Love Game

Chapter Three - The Hit

I take the ice an hour before training camp starts. I arrived before any of the Avalanche players, so I took the opportunity to change into my gear before they all came in at once. I sit on the bench as I look around the practice facility. My hands make their way to my helmet, slowly peeling it off my head. As I look at the back of my helmet, I see my number- 27. I smile to myself, realizing that I share the same number as my brother, Dougie. I wonder how he will feel when I tell him we are number twins. He'll probably groan in disgust, that Doug-a-lug.

That hour that I had to myself went by awfully fast. Out of the corner of my eye, I see several Avs players make their way out of the locker room. I push myself off of the bench, soon feeling my feet glide across the ice. The sound of several pairs of skates surrounds me as the Avs players circle the ice. They tower over me, immediately making me feel intimidated. What am I getting myself into?

I bite the inside of my lip as each player makes a glance at me. If they don't know I'm a girl, they're probably wondering why I'm wearing a full caged helmet. Luckily for me, when I have no makeup on and when all my hair is pulled back, I look like one of the guys; just lacking in the height department and lacking facial hair.

"Hamilton!" Coach Roy shouts.

I quickly skate up to him, avoiding the swarm of the taller men around me. I must have had a look of shock on my face, because he took notice.

"Your eyes are bigger than the moon right now, Mal. Are you alright?" Coach asks as he rests his strong hand on top of my left shoulder.

"I'm nervous." I whisper, feeling like my knees could give out any second.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You can keep up with them." Coach says. "Now, here is what I want you to do. You see Landeskog over there?" Coach continues and points to the other side of the rink.

I squint my eyes and my vision finally adjusts. Then, I see him. Gabriel Landeskog, the Swedish captain. He skates side by side with some of his teammates, acting like they are laughing at a humorous matter. His blond, flowing hair is tucked inside his helmet. His eyes are bluer than any ocean as they sparkle with the lighting of the arena lights. He was a beauty, no doubt. But I wasn't here to fall in love with any of my teammates, especially with the captain. I was here for one reason and one reason only; to win the Stanley Cup.

"Yes, sir. I see him." I say, keeping my eyes glued on the Swede.

"He's been a little hot headed lately. You should knock him down a few notches," he says, looking over at me.

"What do you mean, Coach?" I ask confused, my gaze meeting his.

"Put a hit on him," he says slyly with a smirk, soon patting me on the back. "I'll give you a nod when I want you to."

I nod as I slowly skate away from him. I was about to put a hit on someone ten times bigger, faster, and stronger than me. My luck, I'll be the one to fall over and not him. I don't understand Coach's thinking on this one, quite honestly. What makes him think that I can shrink Landeskog's ego by trying to tackle him?

As training camp gets underway, we do countless stretches and warm ups. We all skate to center ice as Coach explains some drills to us and puts practice lines together. Coach puts me on right wing with Paul Stastny and Alex Tanguay. We line up against a line consisting of Matt Duchene, PA Parenteau and Gabriel Landeskog. I turn my head towards Coach, our gaze meeting. He nods slowly and smirks, me nodding back in response.

Coach blows his whistle, and we all start skating. I skate backwards as I keep my eyes on Landeskog, watching every move he makes until the puck reaches him. Finally, the puck reaches his stick as he skates by the boards. I line my hips up and I hip check him, pinning him into the boards and causing him to flip over and land onto the ice. As I look down at him, I hear groans come from the rest of the team behind me.