Frozen in Ice

Chapter 63

Luke's POV

We won our other pool games and our then our quarterfinal against the Czech Republic. Our semi-final was our closest game and that was against Denmark and we won that one. It ended with a final of United States vs Canada.

I already had messages from all my teammates in Flint. Unfortunately I have a lot of Canadian teammates and they all informed me that they would love to see me lose. Mitch also messaged me telling me that he was going to be cheering Adam and Jackson.

I rolled my eyes at that but I was starting to get nervous. I had talked to Jamie and Alex a couple more times but that couldn't calm my nerves. A few of the guys had been here when they came fourth last year and could see that they were a little bit calmer.

We had one last skate as a team and we were all trying to keep it loose and relaxed. I had a smile on my face the whole time but it was slightly tight.

We all separated to go and do our own things before the game. Tyler and I had settled into a routine of getting food before we napped before the same. We both got the same thing every time and as soon as we were finished we headed up to our room.

I changed and crawled into bed but I couldn't sleep. I rolled over to see that Tyler was still awake as well.

"Can't sleep either?" he asked.

"No, I'm too nervous," I said.

"Same"

We didn't talk anymore but neither of us got much sleep. Instead I spent most of the time panicking about the game and trying to sleep but not managing to. About half an hour before my alarm I just gave up.

I slowly climbed out of bed and realised just how sore I was. Tyler and I still didn't talk as we got ready and the whole team was quieter in the locker room and as we warmed up. For most of us this is our biggest game.

Coach had a couple of last minute things to say to us before the game started and I stayed silent the whole time. I was focusing on making sure I knew what I was supposed to be doing.

It was weird being out on the ice and seeing Adam and Jackson on the other side. I was used to seeing them on my bench so I had to block that out of my mind. The game was tight and we went into the third period tied at nothing.

The third period was also scoreless after some amazing saves from both goalies. Coach had more things to tell us before overtime started but we mostly knew it. It was the same things that he had been telling us.

We headed out back onto the ice. Both teams had had so many chances during the game but neither had scored. As the minutes of overtime ticked down the desperation increased. No one wanted this game to go to a shootout.

We'd had a couple of chances but with a minute left they had a really good chance. Adam had got a perfect pass to one of his teammates. All I could do was get down onto the ice and it bounced off my hip.

My body was screaming in pain but I had to pick myself up and we headed down the other end. Tyler got a pass to me and the whole team watched it hit the back of the net. I don't even remember who reached me first but I remember hugging them.

The whole team was on the ice and after a couple of minutes we formed a line for handshakes. I reached Adam first. He smiled at me but I could see how pained he was.

"You deserved this," he said and I could hear his voice break.

"I wish you were in this line with me. We'll win together in Flint," I said.

He nodded and didn't get a chance to say anything else because we were both pushed along. I reached Jackson towards the end of the line and I could see the tears on his face. I reached around and pulled him into a tight hug.

Neither of us said anything thing because there wasn't really anything to be said. We got our medals and there was a bunch of other presentations. I was extremely surprised to be named one of the top forwards of the competition as well.

The locker room was the loudest that I had heard it and I found a bruise forming around my hip once I took my gear off. None of us really felt like going out and celebrating because of the amount of hockey we had played.

We ended up back in Jack and Drew's room. Someone had managed to find some alcohol and it was handed around. I didn't take one because I really didn't want to drink but even in our hotel room together we still managed to have a lot of fun.

I was going to miss all these guys once I went back to Flint. I had already seen that I had quite a few messages piling up but I would answer them all tomorrow. The thing that I was upset about was the haunted look on Adam and Jackson's faces.

They had come second last year as well and I know that they were hoping to improve on that last year. We didn't celebrate for a long time because we were flying out inn a few hours now and we wanted to get some sleep.

I think I managed about five hours before we all had to get up to leave. I know that we were leaving so early so that we wouldn't miss any more of our own games but I could have rather missed one more so that I could get more sleep.

All my muscles hurt and the bruise on my hip was the size of a plate and was starting to creep up onto the ribs. I think that it was a combination of a couple of bruises now. Everyone was pretty quiet for most of the flight, trying to sleep more.

It was actually really sad once we got to New York because we were all going our separate ways. And unfortunately for me none of them played in the OHL so I would see them again this season. We all had each other numbers and we promised to keep in contact but I wanted to see them.

I hugged all of them as they headed for their flights and the rest of them when I headed for mine.

"I'll see you guys sometime," I said.

"Don't forget about us," someone called.

"And forget about the superior nation when you are surrounded by Canadian," Tyler teased.

I laughed and knew that I was never going to forget this team.

..............................................................................................................................................................................................................

Comment and Vote

The Wise One