The Memories
Five
"Fuck." Patrice groaned as the arena silenced and the Lightning bench exploded into cheers.
Up until that moment, the Bruins had been leading the Lightning four to three, and Patrice had compiled two assists on goals two and three.
"Get out there, Bergy." Claude sighed.
"For fucks sake!" Brad Marchand smashed his stick over the bench as Patrice hopped the boards and skated slowly toward center ice.
Patrice glanced back to the seats he had reserved for Ashlyn and Troy. He saw Troy's little face pressed against the glass, and he grinned.
"Let's go, men!" Called the ref, and Patrice turned back to the faceoff circle, spinning his stick slowly in his hands.
The puck dropped and Patrice lashed out to try and snatch it. He gained control and fired it cross ice to Shawn Thornton, before he heard the final buzzer go off.
"Fuck. We were so close." He shook his head, tapping Shawn on the shins as they headed to the bench.
"We do not look like a hockey team, that wants to fuckin win any games!" Claude screamed on the bench. "If you want it, work for it! Push yourselves! We have a long road ahead of ourselves, and if we're giving up on game one, we're fucked!"
"Fuck, boys. Let's get a goal and seal this fuckin thing." Called Tyler, stepping onto the ice to join Patrice.
"I got a hangover! Woaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Wailed Brad as he stepped onto the ice to join his linemates.
"Your test results are in, and you're tone deaf." Laughed Andrew Ference, tapping him on the shins as he skated out to the blueline.
"Let's go!" Called the ref, blowing the whistle to call a faceoff to start overtime.
Patrice gestured for Tyler to take right wing and Brad to go left, before joining Steven Stamkos at center. The ref dropped the puck almost immediately, and Patrice was caught off guard.
He lost the draw, and had to push himself to catch up to the breaking superstar as he entered the zone. With an expert poke check, Zdeno Chara sent the puck in the other direction, and Brad picked it up. He burst toward the offensive zone, and stopped just inside the blueline. Patrice went flying past him, and was fed with a crisp pass right on the tape. Patrice fired the puck and heard it hit metal. He heard the roar of the crowd, and saw the goal light go on.
"Fuck yeah!" Called Tyler, practically mugging Patrice in his celebration.
"Way to go Bergy!" Called Andrew Ference, jumping him from behind and putting him in a headlock.
Patrice patted him on the back and headed toward Tuukka at the other end.
"We'll be burning up like neon lights!" Wailed Brad, following Patrice to their end of the rink.
Patrice heard the bench door slam from Tampa Bay's end of the rink, and he tapped the glass in front of Troy's face.
"Here you go, Bergy." Called Zdeno, joining the celebrations with the winning puck.
Patrice thanked him, and slipped the puck into a pocket inside his hockey pants.
The team slowly made their way to the players entrance, congratulating one another and talking amongst themselves.
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's three stars of the game..." The speakers boomed, and the lights dimmed in the arena.
The players filed off the ice, and Patrice was stopped by a security guard.
"You're up." he grinned, and Patrice thanked him.
"Tonight's third star, from your Boston Bruins, with one goal and one assist, wearing number nineteen, Tyler Seguin!" The speakers blared, and Tyler went racing past Patrice toward the ice.
"Tonight's second star, from the Tampa Bay Lightning, with one goal and one assist, wearing number ninety one, Steven Stamkos. And tonight's first star of the game, from your Boston Bruins, with two assists, and the game winning goal, wearing number thirty seven, Patrice Bergeron!" Patrice fist bumped with Tyler as he skated off the ice, and took off his helmet before heading onto the ice.
He skated onto the ice, saluting the crowd with his stick and heading for Troy. He tossed his stick over the glass to to little guy, and headed back toward the entrance.
"Thank you for supporting your Boston Bruins. We hope-" The sounds of the arena got quieter as Patrice headed down the tunnels to the dressing room.
"Yeah, Bergy!" Called Dan Paille as Patrice headed into the room.
Patrice grinned, and sat down in his stall. It would be a good night.
