Chapter 6

“The on-ice officials for tonight’s game are referees Dennis LeRue and Francis Charron. The linesmen are Jay Sharrers and Don Henderson,” Gord mentioned.

With the national anthem over, Referee LeRue brought the teams to center, raising a hand for each goal judge to activate their goal light. He dropped the puck, and the game was on!

Brad and the others watched as the game began with a high pace and back-and-forth action.

“Zack Smith crosses the Senators logo and dumps the puck into Montreal’s end. There’s a fight going on back beside the Senators’ net! Carkner for Ottawa and Neilson are exchanging blows,” Gord said.

The camera’s switched to show the two in a bear hug, trading punches, and the crowd cheering them on. “Neilson puts Carkner down, but he’s quickly back up onto his skates.”

“Carkner is going to have sore knuckles after being in three last night,” Gord mentioned.

The camera showed Carkner wrestling Neilson down again, landing on his back on the ice. The linesmen went to their knees, separating the two, and escorted them to their penalty box.

“That’s one of the toughest things to do in a fight if you go down, trying to protect your head, especially if you’ve lost your helmet in the skirmish. Carkner seemed to cradle Neilson’s head as he flipped him over,” Ray mentioned.

“Many players have received severe head injuries, not from the fight but from hitting their heads on the ice,” Gord added. “Just over two minutes into the first period, and we have our first tilt, Carkner and Neilson.”

“As we can see on the replay, Carkner takes Stewart hard into the boards, and Neilson takes exception to the hit, then challenges Carkner, and they drop their sticks and gloves. Two tough boys going at it,” Ray said.

“Okay, boys, let’s see a good forty-five second shift,” Coach Clouson said, patting Brad on the shoulder. He and the others could feel their adrenalin pumping as their skates touched the ice surface.

“The Senators make a line change, bringing out the Belleville connection of Brad Hayward at center, Jake Campbell on left wing, and Derek Kendall on right wing, with Pete Kendall and Scott Warren on left and right defence,” Ray mentioned, as the camera panned on them.

High above in the stands, section 116B erupted in loud cheers and applause for the new players on the ice.

“Go, Brad, go! Go, Brad, go! I love you!” Abby yelled at the smiles of the others.

The linesman drops the puck for the face-off as the penalties are announced.

“Hayward against Johansson for the neutral zone face-off. Hayward wins the draw, pulling the puck back to Warren. He is checked by White, but he manages to forward the puck to Kendall.”

“Kendall caries the puck over the Montreal blue line, passing to Hayward, who is checked against the boards by Markov and stripped of the puck. He battles back, winning possession, and passes to Jake Campbell. Campbell manages to let go a wrister from 10 feet and is stopped by Price and held for a face-off to his left.”

“Hayward poises with Johansson for the face-off. He wins the draw, with the puck going to Kendall. Stewert fights him for the puck along the half boards and passes to an open Hayward. Hayward lets go a slap shot that Price has trouble handling and falls to the ice to cover the loose puck for another face-off.”

Brad noticed a play change, and they were replaced by Ryan Shannon, Alex Kovalev, and Johnathan Cheechoo.

“Gord, I wanted to show the slow-motion replay of Hayward’s slap shot. Notice the torque his stick builds as he releases his shot. I’ve spoken with his Falcons coach, Frank Stanton, who says Brad’s shot has been clocked at 98 miles per hour.”

“That NHL-calibre speed,” Gord mentioned.

“His dad, Dan Hayward, has said Brad’s slap shot clocked at an incredible 116! That’s way faster than any pro player!”

“Maybe Brad comes by his hard shot naturally from his dad.”

“Good first shift, boys,” Coach Clouson said, tapping their shoulder pads.

Brad stood, giving Jake, Derek, Pete, and Scott high fives. “At least we didn’t fall on our asses on our first shift. Way to dig in, guys. Great shot on net, Jake!”

“And we didn’t get scored on!” Derek added.

Brad took his water bottle, holding it up above his head, then took a good swig. “Good boy!” Abby smiled, seeing Brad keeping hydrated.

The play resumed with the boys watching the end-to-end, hard-checking play. At the 6:26 mark, Eric Karlsson took a two-minute minor for holding.