The Hockey Game

Over his life, Darren had seen no shortage of hockey games (and had played in a fair few himself). As a child, he always dreamed of playing in the NHL. As time went on, different priorities arose, and like most people, he lost sight of his dream. Alas, this was decades ago. 

His wife, Cynthia, had also always been a big fan of hockey. Through university, she never missed a game where her school’s team (the Broncos) were playing. She even travelled with the team to an out of town tournament at the end of the season. Indeed, during this trip would later become known as her and Darren’s ‘how did you start dating story’.

As time wore on, Darren and Cynthia graduated university together, lived in a small apartment, bought a nice house outside the city, got a dog, had children and lived quiet, but fulfilling lives, with very few regrets. Their time to spend playing, or watching hockey diminished, as more and more responsibilities arose, but their children also loved the sport, and so it was rare for a Saturday night to go by without a hockey game playing on the TV. As a family, they enjoyed watching hundreds, if not thousands of games together.

Today though, was going to be a different experience entirely. Darren and Cynthia had tickets to go see a live NHL game. It was the first of the year; a preseason game, but still a live NHL game. 

They had gotten the tickets as a gift (section 38, seats 18A and 18B), and decided to make a full night of it. They dressed up in fancy clothes, and went out to their favourite restaurant.

“I’m getting lobster rolls Cynthia, I don’t care. After tonight, if anything should happen to me, I would die a happy man.” Darren remarked with a smirk, knowing very well this would get a rise out of Cynthia.

“Being allergic to shellfish makes that a bit of an alarming thing to say, Darren.” 

As they entered the restaurant, both laughing, the hostess took them to their reserved seats and they sat down. They had a lovely meal (with no anaphylactic shock). When the waiter brought their bill, Cynthia saw Darren take it and pull some cash out of his wallet. He slipped it into the wrist of his sleeve, and Cynthia groaned. 

The waiter came over, and Darren said, “I’ll make you a deal. I’m going to play a magic trick on you, and if I impress you enough, how about you pay for our meal?”

Cynthia held her head between her fingers, closed her eyes, and mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to the waiter.

The waiter replied, “You didn’t strike me as a man of magic, so I’m in”.

Darren put his hand behind the waiter’s ear, and pushed the cash from his sleeve into his hand. He handed the cash to the waiter and said, “Look what was hiding behind your ear! Now, you can have this to pay for our meal, as long as you admit you’re impressed.”

Darren and Cynthia left the restaurant, got in a taxi, and went to the Arena. They arrived quite early, so they would have time to get their refreshments.

“Are you going to have a beer?” Cynthia asked.

“Not a chance. I’m not going to risk having to use the bathroom, and miss a second of this.” Darren replied.

They both smiled, and gave each other a look expressing the joy they felt to be able to experience this together.

They got their popcorn, and found their seat. Section 38, seats 18A and 18B. They had a great view of the visitor side goalie.

“Great seats. Hopefully this is where all the action is tonight!” Cynthia said with a smile.

The pregame show was mesmerizing. “Why don’t they show this stuff on TV!” Darren exclaimed.

The commentator announced the starting line up. On the home side was the Captain, who had been playing in the league for years, and the league’s leading scorer, who’s name was Bennett. The other player of note was a rookie. His name was Easton, and he was a newly drafted player. He had won championships in the minors, and was decorated with more than one trophy. 

The national anthem played, and the puck dropped. The home team won the faceoff, and moved the puck quickly between the defense. They got an odd man rush, but were stopped by the goalie. Around ten minutes into the period, the visiting team took a penalty. The faceoff was in the visitor’s end, which meant Darren and Cynthia had a great view.

The home team won the faceoff back to the Captain on defense, who took a hard slapshot. The puck went straight in the net. 1-0!

The second period did not go as well as the first for the home team. The visitor’s scored two goals, making the score 2-1 for the bad guys.

As the third period rolled on, it was looking more and more like the visiting team may win. That is, until a lucky bounce pushed the puck past a pinching defense, and let loose a 2 on 1 for the home team. Best of all, Bennett had the puck. He rushed down the side of the ice, and passed the puck over to the other player who was ahead. The puck carrier accelerated and drew the defense towards himself. He pulled back as if he was about to shoot. One of the visitor’s forwards was rushing back hard, and was close to Bennett, trying to remove the option for a pass, but couldn’t quite catch up. The man with the puck faked the shot, and passed it over to Bennett, who snuck in behind the last defender. Just as he was about to deflect the puck at the net, the backchecking player tripped him. The crowd went wild, calling for a penalty and the referee pointed to the center of the ice.

“That means a penalty shot…” Darren said quietly. “I never thought I’d ever see a penalty shot live.” 

Bennett gathered his composure, and picked up the puck at center ice. He went in slow at first, and sped up to what seemed like full speed in three strides when he passed the blue line. The goaltender wasn’t ready for that burst of speed, and was too far out of his net. Bennett deked left, pulled the puck to the right, and had a wide open net. 2-2!

The third period buzzer sounded, and the game was on its way to overtime. 

“He might be disappointed that he hasn’t gotten a point yet, but I hope Easton is feeling okay.” Cynthia said to Darren in the intermission

“He’s played great.” Darren replied. “Solid defensively, and he was on the ice for one of our goals. Nothing to be upset about at all.”

The puck dropped for the overtime period, and the visiting team won the draw. They carried it into the home team’s end without much trouble and got set up. They stayed there, passing the puck between one another for what seemed like hours, but had really only been two minutes. They had two nice chances, but the home goaltender made some remarkable saves.

Finally, the home team caught a break, and got control of the puck. They held it behind their own net, and both teams changed their players. 

“Look, Easton is on!” Darren exclaimed.

The Captain took the puck through center, and carried it himself into the offensive team’s zone. He passed it off to Easton, who passed it over to Bennett in the corner. The puck found its way back to the defense, and the Captain wound up for a slapshot, in exactly the same position as when he scored the first goal. It looked like he was about to take the shot, but instead, he fanned on it, making a dainty pass across the ice to Easton, who was standing wide open at the side of the net. Easton shot hard with a one-timer and put the puck in the back on the net! 3-2! The home team won. 

Easton jumped in excitement and got mauled by his teammates as they celebrated. The commotion settled down, and the players shook hands. Easton skated towards Cynthia and Darren’s section. He pointed right at them. Section 38, seats 18A and 18B. He made a familiar goofy smile.

Darren and Cynthia both mouthed quietly, at the same time, with tears in their eyes. They were hoping he could read their lips

“I love you, son” said Darren.

“We’re so proud of you” whispered Cynthia.