Joelle Morrow has her focus set on the future. As an up-and-coming lingerie designer, she's overcome multiple setbacks on the road to achieving her dream of opening her own boutique but has yet to be knocked down, leaving her no time to think about...
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Sweat dripped down my face as I sat in the locker room with twenty other guys, my focus on our coach in the center of the room.
"There are some players who would be proud of how tonight has gone so far; who would be content with the one point we've secured." No one said a word as he cast his gaze around, hitting every single player. "But I know that's not how you men roll. Every win we can get in these regular season games pushes us that much closer to the playoffs, so forget the crowd. Forget the bouncing puck that tied up the game. If we allow them to gain their momentum back right off the bat, we won't have a chance. Go out with your heads high and go out fighting. Show Washington we have what it takes to come out on top."
The chorus of voices from my teammates rung loud and I joined in. We couldn't let the Eagles take this game. We had to keep the adrenaline flowing, get control of the puck, and make a statement.
The Knights weren't backing down.
Going into tonight's game, we were coming off a blow-out loss back at home and looking to redeem ourselves. As expected, Washington had come out in the first period with less power behind them, and we'd taken advantage of it quickly. Though we'd been up two in middle of the second, Washington had scored on a power play, closing in on our lead, and in the final minutes of the third, they'd gotten a lucky goal to tie it up.
Which meant when the buzzer sounded, the game was far from over, and we were going into overtime.
The short break between periods was critical for getting our heads back in the game. To recharge and stretch out, but once the ice was cleaned, it was time to get back out there. The energy in the building buzzed throughout the arena as we took hold of our sticks and headed down the walkway towards the ice.
All it would take to end this game now was one shot—a golden goal—and whoever scored would capture the win for their team.
With Nyberg looking secure between the pipes, Jack's line took the ice first, along with our top defensemen, while the rest of us watched from the bench as the puck was dropped. Managing to get a piece of it, Jack dropped the puck back to the defense before skating past the opposing center to find an opening. For the first minute, we took control, making solid passes and taking over their end of the ice, but soon enough, the back and forth began.
Every time a player went down the ice, whether they were dressed in navy or white, it seemed to push the crowd to the edge of their seats. But time and time again, shots missed the net and the goalies made spectacular saves. There was no doubt Washington wanted this just as badly as we did.
Time in the period was winding down, which only seemed to propel everyone to push harder, because no one wanted the game to end in a shoot-out.
When the whistle sounded, signaling an offside Eagles skater, Schmidt, Wellsley, and I jumped over the boards and took to the ice. Getting in formation around the blue-line, the referee made sure each team was ready, and my eyes focused on the puck as it was dropped at Wellsley's skates.
