Page 126 of Second Chance with the Single Dad Goalie
Well, it is not happening.
The air inside the arena is electric - packed house, screaming fans, and banners waving. Every shift, every hit, every second on the clock matters.
And I’m on the bench.
I should be on the net. I’m the starting goalie, the Avalanche’s anchor between the pipes, the guy who’s led us through battle all season. But after that brutal collision in Game 5, Coach benched me for Game 6 and gave the nod to Jace for tonight.
Jace is solid. Quick glove, and great lateral movement. But this game? This is big for him. This is war.
The puck drops. The Ironbacks come out flying. I sit on the bench, gripping my stick, my mask resting on my knee as I track every movement on the ice.
The first five minutes are chaotic. Jace kicks out a big save on a breakaway, shutting down their winger with a quick right pad. Thirty seconds later, another rush - he gloves it, no rebound.
We barely get possession before they’re cycling hard in our zone again. Their captain, Henderson, winds up for a slapshot from the blue line. Jace sees it and reacts -ping.
Crossbar.
The crowd gasps. That was close.
But they don’t let up. Another shot comes flying in - Jace drops into the butterfly and sticks it aside. A rebound pops loose in the crease, but he scrambles, diving across to cover it.
This is insane.
Then, ten minutes in, the crack we were hoping wouldn’t come - Henderson finds space and rips a one-timer from the point. Jace reacts a second too late.
Ping.
The red light flashes behind him.
0–1.
I grit my teeth.
Ironbacks keep pressing, and Jace is fighting off rebounds, scrambling. We finally got some momentum back. Logan levels a guy against the boards, Nate steals the puck, and Tomas dangles past a defender before burying the puck into the net.
1–1.
YES.
We start gaining momentum. A few minutes later, we got a power play. Liam moves the puck well - quick passes to Logan who ducks so low he looks like an ice stake ballerina. He finds space at the top of the circle and fires a laser. It’s going on.
But their goalie, Roy Whitaker, flashes his glove at the last second, snatching the puck out of the air.
Faceoff in their zone. Nate wins it clean, tapping the puck back to Riley, who winds up - a slapshot. Rebound. Chaos in front of the net. Carson tries to shove it past Whitaker, but he sprawls, getting his pad on it.
Before I know it, it’s the second period. See? Time is flying.
We start slow. Too slow. And if you think it can’t get worse, it gets worse.
We take a penalty early - slashing. Jace stands tall, sliding post to post, kicking out two massive saves before freezing the puck. But they keep coming. The Ironbacks are buzzing, working the puck around cleanly.
Their speed is insane. Honestly, they make us look like amateurs with the way they play. How they always get theiropening and maneuver their way around us to fire shot after shot after shot is insane.
But then, we are no quitters or letdowns. We hold our own.
A two-on-one break - Jace stretches post to post, pad save.
A high shot through traffic - snagged with a quick glove.
