Chapter 12

I woke up Saturday morning with Vicky lying with her head on my chest and her arm wrapped around my torso. Her leg was intertwined with my near leg. She was wearing my old tee shirt that had ridden up and I looked to see a pair of small black panties covering her fantastic ass. Damn, I must have fallen asleep and she had let me stay sleeping. I looked over at the clock and it showed me it was already eight thirty. Double damn, not enough time to have any fun this morning either I thought frustrated. I tried to slip out from underneath her without waking her but she woke up.

"Morning Sweetie, what time is it? Vicky said sleepily.

"Its eight thirty Honey, time to get up. I have to be at the Arena cafeteria for nine so I have to hustle" I said.

"Ok, you go ahead and get in the shower and I'll follow as soon as I can, Michael" she said as she lay back down and closed her eyes.

I went in and did my usual bathroom stuff and got dressed in some casual dress shorts and a collared golf shirt. Vicky was still sleeping so I gave her a quick kiss and said I would see her later.

"Sweetie, good luck today if we don't meet up. I don't know what your schedule is. If you see Amanda, tell her I'll be there by ten but I'll call her for where to meet up" Vicky said as she tried to wake up.

"Ok Honey, worst case scenario is I'll see you after the game. I'll try to call you when I can" I replied and gave her another kiss.

I let her be and grabbed my suit bag, shoes and a couple of textbooks to read while waiting around. I bundled everything into the car and took off for the arena. After carrying in my stuff into the locker room, I went up to the cafeteria and grabbed a big breakfast. I found John and Amanda sitting together and sat down with them.

"Mike, where's Vicky" asked Amanda.

"She's still in bed unfortunately Amanda. She told me to tell you she would try and be here for ten but would call you on where to meet up" I replied.

"Did you too fool around all night Mike? And now she's all exhausted and tired out you big brute" she said teasing.

"Ah, no, I fell asleep before she got over to my apartment for the night. I guess the long week caught up to us both" I replied.

"So, no mellowing out of Mike yet" said John. "I guess that's a good thing on game day."

"Well you too look chipper so I guess you two had fun last night" I retorted.

Amanda had a small smile on her face as John said "That we did, Mike, that we did" and put his arm around her.

"Well I'm glad someone did" I said a bit frustrated.

Amanda stopped smiling and looked a bit concerned while John laughed at my plight.

"Well you can take your frustrations out on North Dakota forwards then Mike" he said with a grin.

Amanda elbowed him in the ribs and said to me "I'm sure you and Vicky will finally get some time this weekend to get together Mike. I know Vicky is looking forward to it as much as you are."

I just nodded and ate my breakfast while Amanda gave John a look and shook her head. We had just finished eating when Fred and Frank came in and had the team gather around.

Fred spoke up "Ok, here's the schedule for the rookies. After breakfast, get changed into work-out clothes, stretch and ride the bikes. At eleven we go on the ice for 45 minutes and then North Dakota does. While they are on we'll have a quick snack and then get dressed. We go out fifteen minutes before the buzzer for final warm-up skate and then the National Anthem gets played and we start the game. Obviously we have three 20 minute periods with 20 minute intermissions. There will be fruit and drinks in the locker room but don't fill up with too much of either. After the game, you must dress in a suit and the seniors and juniors on the team will be made available for any interviews. All others are not allowed to answer any questions. We will discuss the game plan in the locker room and in the weight room with individual players as needed. Are there any questions?" "Ok, finish up and let's get warmed up" Fred concluded.

John and Amanda hugged and kissed and she said "Good luck John, have a great game ok?"

"Sure thing Babe, I'll look for you in the usual spot" John replied with a grin.

