I laughed lightly at the idea of Lucy ever being calm when she watched her boyfriend play, let alone in the NCAA championship game. “You’ve been dating Alex for years. Doesn’t she know that’s impossible by now?”
“You’d think so. She’s certainly sat next to me often enough and watch me freak out,” Lucy agreed.
I reached over and grabbed her hand to give it a squeeze. “No matter what happens tonight, it will be okay. Win or lose, Alex will always be able to say he played in this game. It’s something he can be proud of for the rest of his life.”
Lucy sighed deeply. “I know. I just want him to win so badly,” she said as the buzzer sounded to signify the start of the game.
We both watched with bated breath as the ref dropped the puck. Jason and Luka were on the ice, and the center passed the puck back for Luka to grab. I couldn’t stop myself from jumping up and screaming his name even though there was no way he could hear me.
The game flew by so quickly, the teams evenly matched and playing their best games of the season. Their determination to win could practically be felt in the air. The first period ended without a single goal being scored, and I could barely wait until the intermission was over. Lucy’s nerves were apparently contagious because now I was fidgeting in my seat, my heart racing as I waited to see what the outcome would be.
Luka’s team didn’t fare as well during the second period. Their center was called for slashing someone’s stick and Luka was on the ice for a penalty kill when the other team scored. I watched as Luka skated over to Alex, who had banged his stick on the ice in frustration. They spoke for a moment before Luka went to the bench and Alex swiped his stick over the ice in front of him, cleaning it in the same gesture he used any time a goal had been scored against him.
Blythe held them off for the remainder of the period, but it felt like the momentum had shifted in the other team’s favor. I raced to the bathroom during the next intermission, knowing that there would be a long line, determined to make it back to my seat in time. There was no way I was going to miss even a second of this game.
By the time the ref blew his whistle before dropping the puck again, I was a nervous wreck. Everything I had told Lucy at the start of the game applied to Luka too, but I knew how much he wanted to win. It was his last game, his dream. And I wanted him to get it.
“Please, please, please,” I chanted under my breath.
We’d come out fighting hard this period but hadn’t caught a lucky break yet. With ten minutes left to play, I was starting to get a little worried that they wouldn’t be able to pull it off. The clock kept ticking down the time, and every shot we had was stopped by the goalie.
And then it happened.
Luka was skating with the puck and had just crossed the blue line into the offensive zone. As he passed it to Jason, one of the players from the other team hit him from behind. I watched Luka as he went down hard, covering my mouth as I gasped in horror.
The ref raised his hand to call the penalty, and I waited for the play to stop so someone could make sure Luka was okay. He was lying on the ice for what seemed like forever when I finally heard the buzzer sound and the crowd roar. Luka got up to his knees and shook his head. Jason skated over to help him to his feet. It wasn’t until he had made it safely to the bench that I realized we had scored a goal. It was now a tie game with a couple of minutes left to go and a power play for Luka’s team because of the dirty hit he’d taken.
I glared daggers at the player who was now sitting in the penalty box before looking back at Luka on the bench. His eyes met mine across the rink and he flashed me the thumbs-up sign to let me know he wasn’t hurt. I was so relieved that I felt tears well in my eyes.
“He’s okay,” I whispered, and Lucy grabbed my hand to pull me from my seat.
We cheered wildly, stomping our feet and hoping they’d be able to score again. I wanted them to win even more now after having watched Luka go down. And I wanted it to be while that guy was stuck in the box so he knew it was all his fault his team had lost the game, too.
“C’mon,” I mumbled, eyes glued to Luka’s teammates as they zoomed around the offensive zone, shooting the puck back and forth to each other. Their center wrapped around the net, drawing the goalie to the side before he zipped it over to one of the wings, who snapped his stick back and shot the puck toward the net. The buzzer rang right as the whistle blew.
“Goal!” Lucy shouted. “Holy shit! It went in. Did you see that?”
Blythe College had managed to win the game with no time to spare. The team piled off the bench, over the wall, and onto the ice to celebrate. I pulled out my phone to snap a few pictures, knowing that Luka would want them for later.