𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 || 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙘𝙙𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙙

chapter 40

The world seemed to pass by quickly as we made our way to the seventh game of the first round, we were tied 3 games with Bruins, which meant tonight was really the big night. Matthew nudged me slightly as the bus stopped and I looked at him. He smiled at me gently and I sighed. We made our way off of the bus and into the arena.

Johnny was excitedly jumping around the changing rooms before I even sat down.

I thought back to last night, Connor had texted me, he was going to be there tonight, him and Leon. They'd already made it through to the second round. I closed my eyes for a moment before getting on my gear.

"Okay, this is huge." Milan said turning towards us all after being silent for a while. I smirked, seizing the perfect opportunity.

"That's what she said." I chuckled and Matt and a few of the guys just laughed while Milan just smirked and shook his head.

I turned to the guys who all watched me in anticipation, I took that as a cue to start my speech. Coach walked into the room quietly as I began to speak.

"I just want to say I'm so proud of you guys, so proud. You've all showed that we deserve to be in these playoffs, that we deserve our spot." I said and looked at all the guys who nodded before I continued.

"But right now, all of that doesn't matter, what matters, is that we go out on that ice and we fight and we play for our spot. We need everything on the ice tonight. Got it?" I asked the guys and they all nodded, humming responses.

I nodded and smirked. "We've got this far boys, let's not let them have it."

I said and they all cheered, we all grabbed our sticks and headed onto the ice for warm ups. Once we got off of the ice from warm ups, Matt pulled me to the side, away from the boys.

"Okay, you've given us our speech, this is your one." He said and I just smiled as looked towards the boys but we were out of view, he placed his hands on my cheeks and I looked him in the eye.

"You've carried this team since you got here and we've followed you, that's not going to stop, Em. It's not because of who you are, it's because of what you're doing, you're pathing the way while at the same time being the best fucking player on that ice. So, you go out there and you just keep doing what you've been doing." Matt said and I just looked at him, wonder in my eyes as I let his words sink in.

I nudged him as a thankful gesture and patted his helmet, taking in the moment. "Let's go kick some ass," as I pulled away.

We both made our way back to the guys and all waited for the call to make our way onto the ice. We tried to hype each other up, Matt and I bumped shoulders while Johnny and I knocked helmets.

The minute my skates hit the ice, I had nothing else on my mind but the game, the plan and my determination. The atmosphere the fans brought to the arena was almost intoxicating, every goal was louder and louder, every save from David was as if we had just won the cup.

Of the corner of my eyes, I squinted my eyes to what was going on in the crowd and then widen my eyes as I saw Connor and Leon waving in the air as they tried to catch my attention. They were only in the front seat and I giggle. I skated my way to them and Connor grins as he placed his hand in the hole on the glass. I raised my eyebrow and watched him. He mouthed, "I love you" and I mouthed back before skating back to my team.

It was only at the start of the third period and I was sat in the penalty box, that I looked up at the screen, seeing it zoomed in on Matt and Dave who were talking to each other. I smiled to myself and got ready to go back onto the ice.

We were tied 3-3 through the third period. But I knew I could change that. So with seconds of the game left, I lined myself up perfectly with the goal as Sean made a perfect pass to me and I hit it into the back of the net, sending the whole of the arena into hysterics as I cellied hard.

The game finished and the guys all came off of the bench, pinning me against the glass in celebrations and I couldn't help but smile.

"You did it, Emersen! You fucking beat them!" Matt yelled and I just laughed as Johnny hugged me tightly.

After the celebrations, we got ready to shake the Bruins hands and as I shook Brad's, he stopped and raised an eyebrow in my direction.

"There's always next year. Watch your back." He joked with a wink and I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. I gave him a quick hug before moving on.

When we got to the changing rooms, the guys all loudly celebrated before we had to talk to the media. When the media did come in, the swarmed me quickly.

"Emersen, you had a great game. How are you going to celebrate tonight?" A woman asked and I just smiled.

"Thank you and I think I'm going to have a pretty quiet night with the boys, there'll be time to celebrate when we win the cup." I laughed and the guys laughing also.

"Are you impressed with how your team played tonight?" A guy asked and I nodded quickly.

"I'm always impressed with my guys, no matter how they play or what the score is. Of course, there's always things we can improve on but that's just how the game is. They've played hard these past seven games and I couldn't be more proud of them all." I said with a smile and a few of the guys awed which I rolled my eyes too.

After a few more questions, they moved onto Rittich. My attention turned to the door where Connor and Leon were stood talking to Matthew and Johnny.

"There she is, my girl." Connor said as I approached and just felt my cheeks turn red as he pulled me into a tight hug. I chuckled as he span me around a little before letting go of me. He pecked my lips before wrapping his arms tightly around my waist.

"Here I am, exhausted and ready to sleep until the next game." I said and Leon chuckled as he pulled me into a hug. I smiled into the hug, happy to see my boys after so long.

"You coming back to mine?" I asked the four boys standing around me and any of the guys in the changing rooms, I received mixed reactions from most of the guys but most of them was a yes.

As we all got ready to leave, I let my gaze fall on Connor who was looking down at his phone, a smile on his face as he quickly typed something.

"You coming-who are you texting?" I switched my question as I made my way over to him and he quickly looked at me as he then placed his phone to the side.

Smiling at me but shaking his head. "Oh, um," He paused and I raised my eyebrow, crossing my arms. "you can look at it, if you want to." He nodded and placed out his phone in front of me.

I giggled, "No, it's ok, babe."

He smiled and again placed back his phone to the side as he wrapped his arms around my waist tightly.

"Let's go home, baby." He said and I giggled, pecking his lips.

He quickly gathered his stuff, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead before heading out. We left and I gathered my bag as we made our way out into the hall.

"I hope you've got hot chocolate." Johnny mumbled as we walked out into the car park and we all just chuckled.

Connor threw an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side, making me smile wide as we got up to my car. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face for the rest of the night.

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