Shooting Star

Chapter 9

I groaned as I laced up my skates. I hadn't had headaches for the last two days, which was a good sign. But I didn't want to jinx it.

Kylie heard my groan. "You okay, Breeze?"

"I'm good," I replied, tying my left skate and trying to put my right one on.

"Listen up ladies," Coach Hiller called. "This is the biggest tournament of your lives. Own it. Play 110%, or I'm gonna beat the stuffing out of you, figuratively."

We all laughed. "Yeah, sure, Coach," Alyssa smiled. "We've got this in the bag."

Coach Hiller didn't crack a smile. "I'm serious. And don't act cocky either. Just bring your best. We're up against Markham Redhawks, the best team in the league."

We all flinched. Markham was a powerhouse. They were the winners of the tournament three years in a row. No one had beaten them since.

I laced up my right skate and pulled my jersey on. I checked the back number: 29. I wore it as a tribute to myself, and my favourite hockey player ever, Jonathan Toews. He and I share the same birthday: April 29th. Plus, Toews wore the number 29 when he led Canada to a shootout victory against the United States in 2007.

I glanced into my hockey bag at my lucky puck. I picked it up and held it, turning it over and over in my hands. This was a pre-game ritual for me. The puck was my lucky puck because I'd played with it in my junior Atom and every time I'd practiced with that puck before the game started, we'd ended up winning or I'd end up scoring a goal.

I squeezed it tightly and stuck it back into the side pocket of my bag.

"Ladies, let's move on out!" Coach Hiller bellowed. "On three... 1-2-3-"

"CARLTON FOR THE WIN!" we all screamed.

2 hours later...

I was breathing heavily as I glanced at the scoreboard. There are five minutes left. We're tied at 1. What can we do to pull ahead?

Considering that the Redhawks were the best team in the league, we were doing a fabulous job not getting pummeled by them.

Things were going to get tough; the Redhawks were not about to let their championship title be stolen from them so early in the tournament, and they were going to throw everything at us to advance in the tourney.

But, five minutes passed and nothing happened. 5 minutes of overtime passed to no avail.

"The first quarter-final game between the Carlton Admirals and the Markham Redhawks will go to a shootout!" the announcer called.

Coach Hiller motioned us over. "Let's have Alyssa go first. Then Kylie. Then Brianna. If it continues past that, then we'll think of something."

The referee signalled Alyssa over. Alyssa nodded and skated over to him.

"And here goes Jones to start the shootout," the announcer said. I could feel my palms prickle with anticipation. It was anyone's game now.

Alyssa skated down the ice, carrying the puck carefully.

"Jones skates down the left side of the rink, and fires! The puck hits the crossbar, and SCORE!"

The arena erupted into cheers, screams, moans, and boos.

"Admirals lead with a goal from Number 32, Alyssa Jones," the announcer continued. "Let's see if the Redhawks can top that. Here comes Sprengler for the 'Hawks."

We watched as Jess Sprengler, star shooter for the Hawks, deke out Stephanie, our goalie, and fire the puck straight through her five-hole.

"SCORE!" the announcer yelled.