Page 124 of Best Man
The boys climbed over the boards and took their spots on the bench for a well-earned, and much needed, break.
“That’s one,” Coach Q roared at the boys. “Now let’s get another!”
***
Five minutes ticked off the clock. The Devils had a few more good chances, but with nothing to show for it, the momentum gained from the first goal began to wane as time continued to be their biggest enemy.
Determined to get the crowd pumping again, Coach Q sent out the fourth line, led by Parisi. The fourth line lacked the skill to put the puck in the net, but scoring wasn’t their role; their job was to hit everything in sight and get inside the opponent’s head. For a solid minute straight, Parisi and crew ran amok, banging bodies and plastering the Falcons into the boards.The crowd gave the fourth line a heroic send-off as they returned to the bench at the end of their shift.
“Second line! Go, go, go!” Coach Q yelled.
The second line, led by Reavo, hopped over the boards. They were a mix of skilled and hard-nosed players who could score a pretty goal or grind you into dust, and they picked up where they fourth line left off: physical dominance. Reavo’s line threw their weight around, hemming a tired Philadelphia unit into their defensive zone.
Dallas earned one great look after another, firing at the net from every angle. It seemed inevitable that the puck would find its way into the net—but the Philadelphia goaltender, desperate to maintain a two-goal cushion, came up with one great save after another.
Reavo parked his big frame in the goal crease to take away the goalie’s vision. The Falcon’s defense locked horns with Reavo, trying to steer him out of the crease, adding to the mayhem. With all that traffic in front of the net, the Devilsneededto simply throw the puck at the net.
“Shoot!”the bench yelled when the puck came to Vedros at the point. The young defenseman wound up and clapped the ice with a hard slap shot. The goalie, not seeing but sensing the shot was coming, dropped into the butterfly. With all that chaos, the puck seemed destined for the net …
… but the crowd groaned as the puck thumped the lucky goalie’s pads and deflected away.
But the rebound popped loose into the slot, and Reavo had a knack for scoring garbage goals. Once the puck came into Reavo’s office, he unleashed a superhuman burst of strength to free himself from the grip of the two Philly defensemen. Reavo dove to the ice, desperately swinging his stick at the puck.
The puck whizzed just under the goalie’s ear and into the net.
The arena went nuts, and so did the boys on the bench, who jumped up and down on their skates.
“ONE MORE!” Niko yelled at the top of his lungs, glancing up at the clock. With ten minutes to go, they had plenty of time. “WE CAN DO THIS!”
38
Paulina
Sasha still wasn’t on the ice with his team when the third period started. Truthfully, Paulina wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it back to the arena in time before the game ended. As much as the sisters wanted to believe the Devils could come back … realistically, they knew the game was pretty much over, so they didn’t pay much attention to the game.
Besides, Yana wassomuch more entertaining. She had an adoring crowd: Paulina’s mom, dad, and sister.
“She’s so precious!” Mom gushed.
Baby Yana, swaddled tightly in a blanket and wearing the wool cap her Grandma had knitted, suckled at her mom’s breast. Paulina watched Yana nurse in amazement—she was such a hungry little thing, right out of the womb!
“Who do you think she looks like, Mom?” Piper asked. “I think she looks like Paulina.”
“Well, she’s definitely got Paulina’s mouth and nose,” Mom said, “but I think she has Aleksander’s eyes. What do you think, honey?”
Dad nodded, agreeing with that assessment. “She’s one heck of a cutie; tell you that much.”
When the commercial break ended, and the game came back on the TV, the Dallas crowd was on their feet, loudly cheering.
“Hey, look!” Piper said. “I think something’s happening!”
“Is it Aleksander?” Mom asked.
“Welcome back to Dallas,”the play-by-play guy said.“We had a little surprise during the commercial break.”The camera cut to the bench, showing Sasha being embraced and congratulated by his smiling teammates.“Number seventy-one has returned to the game.”
“His teammates look relieved, but make no mistake; coming back in this game will not be an easy task,”the color guy added.“Let’s see if Nikolaev can make a difference.”
Sashadidmake a difference, just aminute later. His hustle to the puck created a scoring chance for Dane, who promptly potted the goal. Even Dad, who didn’t know the first thing about hockey, seemed impressed. “Wow!” he said. “Great work by Aleksander. I like a man who works hard.”
