Page 57 of Breakaway Goals
But he’d always known every minute on the ice was going to be hard fought.
Their last game against Canada had been that way, and this one was even tougher.
It was still 0-0, midway through the third. No matter how hard their team had pushed—or how hard the Canadians pushed, it was like they both kept running up against the same fucking wall.
“Shit,” Danny exclaimed as he climbed over the boards, sinking onto the bench. “They’re fucking all over us. I can’t even get a moment to breathe, nevermind to hold the puck. Forget about passing or shooting it.”
“I know,” Hayes said on Morgan’s other side.
He looked as frustrated as Danny sounded.
“We just gotta keep pushing and keep being patient,” Morgan said, even though he could hear the opposite in his own voice. “They’re gonna make a mistake, eventually.”
Danny made a grumbling noise, but Hayes nodded his agreement. “They’re not perfect,” he said. He met Morgan’s gaze, and they both nodded.
Hayes’ resolution and determination fueled his own.
They would get this done.
It was maybe their second to last shift, based on the four minutes left on the clock, and Morgan, despite Hayes’ confidence, couldn’t help but feel the pressure.
Even though it had seemed inevitable all game that they were going to go to overtime, he didn’t want that. He wanted to finish the Canadians offnow. Their team was tired,hewas tired, and in two days, they all had to go back to their regular NHL teams. Playing extra shifts wasn’t going to make any of that easier.
“Come on,” he barked at Monty and at Danny as they went over the boards. “Let’s get this shit done.”
Hayes nodded at him and took off towards the net where the US defenders were trying to dig the puck out from behind it to get it away from where Braun was poised, ready to deflect a shot if he needed to.
Danny headed over, helping him out, and managed to muscle the guys out of the way, flicking the puck towards Morgan, who caught it and then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hayes sliding open. A lane opening up past the blue line. He passedit and then blocked one of the defenders from catching up with him, and that was all the time Hayes needed.
He took off so fast it was like Morgan barely blinked and there he was, already across the ice, more flying than skating, two defenders and one of the Canadian forwards behind him, scrambling to catch up and stop him somehow.
But Hayes wasn’t going to be stopped. Not now.
Morgan could see the determination in every stride, in the tenseness of his shoulders under his pads, in the way he angled himself, Binnington bracing for the shot.
But Hayes wasn’t going to waste this opportunity, and he slid to the left and then flicked the puck in barely a second before Binnington could react, launching it over his glove hand.
The arena erupted.
Morgan was pretty sure he was yelling, but he couldn’t hear it, not over the sheer wall of noise. He was the closest to Hayes and hit him at full speed, Hayes’ arms around him as they slid into the boards.
“You fucking did it,” Morgan yelled. “You fucking did, baby!”
Hayes smile was as wide as he’d ever seen it. “I fucking did!” he crowed back.
Danny hit them then, followed by pretty much the rest of the team, even though there was still just over three minutes on the clock.
“We gotta focus up,” Morgan said to the team when they finally all returned to the bench. “We can’t let Monty’s goal go to waste. Donotlet them get around you. Donotlet them get a free shot in, okay?”
But even that lecture didn’t seem to dim Hayes’ joy.
Or Morgan’s own.
They’d made that play. Danny had started it, with his aggressive move against the boards, then getting the puck toMorgan, who’d only had a split second before he knew he’d be passing it to Hayes.
Hayes, who’d made the most out of the single opportunity he’d been handed.
Morgan had told him and Danny that their chance was going to come around, if they could just keep fighting and keep being patient.