"Mike, you have a good game too ok. Don't worry, you'll do fine. I'll make sure Vicky and her folks all find a place to sit and she's ok. Try and give her a quick call before you go on if you can get away with it" Amanda said. She gave me a quick hug too and whispered in my ear "Vicky is planning on giving you a big reward if you play well today so now you have another incentive to play hard." She stepped back and gave me a grin as I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She just giggled and went back to John and kissed again and whispered in his ear too. John smiled and whispered in her ear which made her blush but then nod and kiss him again. We left her there as we walked out and John looked back and waved as she was looking back at us.

We quickly got into our warm-up clothes and spent some time on the mats stretching out our muscles. After we were done, we got on some bikes and slowly started pedaling. We increased our speed over time, with me following John's lead on the tempo. Frank came by and talked to me for a bit.

"Mike, how are you doing?" Frank asked.

"Not too bad Frank, just a bit nervous" I replied. "I don't want to screw up and disappoint you and Mr. Benson today."

"Listen Mike, don't worry about disappointing us" he said. "We know you're green and going to make mistakes. Just do the best you can. Err on the side of caution and you'll do fine. We will try and get you out only against their third or fourth lines so you should be ok."

"Ok, I'll still be nervous if it's ok with you" I said.

"Hey, this will be like nothing you've done or felt before" he continued. "There will be over 6,000 screaming people in the stands today. You have to try and tune them out and take your cues from John. If you get rattled, pass it to John and he will get it out. If you can't, go ahead and ice it and we'll get you off for a couple of minutes. This is just an exhibition game. It means nothing in the standings so try and just get used to playing against real opponents in front of a crowd."

"Ok, Frank, I'll do my best" I told him.

"Good, now take a break and then get into practice gear" Frank instructed.

John and I left the weight room and went and grabbed a bottle of water before heading back to the locker room.

"I think he made me more nervous" I said to John as we walked back.

He laughed and said "Don't worry about it. It's a little daunting when you first go out onto the ice for final warm-ups but after a while you don't even notice the crowd. Listen, I'll back you up a little more than usual and won't leave you hanging on the power play unless we are way up. If a fast guy is coming in on you I will be there if he beats you. Just do the best you can. No one will get down on you for any mistakes in these first couple of games."

I took a deep breath and just nodded. We got dressed in our practice gear and after a few minutes wait, went out on the ice. We stretched again and then did our warm-up skate. We took some shots but John told me to keep the power way down as they probably had someone watching us and the coaches wanted to keep my shot a surprise. Finally we did some three on two half rink scrimmages and then called it a practice at 11:45. I looked around when I had time but the stands were pretty empty and I didn't see Vicky or Amanda.

We went back in and the staff had light sandwiches and fruit and vegetables for us to snack on. After our snack I went the washroom and then slowly got dressed in our game equipment. I was ready early so I discretely grabbed my phone and called Vicky.

"Hi Honey, are you here yet?" I asked.

"Amanda and I are saving Becky and my parents some seats in the rink Sweetie. How are you doing?" asked Vicky.

"I'm a little nervous, but I hope to be ok. We should be out in about fifteen minutes for the final warm-up before the Anthem. I'll look for you then ok Vicky" I told her.

"Ok Michael, Good luck and have a great game and don't get hurt. I can't wait to see my man in his uniform. What's your number Sweetie?" she asked.

"It's five Honey. I'll see you soon ok?" I replied.

"Ok, bye Michael" she said.

"Bye Vicky" I replied.

I put my phone away and sat down to wait. I ran over some of the plays in my head and hoped I wouldn't forget where I should be, especially in face-off conditions. My knee started jiggling up and down and I had to force myself to make it stop. Mark came over and gave me a pat on the back and wished me luck, so did Shawn and Larry. I was getting really nervous and had butterflies in my stomach. I walked quickly to the washroom and just made it to a stall before bringing up my breakfast and my lunch snack. At least I didn't get it all over my jersey!

