Page 88 of Mind Pucked

A fair share of fights on the ice have resulted in far worse, but I don’t think they want to get too juicy for the Stanley.

The play starts again and Vaughn snaps the puck. He gets an assist from Benjamin who runs it up the side of the rink just inside the line. Suddenly, Benjamin takes a hit from the side as he gets bodychecked to the ice with a force so hard I’m not sure I could stand afterward.

I wince, and so does Hayden as we eat our fruit and watch the game unfold. Her juice box makes a slurping sound as she gets tothe bottom of it, and we watch as Ben gets up and the ref calls a ten-minute penalty on the other team.

The first guy leaves the box to come back out onto the ice, and I notice he says something to Jackson that seems to irk him, though Jackson seems able to ignore him for the most part.

Their B-team center skates off the ice to the box, and a new player comes out to replace him. The game resumes, and soon one of the guys from the other team has the puck, rushing toward Felix in our goal box.

The player sets up for the shot as Felix reaches up to adjust his helmet by the cage. He knows it’s coming his way. The other player brings the stick back, hitting the puck with the back end of it and causing it to whirl over the ground as Felix butterflies, dropping to his knees. The puck hits his leg pads instead of anything vital, and sails back toward the other player.

The ref calls a huddle on the ice and the players go to hear what their coaches have to say. The game is close, but the Jays have the lead right now.

I notice Jackson’s face fall again as he passes the player who was in the penalty box first. I get the feeling he keeps saying something to Jackson, but I can’t be sure.

When the teams return to the ice, they set up within seconds, and the puck is in play. Vaughn controls the puck quickly, and Jackson seems to be moving parallel to Vaughn, making sure to stay as open as he can as the opponents come skating their way.

Jackson turns to see a player coming at him—the one with an apparent mouth—and the camera cuts to Jackson’s face to show a scowl toward the other man. All of a sudden, Jackson turnsaway from the play and chases the guy, flying on his skates toward him.

I grab Hayden and turn her head away from the television, burying her face into my shoulder and sending small sprays of what’s left of her juice all over us just as Jackson angrily shoves the guy into the barrier on the ice. I turned her face just in time to miss her daddy hurting someone on purpose, and to be honest, I’m shocked he did it.

The player hits hard and ricochets off the barrier with a thud to the ground. I can barely believe it as the fight continues, a flurry of punches that leave both Jackson and the other player bruised and bloody before their teammates can pull them apart.

“What’s wrong, Amelia?” Hayden cries out, and I realize I’m holding her way too tight in my arms.

“Nothing, baby—I’m so sorry,” I say, and since it seems like the fight has been broken up, I let her turn around on my lap to see the screen once again.

I hold my breath as I wonder if they’re alright. The other guy looks like he really took a pounding. Jackson is still seething with anger, but the look on his face suggests he realizes the mistake he made.

The coach yells something at Jackson, and Jackson looks up toward his coach, face screwed up in frustration. He throws his stick to the ground hard, causing it to bounce twice before coming to a halt at his feet. He skates off-camera as the medics come to tend to the other player who looks to be pretty seriously hurt.

“Oh. Daddy’s angry?” Hayden says innocently.

“Yeah, but he’s okay, look—he just gets to sit down for a while now, see?” The camera pans over to Jackson chatting with the medic, and thankfully he seems to have calmed down enough that I don’t need to explain anything further to Hayden, who happily returns to eating her fruit.

I’m left wondering what in the world the guy must have said to Jackson to make him act this way. There’s no excuse for it, but something obviously set Jackson off…I’m just left wondering what in the world it could have been.

24

JACKSON

Istand in defense of the puck, across from the asshole who can’t keep his mouth shut…the one who used to be on our team back when Preston was with us. He got traded from the B team, and good riddance.

Wayne Goodall.

I slide by him and stick-check him as he mumbles something to me that I can’t quite make out.

“What’s with all the trash talk?” I wonder as I pass him, seeing Oliver going in for the kill.

This is the Stanley Cup, after all. Most of the guys are fairly neutral during the games, but there’s something about Wayne that sets me on edge.

He was a jerk when we played together, and he’s obviously a jerk now.

Oliver brings his stick back and slides it across the ice, and it hits the puck dead-on, sending it through the air at a complete parallel to the ground.

“Yeah, let’s go!” I raise my fist in the air over my head as the puck hits the net. “Woo!” I yell as Oliver and I bump chests and head back to reset for the next play.

I skate past a couple of the guys on the other team and notice Wayne at the last minute.

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