Page 68 of Playoff

TWENTY-ONE

Rowan

Two minutes leftin game seven.

Holy shit.

It’s 3-1.

And the Phantoms are winning.

Standing behind the bench, I am so caught up in the excitement I can barely breathe. It’s incredible to be here, part of this organization, as the seconds tick by toward our first playoff win in thirteen years.

I can see the tightness on Coach Vanek’s face as he watches the play on the ice. Ivan and Canyon are out there playing like the superstars they are. And Blake is out there with them, making things happen. He has an assist tonight, and he looks amazing out there. Hell, they all do.

They’re in it to win it.

That’s all I can think to say as I watch time running out on the clock.

For this last minute of play, the Blizzard looks tired. Defeated. Like they know who the better team is and there’s nothing they can do.

…46…45…44…

More seconds tick down.

My hands are clenched into fists at my side.

We try not to show too much emotion at the games. It doesn’t present a confident appearance, and we’re supposed to stay neutral, but it’s fucking hard on a night like tonight. My heart is beating like crazy and it’s a little hard to breathe.

…33…32…31…30…

The refs blow the whistle, and there’s a line change.

Blake sinks down in front of me, and I can’t help but reach out and squeeze his shoulder.

He doesn’t turn but I feel him twitch, acknowledging my presence.

I quickly pull my hand away and bite back a scream as Miikka Laasonen from the Blizzard fires a shot that bounces off the post.

Whew.

…15…14…13…12…

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

…9…8…7…

And then it’s over.

We did it.

We’ve just won our first playoff series in over a decade. The whole team is up off the bench and on the ice, falling all over each other.

Tears prick my eyelids and then our equipment manager, Buddy Sanchez, hugs me tightly.

“Fuck yeah!” he yells in my ear.

“Holy shit.” I don’t like to cry in front of people for any reason, but this is worth getting teary-eyed over. This is huge. And I feel a surge of pride that I’m part of it. It’s a bummer thatwe get our win in Alaska, but that’s okay. A win is a win. And this is the biggest win ever for many of us.

---