Page 2 of Playing to Win

For a couple of minutes,after Petrov went down in warm-ups, the press box was totally silent. When he got up and made his way off the ice, we all clapped, but he didn’t put weight on his left foot. I updated the social media platforms I had open, and then looked for my notes on the guy they’d brought up from the Inferno to back up Petrov. He’d be starting now.

The team would need someone to back up this guy, Braydon Mitchell. They couldn’t get anyone else from the Inferno—the team had left earlier this afternoon for a game in Belleville, a good two and a half hours away.

What about… I tapped on my phone as I considered. We’d done a promo for my team, the Bonfire, today, since we were starting our playoffs soon. Our home arena was old and dark, so we’d brought a few of the players down to the Blaze arena to shoot photos. Dev had brought her goalie gear along, and the Bonfire didn’t play tonight so she wouldn’t have rushed off.

The opportunity was too good. It was a bizarre chain of events that got us here and it wouldn’t happen again. I picked up my cane and stepped outside the box to call Kira, my boss, for the part of my job that dealt with Blaze publicity.

As soon as she picked up I started, since time was short. “Faith Devereaux was here today for photos with all her goalie gear. Why not get the team to use her as the EBUG?”

A moment of silence.

“Imagine how we could promote this. The Bonfire playoffs start soon.” I hated that my knee injury meant I wouldn’t be on the ice for them, but I was still part of the team. The other part of my job was promoting the Bonfire.

Kira worked for the Blaze though, so I leaned on that angle. “The Blaze will look good too. A woman dressing for a game, willing to push the boundaries for their sister team—and you know absolutelyeverynews outlet, sports or not, would be all over this.”

“Interesting idea. Let me check it out.” She hung up and I texted my teammate.

Are you close by? I’m pushing to get you in as the EBUG.

Faith would be better than calling in a Zamboni driver or putting one of the D-men in goalie pads if Mitchell was injured too. This could be such a big moment if the Blaze went for it.Please let this happen.

We planned to stay for the game. Gear is in the car. Petrov’s out?

Kira called before I could respond. “If she can be ready in fifteen minutes, she’s in.”

“She’s here at the game, and her kit is in her car.”

“Great, I’ll pass that on.”

My hands shook as I responded to Faith.

Get your ass in gear, EBUG!

When I limped back into the box, press people around me were researching Mitchell, who was getting his first start. I’d done research on him earlier but now I had to line up posts for Faith coming in as backup. My laptop almost burned up as I scrambled to get things ready. It was a good thing my hands hadn’t been injured in the hit that took out my knee.

The announcement came. Faith Devereaux, starting goalie for the Toronto Bonfire, would sub in as backup goalie for the Toronto Blaze, with Braydon Mitchell of the Hamilton Inferno starting in net.

I shook out my hands, took a long breath, and then started to post the news on all the platforms the Blaze and Bonfire had an official presence on. But first, I shot a message to our team text.

Dev is the Blaze EBUG!

The arena buzzed as the news spread. Social media lit up. I stood for the anthem, but my mind was elsewhere, and I missed the opening face-off. Not that it mattered—the news was mostly about Faith, sitting on the bench. There was some talk about Mitchell as well: the Blaze were in the playoff hunt, and every point counted.

I wasn’t sure the Blaze were getting points tonight though. Mitchell hadn’t let anything in yet, but he was shaky. A couple of clangs on the goalpost meant he was lucky to still have a shutout. Being thrown into this situation without warning would be difficult for anyone, but this was his job.

And there it was. Goal scored on him in the first five minutes. Posts on social media were already suggesting Faith should be put in goal.

Goalies were divisive to team fans. Some were loyal to a player even after their skills declined. Others gave up on a newbie before they had time to find their footing. Still, imagining what would happen if Mitchell was pulled…I almost got dizzy. A woman playing in a regular season game would be so groundbreaking you’d hear the cheering of female athletes around the world.

Mitchell settled in. The Blaze scored two goals before the period ended, and he made some good saves. He grew more confident, came out of his crease. I suspected that was his more natural style of play.

I was busy in the break. The backup goalie De Vries going out this morning got a lot of media play, but adding Petrov going down and a newbie starting in goal had everyone buzzing. Dev on the bench amped it up to insane levels.

The second period was all about the Blaze. Two more goals, including an impressive backhander by Ducky with the assist from Cooper. Mitchell had found his groove and shut the door. He was new enough that Edmonton hadn’t seen tape on him yet, but he was doing good. No chance he’d be pulled for Faith.

If Petrov had been playing, at this point they might have put his backup in for the third period to get some experience. After all, De Vries wasn’t coming back immediately, so they needed a second goalie.

What if they did it anyway—put the backup in for the third? The game was well in hand, and…before I could second-guess myself, I texted Kira.

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