Page 95 of Zero Pucks Given
Kyle picked up the remote and cranked up the sound.
“…more of the same from the captain of the Surge,” the television broadcaster was saying. “Slow on the ice, sluggish with the puck.”
The broadcaster’s partner chimed in: “At some point, you have to think about benching him for someone whose heartisin the game. Because right now, he’s a liability every time he steps onto the ice.”
“I think that’s exactly what the coaching staff is doing. Grayson doesn’t look happy about it.”
Grayson closed his eyes and rested his head back on the bench.
“Good,” Sharon said. “That’s what he gets for treating my best friend like shit.”
I was happy that Sharon had my back, but I felt a stab of sadness for Grayson. It was going to be a long summer for him if the season ended this badly.
He rode the bench for most of the third period. Both teams were battling hard, but the score remained 2-2. The Oilers called a timeout with thirty seconds left, and once again the camera zoomed in on the captain.
“Steele has been off the ice for nine straight game minutes,” the broadcaster said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“How do you recover from a series like this? Once a captain has lost the support of his teammates, it’s tough to get it back.”
“I think the Surge front office is going to have a lot of hard decisions to make this off-season. And the first decision involves that man right there.”
The camera stayed on Grayson, his face filling the entire TV screen in Sharon’s apartment. He hung his head while the commentators criticized him, like he had already given up on the season. It was downright hard to watch, but I couldn’t look away. I realized this might be the last time I’d see the hockey player who had shared my bed a few amazing times.
Suddenly, his head jerked upright. Something came over him, his expression hardening and a fire rising in those green eyes. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he looked like the Grayson I had met at Carlo’s on our first date. The man who walked with confidence and didn’t take shit from anyone.
He leaped off the bench, the camera following him as he put his head together with the coach. The two of them shared a heatedconversation for several seconds, Grayson gesturing angrily.
“What’s come over him?” one of the broadcasters wondered.
“I think he’s going into the game,” the other said.
Sure enough, Grayson grabbed his stick and climbed over the barrier onto the ice. He shouted a few words to a teammate as the timeout ended and the players took their positions.
I stared, transfixed. Even Sharon had stopped mixing a bowl of icing to watch.
The game resumed play. The clock ticked downward from thirty seconds while the Surge passed the puck around. For a few moments, it seemed like they were killing time before the period ended and overtime began.
Then Grayson abruptly sprinted forward, evading an opponent and accepting a pass from Mason Calder. The captain of the Surge dribbled the puck, faking out one Oilers defender, then a second one, driving deep into enemy territory.
“He needs to shoot it,” Kyle hissed. “Three seconds left. Two seconds. One…”
Grayson pulled back his blue hockey stick and swung it forward, shooting the puck toward the goal. It moved too fast to see; a black blur on the television screen.
Until it hit the back of the net.
The light on the back of the goal flashed, but the buzzer had sounded at the same time. Surge players were celebrating, while the Oilers on the ice were pointing and arguing with the referees.
“What happened?” Sharon demanded. “Is it a goal? Did they win?”
“They’re going to need to review this,” the broadcaster explained before I could. “Obviously the puck ended up in the net, but did the clock hit zero before it crossed the line?”
The three of us gathered around the television while they reviewed the goal. Finally, they showed the replay on the screen.
The puck crossed the linebeforethe clock reached zero.
“GOAL!” I shouted.
The referee announced the ruling, but the Surge players were already celebrating. Grayson pumped his fist as his teammates surrounded him, that same fire still visible in his eyes.
