The doors opened and team USA stepped onto the ice. The entire stadium cheered. We skated over to the bench. "Heads high! Stand tall! Fly straight! USA!" Coach Bombay shouted out. "All the way!" The players continued. "Woo! Woo!" Averman took the first face off and was immediately knocked down. The puck went behind the USA net and Goldberg dug it out.
I went after it but was checked into the boards by Gunnar Stahl. I could hear Dean and Fulton cursing over on the bench.
Iceland shot the puck at the net but Goldberg saved it. He was then tripped and Iceland got a goal. "Line change!" Coach Bombay yelled out.
I skated over to the bench and drank some water. "You good?" Julie asked, rubbing my shoulders from where I got checked. "Yeah. I'm great." I said. Russ went to do his knucklepuck but it got swept out from in front of him.
Fulton threw an Iceland player over his shoulder, but it was no use. Iceland scored again.
"We can't make it. Iceland's bigger, stronger, faster. They have more facial hair." Averman said from beside Julie. I took my water bottle and squirted a little at him. "Averman, shut the fuck up!" I yelled. Banks went on and an Iceland player hit his wrist. "Sit down. Sit down." Coach Bombay said to the players on the bench.
"Hey, ref, why don't you call something for crying out loud? He almost took his arm off." Coach Bombay yelled out. Banks skated back to the bench and I went on the ice. Connie got the puck and sent it back to me who sent it to Dwayne. Dwayne went to send the puck to Dean but he was knocked down. An Iceland player got the puck and Luis chased after him. Luis hit him but couldn't stop and sent them both, and the puck, into the net.
Iceland was winning three to nothing. The ones on the ice did the Flying V but we were all knocked down by the Iceland players. Iceland stole the puck and scored another goal. "Coach, put Julie in for fucks sake." I said, wiping my face with a towel. Averman took the first face off in the second period, but was immediately knocked down, again. Fulton, me, and Dean looked at each other on the bench. We all grabbed our bandanas and put them on and then put on our helmets before heading out onto the ice. If an Iceland player came towards us, we were immediately knocked down. One of the Iceland players tried to score again but Goldberg actually saved it. He brought the puck behind the net where it was picked up by Kenny. He did some figure skating moves to distract the Iceland players while leaving the puck there. Fulton went towards it and sent it back to Kenny. He shot the puck and it went in. They skated towards Kenny and engulfed him into a group hug.
The goalie started going for Kenny, but he did what Russ' brother taught him. He started punching the goalie in the stomach before the ref dragged him to the penalty box. Fulton and Dean started screaming. "Alright, Ken Wu. Our little bash brother! He's our man!" They screamed, pounding on the glass of the penalty box. They took their helmets off and started hyping the crowd up. They both ran down the side of the Iceland bench and hit all of their heads.
The ref brought them to the box. They stood up on the bench and started pounding on the glass that separated them and the crowd. Connie joined me on the ice. Iceland was gunning for us. One of their players had checked me into the boards and just stood there laughing at me. "You think this is funny? Drop your fucking gloves!" I shouted, dropping her stick and her gloves and her helmet. The Iceland player did the same.
We circled each other for a second before he took the first swing. I dodged it and went for a punch, landing it right on his jaw. I sent another one to his nose. He managed to get me right in the lip, but I stuck my hand out and scratched his face, leaving three big claw marks.
The ref came over to me as I picked up my stuff. He escorted me to the box where Kenny, Fulton, and Dean still were.
"THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME." I said, sitting down next to Fulton. "That was so fucking hot." Fulton whispered said. I felt a smirk grow on my face. I looked out into the crowd and saw him, Tyler Durden. Just then Connie was knocked down to the ground and as the Iceland player skated by the penalty box, he tapped it with his stick. Fulton, Dean, and me got up, banging on the glass. One of the other Iceland players sent to puck into the corner and Connie went to get it. "Shit" I mumbled
Fulton and Dean were let out of the box as Sanderson had Connie lined up. Next thing I knew, Dwayne was on the ice without his helmet, with his rope. "I'm coming Connie!" He yelled. He swung the rope around and wrapped it around Sanderson just before he got to Connie. He hauled dragged him down to the ground before dragging him back up. Connie went over to them before slamming Sanderson down onto the ground. Dwayne was brought to the penalty box and I was let out. "THATS IT COWBOY!" I shouted out as he jumped up and started banging on the glass.
In the locker room
"Did you all enjoy that?" Coach Bombay asked in the locker room. "Yeah!" Everyone shouted.
"Okay, well, so did they, because they're still three points up and we're one period away from defeat." Everyone sat down except for Jesse. "If we can't beat them, we might as well keep our pride." He said and everyone agreed with him.
"Jesse, that's not pride. Sure, when Dwayne roped that big oaf, part of me cheered. But, guys, I've been there. I know how you feel. I wanted to cream that jerk that busted my knee when I played in the minors. And I really, really wanted to go after Stansson for that cheap shot. But you know what? My knee will heal. And if I become someone I'm not, if I sink to their level, well, then, I lost more than my knee. You understand?"
Everyone said that they did. "We're not goons.
We're not bullies. No matter what people say or do, we have to be ourselves. You. Who are you?" He asked, pointing at Dean. "Dean Portman."
"From where?" "Chicago Illinois. "You." He said, pointing at Guy. "Guy Germaine." "From where?" "St Paul Minnesota." "You." "Jesse Hall from Minneapolis Minnesota." "Who are you?"
"Julie Gaffney from Bangor Maine." "Luis Mendoza. Miami Florida." "Greg Goldberg.
Philadelphia Pennsylvania." "Les Averman.
Brooklyn Park Minnesota." "Fulton Reed.
Stillwater Minnesota." I stood up.
"Sandy Leigh. Portland Maine." I said. "Russ Tyler. South Central Los Angeles."
"Charlie Conway. Minneapolis Minnesota." "Ken Wu. San Francisco California." "Connie Moreau.
Minneapolis Minnesota." "Adam Banks. Edina Minnesota." "Dwayne Robertson. Austin Texas."
"Michelle McKay. Duluth Minnesota." "And I'm Gordon Bombay. Minneapolis Minnesota." Everyone cheered. "We're team USA, gathered from all across America." "Mostly Minnesota." I chimed in. Coach Bombay held back a chuckle. "And we're gonna stick together. You know why?" "Because we are Ducks. And Ducks fly together." Jan said, entering the room.
"That's right, Jan. And just when you think they're about to break apart-" "Ducks fly together!" Everyone said. "And when the wind blows hard and the sky is black-" "Ducks fly together!" "And when the roosters are crowing and the cows are spinning circles in the pasture-
"Dwayne added. "Ducks fly together!" Everyone said, kind of confused. "And when everyone says it can't be done, Ducks fly together." "Now, new Ducks, and old Ducks must unite under a new banner. And I thought perhaps something like this." Jan said.
