Page 22 of Behind the Bench

I put my hands in my pockets and level her with a look. “What is it, Montgomery?”

She takes a deep breath before talking again. “I just want to thank you for having my back on this power play stuff. I know some of the staff were questioning it, but I appreciate your support with it all.”

What the hell is she talking about? No one has come to me about disagreeing with her ideas. Who could she be talking about? Grayson. I bet that shithead has been running his mouth behind the scenes.

I wait until she meets my eyes before talking again. “Ellie. No one has said a thing to me about not agreeing with these changes. If they did, I’d tell them the same thing I told you. The power play for this team did not work last year. Something’s gotta give. I trust you to make the appropriate adjustments, yeah? You got this.”

She juts her chin up, standing proud. “Thanks, Coach. I got this.” She smiles at me before turning back and walking toward the trainer’s room.

I can’t help but watch her walk away.

The atmosphere in the arena is more alive than I’ve ever seen for a preseason game. The noise is electrifying, yet intimidating. Although the crowd is filled with our opponents’ colors, I see quite a bit of Bobcats’ black and green mixed in too. There is even a group of girl hockey players behind our bench holding signs. Most of them are trying to get Ellie’s attention, a hero in their midst.

The roar of the crowd has not only me, but our entire team buzzing with energy. The entire bench is on their feet, watching as we work the puck in the offensive zone.

There are two minutes left in the third period and we’re tied 2–2 against the Wolves. For a preseason game it’s been pretty invigorating, especially being in their barn. Away games are always tough, but having our first preseason game not in our own rink makes it even tougher.

Niko steals the puck down low in the offensive zone and is about to drop his shoulder to drive the net when, out ofnowhere, the defenseman slides his stick between Niko’s legs, attempting to knock the puck away, totally taking his feet out from under him.

“What the hell was that, ref?” I scream at the top of my lungs. I look over at Ellie to see her smirking. “What?” I scoff.

“His arm is in the air, Coach. He’s calling the penalty. No need to get all aggressive.” She smiles and turns to grab her whiteboard.

I call a timeout because there’s nothing better than a power play opportunity right now. If we score on this power play, we can end the game before it goes to overtime and we can start our season off on the right foot.

Our first power play unit takes the ice and huddles around the bench. “All right, boys. Time to take advantage of this opportunity and end this game. Coach Montgomery will draw up the faceoff and setup she wants you running.” I nod at Ellie and step down the bench to give her some room.

Grayson stands on the other side of me with his arms crossed, shaking his head. Ignoring his assholery, I turn my attention back to Ellie. She’s down on the ground, whiteboard leaning against the boards, drawing up the faceoff they’ve been working on in practice this week.

“You guys have been working on this play all week. There’s no reason we can’t execute it. Niko, you’ll win the faceoff behind you to your left, and then drive the net. Jefferson, you’ll pop down low to get the pass from the blue line. You’ll drive the net just under the top of the circle which should draw their defenseman to you. We’ve watched their D-man bite all game. When he bites, Niko, you should have the space to pop backdoor and be wide open. Jefferson, you get him the puck and drive the net for any rebound. If we don’t score right off this faceoff, it’s fine. We work our ass off to get the puck. Support each other all over the ice. Less than two minutes left. Nothing left to lose. Any questions?”

Our guys are locked in. Each and every guy on the icecan’t take their eyes off her as she draws up the play. Hell, I can’t take my eyes off her. The confidence she wears is mesmerizing.

Ellie makes her way back up onto the bench and I give her a quick nod. It’s not much, but she knows enough to know that it’s a nod of approval. She knows what she’s doing. She sees things differently on the ice and is smarter than most men I’ve worked with. Maybe I should’ve never doubted her in the first place.

The players line up at the left faceoff dot and the ref drops the puck. Niko cleanly wins the draw, and it’s as if these guys have been playing together for months. The play Ellie drew up is executed to perfection. Niko pops backdoor, just behind the goalie so he’s open, as Jefferson drives the net. Jefferson passes to Niko, and he snipes the puck top shelf over the goalie’s shoulder on the short side. Fucking beautiful.

Excitement radiates off the bench as all the guys jump up to celebrate. Hell, I’m so excited, I jump and lift both arms in the air and turn toward Ellie to see her coming my way. We meet halfway and give each other a double high five. I don’t let go of her hands right away and for a brief moment we lock eyes, both overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment. She has the most radiant smile on her face.

She’s about to say something to me but I beat her to it. “Nice work, Coach. That play was flawless.”

We finally let go of each other's hands and Ellie nods back at me. “Thanks, Lincoln. The guys did all the work.”

I can’t help but smile and shake my head at her. “That’s bullshit and you know it. That was all you.”

Ellie shrugs one shoulder nonchalantly as they skate by the bench to tap gloves with the team. “Yeah, maybe.”

Then she winks.

And I’m a fucking goner.

We finish the preseason with a 5–3 record. We could’ve won a couple more of those games, but it was good to see what aspects of our game still needed work. After a few more coaches’ meetings, we finalize our roster for the regular season. I’m not going to lie, I’m feeling pretty good.

Lincoln and the rest of the staff, even Grayson, completely agreed that Jefferson was our missing link on the power play. He may be a rookie, but the kid can play. Not only will he be on our first power play unit, but he’ll also be playing first line with Niko as well. Lincoln told me that I could deliver the good news to him today before practice, which is what I’m about to do.

I ask one of our athletic trainers to grab him from the locker room. Our guys are really good about being dressed by the designated times we assign before practices and games. Unlike the internet trolls, I’m not “getting a free show” or “catching guys with their dicks out.” Sorry to disappoint. These guys are professionals, and to be honest, I was completely floored by the respect they’ve all given me since day one. Not one of them has pulled a Grayson and made some stupid ass comment to me. They treat me just the sameas they do the rest of the staff, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.

Jefferson walks out of the dressing room half dressed, still wearing a t-shirt. “What’s up, Coach Ellie? Miss me?”

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