Gongshow

The boys filed in after their warm up. It was a full house. Everyone was there for the Falcons' home opener. The girls were in the box, ready to tally the score and open the doors in the penalty boxes. Danielle and Audrey were on scorekeeping duty while Holiday and Taylor did doors. Dustin handed the starters sheet to Josh.

"We got Tristan in net!" Josh yelled and the guys cheered. "Grif and Troubs on the blue line!" More cheering. "Burks, Sammy, and Val up front! Let's go!"

They all cheered as they walked out to the ice. It was their home opener. They stood at the door waiting to be announced. Tristan stood in the front. He shook his legs in his pads. He was nervous. Griffin squeezed his shoulders. Tristan smiled. Jacob was humming a Disney song. Griffin bumped him with his stick. Jacob laughed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our visiting team, the Churchill Bulldogs!" The announcer spoke.

The rink booed. It was filled with Falcon faithfuls. The boys on the home team smiled, shaking their heads. They had a reputation of being the most ruthless school to play at. The fans didn't care about any team but their own.

"And now, give it up for your Fairview Falcons!" The announcer sang. "Starting in net, number thirty, Tristan Jarry!" Everyone cheered as Tristan skated to his net. "Starting at the blue line, number eight, Griffin Reinhart! And number forty five, Jacob Trouba!" Griffin skated onto the ice and then Jacob followed. "Starting on the left wing, number ninety five, Andre Burakovsky!" Andre skated onto the ice. "Starting center, number twenty three, Samson Reinhart!" The cheering was louder. Sam was a school favourite. "And on the right wing, number forty three, Valeri Nichushkin!" More cheering was heard.

The rest of the team stepped on the ice. They did a lap before they climbed onto their respective benches. The starting goalies went to their nets. The starting line ups went to their blue lines and waited for the anthems. Most of the guys skated on spot. Some sang along, most just looked at their feet or to the flag. The anthem ended and they all got ready for the face off. The puck was dropped and Sam won it. Danielle started the time and Audrey gave Sam a mark in the notebook her dad had given her to keep track of them. The game started and the girls were in for a treat.

It was quiet until close to halfway through. At 8:17, Jo Drouin put the Falcons on the board. Nathan jumped on Jo first. Curtis came over after and hugged his linemates. They highfived the bench before they switched lines. At 13:45, Aaron Ekblad took a hooking penalty. Taylor shook her head as she held opened the door for her. He squirted water at her feet. The Bulldogs had a man advantage.

Dustin sent out one of his penalty kill lines. Sam Bennett, Nathan MacKinnon, Morgan Rielly, and Jacob Trouba took to the ice. Nathan won it easily, earning a tick beside his name from Audrey. Sam skated with the puck. He passed to Morgan once and with Morgan hit the back of the net with a clapper. Ten seconds into the penalty and the home team had a short handed goal. The home team killed the rest of their penalty.

The score was still 2-0 for them when the next penalty came. Someone on the other team slashed Curtis. It was a bad slash. The guy literally two handed with it. Curtis came to the bench, holding his hands out. It hurt. Jagr sat with him, holding ice on his hands. Phil was yelling to the ref about how the kid should be kicked out. Phil shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Looks like the little move you made on John Scott all those years ago." Malcolm smirked.

Phil rolled his eyes. All the guys on the bench laughed. The coaches and trainers did as well. Phil hated this team.

The visitors killed their penalty. It was even strength but it didn't look it. The Bulldogs couldn't get the puck out of their end, but the Falcolns couldn't get a puck in the net. A Bulldog stole the puck from Michael. He reached for the stolen puck with his stick and hooked the player instead. The whistle pierced his ears. Michael growled but skated to the box. Danielle opened it for him since Taylor was gone to the washroom and Audrey was writing it down.

"Silly move, Dal Colle." Dani scolded him.

