Chapter 4

During stoppages in play, it wasn’t uncommon for Karen, Wendy, Tina, and Abby to switch seats so they could take turns sitting beside Dan. He felt somewhat self-conscious holding hands with so many women. The Adults sitting nearby were curious about this man’s relationship with the women. What made it more intriguing was that the women were also openly holding hands.

“Jim, the second period is now ten minutes old and continuing to be a close checking battle between Kingston and Belleville,” Mark commented.

“It certainly is, Jim. Greg Jackson has scored for the Frontenacs, and Jake Campbell has responded for the Falcons on a beautiful two-on-one feed from Hayward to tie the game at two.”

The Falcons’ second line of Mark Adam, Dale Corbett, and Nick Upton kept constant pressure on the Frontenacs on their end of the ice. Changing on the fly, as Kingston dumped the puck into the Falcons’ zone, they were replaced by Mike Johnson, Jake, and Brad. They continued the same close-checking pressure against Kingston.

Mark’s clear, sharp voice described the play approaching the fifteen-minute point. “Johnson carries the puck over Kingston’s blue line with Elliott and Gibson defending! Johnson passes to Campbell by the half boards and is immediately checked by Carson! The puck slides into the corner, where Hayward battles against Gibson for its possession!”

Grunts and heavy breathing were their only sounds as their sticks and skates fought for the puck along the boards.

“Hayward manages to pass the puck behind the net to Jake Campbell as Gibson checks him to the ice! Campbell passes it back to the point to Mario Giroux, who is immediately checked closely by Elliot! Mike Johnson comes in to support Giroux and, capturing the loose puck, passes it cross-ice to Rayous Grobenov on right defence!”

“Grobenov passes quickly back to Giroux, who is immediately checked by Brandon Clark! Giroux fires it along the boards behind the net, where Hayward gathers it up and sends it along to Grobenov as he is again checked hard against the boards and glass!”

“Grobenov passes across ice to Johnson in the slot and is hit by Carson! Carson tries to clear the puck, but it’s intercepted by Campbell! Oh ... Campbell takes a vicious open-ice hit from Clark as he passes the puck to an open Hayward! Hayward fires a one-timer on his off wing that Manning is able to stop!”

“Campbell is still on the ice as Hayward collects the rebound and fires a quick backhander over Manning’s left shoulder!”

“He scores! He’s done it! Hayward has scored fifty goals in only thirty-five games!”

Brad raised his arms and yelled in celebration as he curled away from the net. As he skated towards Mike and Rayous to congratulate them on the scoring play, he noticed Mario stooping over Jake, sprawled out on the ice.

There were sporadic cheers for Brad’s goal from visiting fans, especially the Haywards. “Fifty! Fifty! My man has scored number fifty!” Abby exclaimed, punching the air with her fist. Wendy and the others stood applauding Brad’s milestone goal; her eyes were trained on her son, now on his hands and knees in obvious discomfort.

“I hope Jake isn’t hurt too bad,” she commented to Dan as the trainer, Zack Archer, hurried to Jake’s side, and Jim stayed with the coaches.

Dan placed his arm around Wendy’s tiny waist for comfort and support. “He took a hard hit and maybe had the wind knocked out of him.”

As Zack was tending to Jake, Mark describes what happened next. “Johnson takes exception to Carson’s hard hit on Campbell! He pushes him several times and then drops the gloves! Johnson and Carson square off, clutching the other’s sweater, and exchange blow after blow.”

“Mark, they’ll have to be careful not to cut their hand on the edge of the visor. I’ve seen players cut their hand or break a bone by hitting the helmet during an altercation and be sidelined for several weeks,” Jim added.

Mark was quick to respond. “Players who remove their helmet during a fight receive an additional penalty. Johnson, with a decisive height and weight advantage, has the upper hand and wrestles Carson down to the ice, landing on top of him! The linesmen are quick to separate the two and escort them to the penalty box.”

The players from both teams banged their sticks in support of their teammates in the fight.

As the two players fought, Brad skated to Jake, kneeling at his side. “He took an awful hit to the head, plus he hit the ice when he fell,” Zack said over the roar of the crowd. Brad stayed and helped the trainer assist Jake onto his skates. As he stood, the fans gave Jake polite applause for the fallen player.

“Thanks, Jake, I scored on your great pass!”

“You got number fifty? I didn’t even see it. Good for you!” He winced, trying to keep his balance.

“Our parents recorded our game, so you can see it later. I don’t feel much like celebrating with you getting hurt and setting me up like you did,” Brad offered, taking Jake by the arm to guide him to the players’ bench. Rayous retrieved the puck from the linesman and handed it to Coach Stanton.

The TV camera followed Jake as he stepped off the ice, and the trainer escorted him down the hallway to their dressing room. The celebration was muted at the bench as Brad accepted glove taps from his teammates for scoring number fifty.

“I’ve got to get to Jake!” Wendy said she was anxious to see the condition of her son. “I’ll let you know if I find out anything,” she said to her parents as Dan and Karen accompanied her down to the lower level.