Thin Ice Rivalry

Blame the Alcohol

Hello, everyone. Here is the next chapter for your reading pleasure. I hope you are enjoying reading this as much as we are writing it. 

Happy Reading      (:

January 19th, 2023

MIDORIYA'S POV

"That was a cheap shot!" I yelled, grabbing the front of Bakugo's shirt and pulling him to me. He knew what was coming and moved out of the way just in time, making me punch him in the shoulder instead of the face. Instead of trying to back away or calling his enforcer, he grabbed my helmet and pushed me, forcing my back into the wall.

Then, everyone else joined. The fans were yelling in the stands, smacking the walls, while the refs were trying to break apart all the fights that had broken out. By the time they made it over to us, Bakugo and I were shoving each other back and forth, taking whatever hits we could get. A ref shoved himself between us, but he pulled my helmet off anyway, throwing it onto the ice. Someone wrapped their arms around me when I tried to reach for Bakugo again.

"How much time do you want to spend in the penalty box?" the ref behind me asked.

I stopped, not wanting to shorten my team.

"Here," Awase said, handing me my helmet. "Get your stuff and get it together. Don't let him throw you off." Awase always somehow managed to keep a clear head, no matter what was happening on the ice. I guess that's why he's our captain this year.

I skated back to the bench to cool off while the ref announced Bakugo's penalties—one for charging and another for cross-checking. Everyone cursed when he got a minor for charging me, but it didn't look like he was charging at me with the intention of hurting me. It looked like he was charging for the puck, then decided to check me instead.

Hopefully, we can use the power plays to our advantage and catch up since my earlier penalties cost us two power-play goals already. We need to work on running out the time better on the power plays. Everyone was disappointed with last year's Stanley Cup champions when we stepped onto the ice this year.

We had a lot of trades, and a few people retired after winning the cup. Almost half of our team is new, and we've been struggling to find each other on the ice. None of us are where we need to be, and we're not in sync. We have a lot more practice to do if we want a shot at the cup this year.

After I had cooled down enough, I hopped the wall and joined my teammates on the ice. I shot a goal with only thirteen seconds left on the first power play, and the crowd went wild. There's nothing better than getting goals and winning in your own arena. The crowd is always more lively.

Purposely skating by the penalty box, I winked at Bakugo, who scowled and spat on the ground.

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"Where the hell is our defense?" our coach barked at us. "We lost against Vegas the other night, which was a game we should have won." They can blame me for that, honestly. I need to spend less time picking fights with Bakugo when we face each other and more time scoring goals and helping my teammates on the ice.

After lecturing us for a few more minutes and telling us we were switching to our backup goalie since our main one was off his game tonight, we were back on the ice for the third period. Thankfully, Boston was worn out and tired, and we were able to secure the win four to three.

Since we didn't play Vegas, I didn't get pulled for an interview. Instead, they wanted to talk to Awase, which was fine with me. We were going out to celebrate tonight, and I wanted to take a shower in my own place before then.