Michael just smiled. Danielle frowned. Michael hated her for some reason and she was yet to find out why. She just closed the door and sat back in her chair. Audrey finished writings what she needed to and looked back up. Danielle pushed the time start button while the other team won the face off. Audrey marked it. She looked at Dani.

"He doesn't hate you. He's shy." She argued.

"He hates me." Dani stated.

Michael's penalty ended and he was back on the ice. The period wound down and it ended 2-0 for the home team. The teams went to their change rooms so the ice could be flooded. Audrey finished writing everything down in her notebook. She stood with it in hand and climbed over Taylor. She looked back at her three friends from the penalty box.

"Anyone wanna come with me?" She sang.

Danielle nodded with an eye roll. She climbed over Taylor as well and followed Audrey to the change room. She knocked and heard grunts that sounded like permission. She hip checked the door open and held it for Danielle to follow in. Audrey walked right to her dad while Danielle stood to the side. Audrey and Dustin went over everything she wrote down. Danielle played on her phone. Audrey looked over at her, shaking her head. She looked at saw Michael chugging back a Gatorade.

"Michael, do you hate Danielle?" She called.

Michael looked up, brows furrowed. "No? Why would I?"

She shrugged. "Just checking."

Audrey took the notebook from her dad and walked out. Danielle followed, glaring at her the entire time. They got back to their box and took their spots. The zamboni finished up and all the boys came out. They skated for a bit before it was time for the second period to start. It wasn't long before Fairview was on the board again. Seth scored from the blue line less than two minutes in.

Interference was called on the other team and the Falcons were up a man. They couldn't produce, but the Bulldogs did. It was a 3-1. Two more penalties were called on Fairview. Josh was called for tripping at 9:06, and then Sonny was called for a high-stick at 5:39. Sonny smirk as he sat in the box. The kid he hit had it coming. Curtis added to the tally for the home team with two and a half minutes left.

The third came quickly and happened quickly. No penalties, just three goals from the visiting team. They tied it up in the last period. The arena fell silent and all of the Falcons were too. Their only goal was to get one last one, to just win the game. Dustin had to fight within himself to stay. He was embarrassed. The boys got cocky and now they were blowing it. The third period finished with a holding call on Nick. He smashed his stick as he walked to the box. Taylor opened the door in fear.

Overtime was next. Five minutes on the clock, four players on the ice. Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Michael Dal Colle, and Aaron Ekblad were out first. Dustin watched the four work together. He was distracted by Jacob staring at the box, at his daughter. Dustin nudged him with his foot then bent down. Jacob turned to his coach.

"Look at my girl again and you're benched." Dustin half joked, half warned.

"Not her, Coach." Jacob sighed.

"Yeah, Coach, Nathan's the only one watching Auds." Griffin called out.

Nathan ignored Griffin, watching the game. Nathan, Ryan, Jacob, and Griffin were the next four to go out. Nathan stole the puck from the Bulldogs. Griffin was open, a perfect lane for him. Nathan spotted him but held onto the puck. He took the shot himself but it was block. Griffin shook his head, skating back. Jacob was behind the play, getting into a fight. The whistles blew as the refs tried to break them up. Griffin skated over to Nathan.

"I was open! You saw me open!" He yelled.

"Sorry. My eyes must've been on Audrey." Nathan spat, not looking at Griffin.

"You probably just cost us the fucking game!" Griff shoved him before skating off.

Jacob and the other guy both got minors for fighting. It was three on three. The Falcolns didn't even get a chance. The Bulldogs won the puck and had it top shelf before anyone could think. The entire arena fell silent asides from the Bulldogs and their fans. Jacob came out of the box and slammed his stick down. It snapped and he left it. Nathan just stared at the board. Griffin skated by him with a glare.

"Prick." He mumbled as he reached the bench.

Nathan looked to the box. Danielle rolled her eyes with a shake of her head. Audrey just looked at him for a second then went back to her notebook. He blew the game and he knew he was about to hear about it from everywhere. He sighed and skated to the bench. Jo squeezed his shoulder as he stepped up.

Notes