Page 127 of One Good Puck
All the players nod and murmur in agreement. It takes me a moment to process it all. My players don’t think less of me for fighting back. They respect me for it.
“That means a lot, guys.” I huff out a breath. “When we’re back on the ice, I wanna see you give Calgary hell. Understood?”
“Yes, Coach,” they say.
We’re not out of the clear yet. We’ve got a game to get through, and then we’ll have to sort out the mess from the fight that just happened in the hallway. I’m probably going to catch hell from Alan for it.
But that’s fine. I’ve got the support of my players. That’s what matters most.
Chapter 49
Gavin
“Can you do post-game press tonight?” I ask Jason. “Alan wants me in his office.”
Jason nods. “Yeah, no problem.”
“Sorry to throw you to the media wolves on a night like tonight. I’m sure they’re going to be all over you.”
We ended up losing to Calgary by a point. And news about the hallway brawl spread quickly. It’s trending all over social media and sports news. A few fans happened to see it and posted videos about it immediately after it happened.
“It’s okay,” Jason says. “It’s part of the job.”
“I owe you one. How’s Ryker doing?”
“He messed up his knee in the fight,” Jason says. “He’s with Sophie right now getting it looked at.”
I let a heavy sigh. “Just great.” I tug my tie loose. “This is all my fault.”
I expect Jason to lay into me, like he did when he pulled me off of McCoy.
But he just shrugs. “Yeah, you lost your cool, but theyall joined in. Hockey players love a good fight. You know that.”
He pats my shoulder.
“Thanks for that,” I say.
He walks off, and I head for Alan’s office. I knock on the closed door.
“Come in.”
When I walk in, Alan’s standing behind his desk, frowning at his phone screen.
He holds it up to me. “Your little temper tantrum is the top hockey news trending on social media and all the sports news outlets. Congrats.” Sarcasm drips from his biting tone.
“I know I messed up.”
“Messed up?” Alan tosses his phone on his desk and lets out a bitter laugh. “You didn’t mess up, Gavin. You royally fucked up.”
Frustration zooms through me, but I bite my tongue. He’s my boss, and he’s pissed off at the crap I pulled. I need to just stand here and let him chew me out.
“You know, I thought your demand to get rid of McCoy before the season started was ridiculous. But maybe it was a good thing because had he been playing on our team, you’d be kicking the shit out of each other every game,” he says in that same sarcastic tone.
He tugs off his tie, then tosses it on the back of his chair.
“I’m sorry. I lost my cool. It won’t happen again,” I say.
“You’re damn right it won’t happen again.” He finally falls into his chair, then gestures for me to take the chair in front of his desk. “Because McCoy won’t be around much longer. He’s been suspended for the next two games because of his hit on Ryker. And I just heard through the grapevine that Calgary is looking to get rid of him after that. I guess they’re not a fan of his dirty playing.”