I rinsed out my mouth and washed my face and got back in time to hear Fred start his pre-game speech. "Ok, this is just an exhibition but we need to start off strong. Everyone play hard and do their best. No cheap shots or retaliations if they do it. Take the penalty and make we'll make them pay. Everybody help out the rookies and don't leave them high and dry. They're nervous enough as it is by the looks of Stewart there"

Everyone laughed as I had plainly just came back from throwing up in the can. I smiled weakly and shook my head. Chris came over and gave me a sports drink to get me some quick energy. I thanked him and had a few sips.

Mark, our goalie, led us out to the ice and the place erupted in cheers and applause and a band started playing the Michigan fight song while we skated around our half of the ice. The boos started when the North Dakota team, the Sioux, came on the ice. Each team skated for about five minutes. John pointed out where the girls were sitting and I saw them waving and hollering. I waved back and they smiled huge smiles. Becky was there their parents and they all looked to be happy and having fun. The twins had on the same Michigan sweatshirts and jeans and looked gorgeous every time I came around to the ice where I could see them. John saw the twins and looked at me in shock.

"They look like twins Mike! Are they?" he asked over the loud crowd and the music.

I just smiled as the horn sounded and everyone got off but the first line and the goalies. The rink announcer came on the PA system and asked everyone to remove their hats and stand for the singing of the National Anthem. The players all stood and removed their helmets and looked to the flag at the end of the rink. A girl from the music program was introduced and she sang a fine rendition of the anthem and the crowd erupted at the end. The horn was sounded and the refs had the players line up at the centre circle and the puck was dropped. My first game was started!

North Dakota won the draw and quickly moved the puck up into our zone. They sent it in deep and went after it with their forwards. Man they were fast. Our forwards quickly collapsed as we had practiced and helped the defence out so their forwards were double teamed. We gained control of the puck and moved it out of the zone, with our centre carrying the puck. They got back quickly and a weak shot was turned aside by their goalie to the corner. There was a battle for the puck along the board but the Sioux got control and our team retreated to change as they did as well. The second line went on and the play continued into our end for a minute. They had our second line pinned in our zone for their whole shift before a forward could carry it to the centre line and dump it into their zone for a change.

John and I jumped over the boards and raced to our positions on defence as they carried the puck back up the ice. We went into a one four neutral ice play to stop their quick advance up the ice into our zone. It worked as our third line forwards trapped the puck carrying defenceman forcing him to pass it back into his zone. We moved up a bit and put some more pressure and clogged up the middle. Shawn got a good hit on one of their defencemen and he took over at centre ice. We quickly moved into their zone and our forwards had the puck in deep, while John and I kept out at the blueline for a point shot. John inched in to the middle of the ice between the two face-off circles while I moved into the middle of the ice back at the blueline to cover both points. Their forwards had backed in to help in deep so John was open in the slot. The pass came out from Shawn to John and he got a good one time shot away but it was deflected wide off a skate.

Their defenceman pounced on the loose puck and passed it up the open boards to a streaking forward. I was already backing up so I kept up to him as he went down the left side trying to beat me to the net. Man he was fast! I was just a half step behind him but luckily I was in the middle so when he started trying to lean into the middle to go in on net for a shot or deke I was still close enough to hit him with a check to angle him around the net and into the end boards. Mark moved out and swept the puck away to John who lugged it back up to centre ice to send it in deep so we could change. I quickly skated to the bench and was replaced with the first pair again.

Frank came over and said "Great play there Mike. Good Hustle" as he patted my shoulder.

I just nodded as I was sucking in air trying to catch my breath. John came back to the bench and sat down beside me.

"Thanks Mike, Sorry to leave you hanging so quickly. It was too good to pass up. Damn skate got in the way of a beautiful shot" he said.

"Try not to do that again man, geez he was fast!" I gasped.

"Ok, next time you go in and make them get out of the way with one of your patented shots" he said.

"We'll see how the situation looks first" I said before committing to anything.

