yea. I enjoy it. But what can you do to not let me play hockey? I mean, I'm with a team, I'm playing in American--there's no turning back now--"
"Yes, there can be. I saw you yesterday, like what I told you before, and you did...really well." Mr. Niemi began to pace around the room and around Antti.
"It doesn't get any better than a shutout," Antti commented, chuckling
"So since you are such an amazing goalie, let me give you a deal." The room all of a sudden got a bit darker. "You win the Stanley Cup this season, and only this season and I will let you continue to play hockey without me trying to persuade you to get out of it."
"And what happens if I don't?"
"You know what happens: you stop playing hockey, come back to Finland, and work with me."
"Can I at least play hockey as a hobbie if I don't win the Cup?"
"Nope. No. More. Hockey. For life. All you gotta do is win the Stanley Cup and you'll be free. Deal?" Mr. Niemi held out his hand at his son.
Antti stared at it with inquiring eyes for a moment. "Deal." And he shook hand with his father's.
No turning back now...it's time to prove that he was made to play hockey.

Notes