Page 79 of Behind the Bench

I’m not entirely sure why he’s handing the reins over to me on this one, but you bet your ass I’m not letting go of them.

“Jefferson, Niko, and Smith on defense. He’s our fastest, most offensive defenseman. So he can score and handle any odd man rushes that come his way.”

You’d think Lincoln just won the lottery by the size of the smile that stretches across his face. He looks like he’s about to reach out to me, but thinks better of it at the last second, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Holy shit. I hope no one else saw that.

I see Hunter’s goofy grin over Lincoln’s shoulder and give him my best death glare, but it only makes him laugh. Luckily, all the guys are focused on Lincoln as he steps down so he’s at the same level as the team.

“Coach Montgomery is leading the way tonight. So she’ll be calling out lines.”

There’s a mix of “hell yeah,” “let’s go,” and some other explicit cheers I don’t quite catch, but the fact of the matter is, these guys are all in with me.

Lincoln steps back onto the bench and I take his spot down on the floor at ice level with the team. I call out the starting lineup and let the next three guys know they’ll be up when they come for a line change.

Luckily, I don’t need to make any other big decisions. Thirty seconds into overtime, Smith intercepts a cross ice pass and launches it down the ice to Niko. He and Jefferson skate down the ice on a 2-on-1. The defenseman over commits to Jefferson which leaves Niko wide open for a shot. He looks off the net, as if he’s about to pass, and then fires a shot that goes bar down, just over the goalie’s shoulder.

The guys all jump up to hug each other, some of themeven turning to me to celebrate. This moment feels bigger than any others yet this season. I took the lead on the overtime situation and it paid off. I feel like I’m literally floating with all the joy surging through me.

I look over to see Lincoln smiling that gorgeous smile at me, as he makes his way down the bench toward me.

He lifts his hand for a high five and gives it a little squeeze before dropping my hand.

“Nice job,Coach. Let’s go celebrate.”

Lincoln’s trust and excitement have me feeling like I’m on top of the world. I look around to see the crowd going wild and the guys huddled at our net, congratulating our goalie. They all make their way to center ice to salute our adoring fans.

Hunter, Lincoln, and I make our way to the tunnel to leave before the players. There’s a little girl leaning over the handrails at the players’ tunnel, waiting to ask for autographs. I give her a little smile and wave but she screams my name.

“Coach Montgomery! Can I please have your autograph?”

I take a few steps closer to her and realize she’s wearing a Bobcats jersey with my old hockey number on the sleeves. We don’t have a #12 on our team so it has me very curious. “I love your jersey. Whose name is on the back?”

She turns around and the sight before me steals my breath. Because this little girl has a Bobcats jersey with my name on the back. My cheeks hurt with the strength of my smile, and my nose stings, letting me know I’m seconds away from losing it.

“That’s the coolest jersey I’ve ever seen. Let me sign that for you.”

I sign my name and shake hands with her parents before turning and walking down the tunnel.

I’ve seen my name on the back of many jerseys in the past. Fans cheering at many of my PWHL games or wearing aUSA jersey during the World Championships or Olympics. But never in my life did I imagine I’d see my name on the back of an NHL jersey.

This is what dreams are made of.

I can’t wait to celebrate tonight with the gorgeous man waiting for me outside the locker room.

I just hope to god he means we’ll be celebrating alone.

I stand and stare in amazement at the scene playing out in front of me. Ellie is chatting with a little girl who is rocking a Bobcats jersey with “Montgomery” on the back. Ellie has no idea just how special she truly is. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little jealous of the jersey. I kind of want a Montgomery jersey of my own. I’ll see what I can do to make that happen. But first, I have a win to celebrate with the gorgeous blonde walking my way.

Hunter and Ellie follow me into the locker room for a postgame speech. I don’t have much to say except how fucking proud I am of this team.

Our team has a tradition after every game. Win or lose, one player is given the “Bobcat Belt” which signifies that they worked their ass off and are the MVP of the game. Picture a WWE Heavyweight Champion belt, but with our Bobcat logo on the front. The person who received it the previous game is the person to hand it out next, and so on.

Jefferson was the one to win it last game, so he makes his way to the center of the room to hand it off to the next guy. “I know I always have a lot of jokes and smartass comments tosay…” Everyone starts chuckling and giving him shit and he puts his finger to his lips to shush them. “ButI’ve never been so proud to be a hockey player before. This team is something special, and as a rookie, I am so glad I have you all to look up to. But there’s one person in particular who always encourages me and helps me discover a little bit more of my talent each game and practice. Today this person showed yet again how valuable they are to this team.”

The entire locker room is quiet as the guys nod their heads at Jefferson’s words. We all wait on pins and needles as he dramatically spins and pauses on people before stopping and staring at us coaches.

“Coach Montgomery, you are a total fucking badass and we wouldn’t be where we are today, at the top of the standings, without you. You get the belt today.”

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