The play went back and forth for the next couple of minutes. The second line did better and actually made their goalie freeze the puck after a quick shot. Frank sent John and me out to try for a point shot from the face-off. Shawn, the third line centre, won the face-off back to John but their forward was on him to quick to shoot. He faked the shot and whipped a pass over to me for the one timer. In the mean time our forwards had crashed towards the net to deflect the shot or pounce on a rebound. Their other winger wasn't quick enough to get out to block my shot. I put everything I could muster up into that first shot and aimed it for the near bottom corner. It looked like the goalie would be over in time to stop it when our right winger, Brad, got his stick down to deflect it up and over the goalie before he could even react.

The red light came on and a huge cheer erupted from the crowd. We went over to Brad and gave him a high five and went back to the bench as the rest of the team congratulated us.

The Announcer came on and said "Wolverine's goal scored by Brad Eddings, assisted by Mike Stewart and John Reilly at 4:58. Again, goal by Eddings, assist by Stewart and Reilly at 4:58."

John and I were all smiles as we heard the announcement of our names. We looked over where the girls were sitting and saw them jumping and shouting. Boy it felt great to see someone cheering for us. We turned back to the game as it got underway again. Frank came over and congratulated us but told us to calm down now and get ready for them to start attacking.

We watched as their first line took the puck deep and started a cycle. Our forwards collapsed again but this time they got it back to the point for a good slap shot. Our one forward couldn't get out in time to block it so it went on net. It was a good low shot that was deflected but Mark reacted quickly to get his blocker on it and steer it to the corner. Their speedy forwards swarmed over the rebound and got it under control and back the front of the net for another quick shot. This time Mark gloved it and held it for a whistle and a face-off in our zone.

They switched up to their second line so as the home team we had the last change so we followed with ours. The play continued in our end for a bit until our second pair of defencemen got control and coolly passed it up and then skated up following the play. The puck was quickly turned over and our defencemen left early to change with John and me before the Sioux got into our zone. I quickly moved over to my defensive spot as they carried the puck up the ice while the second line changed. They made it into our zone and set up another cycle. I checked one of the puck carriers into the boards but his teammate got the puck before I could scoop it up. I followed him behind the net and kept him from coming out in front. He went to pass it off to the cycling forward going away but I stepped in front of him as he picked up the pass and we ran into each other hard. We both flew off our skates into the boards and John quickly picked up the loose puck and passed it to a streaking Shawn. I watched, as I untangled with the forward, Shawn deke the lone defenceman and forcing him to hook Shawn or let him go in alone on their goalie. The refereed blew the whistle for a two minute hooking penalty.

Frank had John and I sit for the start of the first half of the penalty as we were on the ice and were tired. The second unit started and controlled the puck but couldn't put the puck by their goalie. With about 45 seconds left the puck was frozen and the first power play unit was sent out, including both John and I. The face-off was on my side of the ice so Gary, the centre, would try and win the faceoff, passing the puck back to me for a quick shot. The face-off was a scrum, meaning no one won it and it was in their feet for a bit. Our extra forward knocked it back to me and I shot it quickly for a top corner. I would like to say it went in for my first goal, but it missed high and banged loudly off the back glass, and wrapped around the boards to the other point. John got over and stopped it inside the blue line and carried it in towards the net for a closer shot. I moved back into the middle to cover. John wound up and took a hard shot that the goalie couldn't have seen as there were at least four bodies in front of him. Unfortunately, it hit the goalie on his leg as he spread out to cover as much of the net as he could. He controlled the rebound and froze it for another face-off.

This time it was on John's side. I looked at the clock and there was 24 seconds left in the penalty. Gary won the face-off clean and John took another hard one timer that was deflected out of play. Another face-off with 18 seconds remaining. This time they won it cleanly and their defence wrapped it around the boards to try and clear it. I moved right to the boards and stopped it with my legs. Their forward was coming quickly to try and tap it by me so at the last minute I banged it on the boards past him to the right winger. I stepped aside and the winger missed a check on me so I moved in for an open shot at the top of the face-off circle. The winger saw me open and feathered a nice pass and I leaned into it and blew it by the goalie over his glove shoulder.