Page 66 of Hockey Bois
“Look at that snipe, boys! Top shelf!”
Nick was practically carried back to the bench, where he was met with another chorus of cheers, only to remember he’d only had a 10-second shift and needed to get back for the next face-off.
As he rushed back to center ice, he caught Mags’s eye.
“I changed my mind,” Mags said with a stern look that was undercut by the admiration in his eyes. “You should drink before every game.”
“Thanks?” Nick said.
Was it good to have a reputation as playing better when he was drunk? He wasn’t even drunk, so probably not.
His play didn’t amount to much, not after that goal. The other team took Nick for a ringer and wouldn’t let him go for so much as a line change without a stick lift. Even after Young Greg scored from center ice, they seemed to credit the goal to Nickbecause he’d passed it to him. Crazy, considering they’d played this team a million times before and they should’ve had a better idea of what Nick’s skill level was.
Nick certainly wasn’t a ringer; more often than not, he wasn’t even a game-changer.
Still… it felt good thattheythought so, if only for the night.
*
Curtis Bennet: Great job this season! I know we were really hoping for the win, but making it to the semi-finals is still a great improvement from the last playoffs! I like how we’ve been playing lately and I think we can definitely make a grab for that trophy next season!
Gregory Smegory: There are only eight teams in the league… Half of us make semi-finals…
Guy Prince: We should focus on the positive, no?
Guy Prince: Sure half the teams make the semi-finals, but last season that did not include us
Curtis Bennet: Thank you, Guy! That’s exactly right, we had an obvious improvement in the standings and that was a very close game. With that in mind, I wanted to present the team with an opportunity for some competitive hockey, but outside of our usual groups of teams. It might give us better insight into areas that we’re doing well and ones that we need to improve.
Gregg Cox: What does this mean??
Brady Derek Jensen: tournament?
Gregory Smegory: Tourney??? Sick yesss pls and thank you
Curtis Bennet: Yes! There’s a tournament in Pittsburgh in a few weeks. The league is sponsoring the tournament fees for the first two teams who sign up. I went ahead and signed us up, though we can supplement our roster with other players in the league if necessary. It’s a weekend tournament, so we would arrive early on Saturday the 24th for seeding and then the playoffs are on Sunday and should be done by four or five.
Curtis Bennet: We would need to book hotel rooms and the tournament has recommended some places that are nearby. We could also try to figure out some carpooling.
Brady Derek Jensen: where is it?
Curtis Bennet: Pittsburgh
Brady Derek Jensen: I can literally think of exactly two hockey rinks inside the city of Pittsburgh and it’s PPG or Schenley park
Brady Derek Jensen: and that’s a friggin outdoor rink
Brady Derek Jensen: so do you have a more detailed geographic location
Curtis Bennet: Oh. I will check.
Lexi Warner: I am in this sounds awesome!!
Donnie Owen: Agreed. Away tournament for an adult hockey league?? Sign me the fuck up
Nick J. Porter: right?? it’s like super legit that we’re traveling for it
Gregory Smegory: Does anyone else think it’s weird that Jensie knew rinks in Pittsburgh off the top of his head???
