Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Everyone echoes his sentiments, except Coen. He doesn’t say a word, face impassive, and merely skates off to the bench as we disperse for the new line to come on for the restart of play.
We battle it out for two periods and go into that last intermission only down 2–0. Not much Keller can say because we’re holding our own. Our goalie, Patrik Senlund, is a bit of a basket case, and he’s doing an awful lot of complaining that the defensemen are getting in his way and he can’t see what’s going on, but other than that… we’re not doing that bad.
Over the last four practices, I earned and settled into the first line with Gage Heyward at right wing and Coen Highsmith at center, as well as Nolan Carrier and Kirill Zucker as our defensemen. Patrik got the call to be in net tonight, but I know Jesper is going to get a shot at the next game. They’ve been fairly even in practices, and I think it’ll come down to temperament.
On the ice, I have to admit that Gage, Coen, and I are gelling. It’s always a little rocky to join a new line, and here we are putting three distinct styles together to form the offense. But for whatever reason, our speed, pacing, and strategy seem well-matched. While we run well-rehearsed plays, if there’s a bobble, we seem to be able to pivot together well.
About the only thing not quite working up to par is Coen. He earned his spot on the first line because he’s not only a good player but because he was on that line before the plane went down. While he’s smooth and confident on the ice, he’s just not operating at quite the same level of skill as he was prior to the crash. His personality seems to have changed, at least from what I’ve heard about him.
At times, he’s withdrawn and moody, and he doesn’t engage the other players in any meaningful way. If he gets frustrated by someone or something, he doesn’t rant or rail. He ignores it almost to the extent I wonder if he feels anything at all. In my mind, I’ve likened him to a zombie off the ice because he seems to be stumbling aimlessly with nothing going on between the ears.
Regardless of these issues, we seem to be fairly in sync. That’s probably more due to the fact we’re experienced players and not rookies. We’ve got the shots on goal to stay competitive—it’s just that their goalie is in the zone tonight and seems to be stopping everything with a sixth sense.
It’s the start of the third period, and the Breakers score quickly, capitalizing on a missed pass from our third line. Disheartening, but clearly the difference between seasoned professionals going up against players still trying to find their footing. This type of mistake doesn’t bother me and will only improve with more practice.
The red light comes on at the center-ice booth indicating a TV time-out. Our first line will be handling the face-off after, so I stand on the ice, leaning against the boards. I normally don’t pay attention to the fans, but I let my gaze roam, taking in the atmosphere. In all the games I’ve played in the professional league, including during Cup playoffs, I’ve never heard fans be as consistently loud in their cheers. Normally, there’s waxing and waning, but these Titan proud haven’t stopped giving their all to let us know they’re with us. It’s the most inspiring thing I’ve seen in a long time.
The red light dims, and we head out to the face-off circle, settling into our places while the ref prepares to drop the puck. Coen is taking the battle, and I watch the ice where the puck will fall, ready to grab it if it shoots my way. He’s going to try to get it on Gage’s stick who is standing to his left near the top of the circle, but if he’s beat on the draw, I’m ready to jump on it.
Coen wins the draw, but it shoots past Gage and gets trapped against the boards. He scrabbles at it, pushing and shoving against a Breaker for possession. Gage rams an elbow back hard into the guy’s ribs, which stuns him enough through the padding that Gage is able to poke the puck away with his stick.
Kirill picks it up, along with the Breaker who was just on Gage. He spins and dumps it back to Gage as I’m skating toward the blue line. Coen’s on the opposite side, not two feet behind me.
Gage slides it across to me, and I push it into the Breakers’ zone with Coen following right behind over the blue line. I dump it behind me to him, continuing to streak over to the left side of the net. Gage is on the right, near the boards but cutting in fast to the net. Our defenders are only a skate’s length off, but they seem more like troublesome gnats than anything.