Billet

The week flew by and before I knew it, my family I and were anxiously awaiting the official start of the Blades’ season. We were sitting in our normal seats and while my parents were talking to family beside us, I nervously bounced my knee, looking through my text messages from earlier in the day.

Me: Since you rushed out of class, I didn’t have a chance to say it, but good luck tonight! You’re going to kill it Eas!
Easton (Brotha from anotha motha): Thanks Tier <3 Have to admit I’m getting a little jittery already but also soooo pumped
Me: Uhmmmm, why?! You guys are going to do great...I know it :)
Me: And if you don’t, I’m kicking you out <3333
Easton (Brotha from anotha motha): LOL, thanks for the support :P
Easton (Brotha from anotha motha): Anyways, gotta go. We have a meeting now b4 our team dinner.
Me: Good luck and play hard!
Easton (Brotha from anotha motha): ty! I’ll try to score ya one!

A smile quickly appeared on my face. I wasn’t just talking him up; I knew he would have a strong game and that this team had the ability to do great things.

Just as I was putting my phone away, the P.A. announcer began speaking.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the start your hometown’s Blades’ 2014-2015 season!” The crowd of several thousand cheered. “We’d like to begin by introducing the team’s staff...” He went on to introduce the coaches, general manager, trainers and other key members. “And now it’s time to meet your 2014-2015 team!”

As he introduced each player, they did a lap before taking a place on their blueline. We cheered loudly for each member, but especially the players we knew personally (Easton definitely got the biggest cheer in my section).

After the national anthem, play got underway.

The Blades’ were facing off against their conference rivals, the Smithridge Stars. Both were loaded teams looking to make a run at the cup this year and it was bound to be an interesting game and exciting season series.

The beginning of the game was very evenly-matched, with the teams alternating who had control. Nearing the end of the period, the Blades took a stupid penalty as one of their defencemen went off for delay of game, and the Stars took advantage of the opportunity. They held puck control for the full two minutes and ended up scoring a powerplay goal within the last few seconds of the man-advantage. The Blades went into the first intermission down by a one goal margin.

I went into the concourse to buy a bag of popcorn during the intermission and made it back just in time for the second period puckdrop. The Blades came out strong and managed to tie up the game in the early goings of the period. The back-and-fourth battle continued without any scoring, but a crowd was drawn when one of the Stars players clipped Levi with a high stick. Easton immediately went over to the player to confront him, but with him being far from an enforcer, nothing came of the shoving match. Meanwhile, Levi skated off of the ice quickly, trying to cover his face with his glove. Nonetheless, some blood made its way onto the ice.

I knew that he wouldn’t get my message until after the game, but I decided to send him a quick text nonetheless.

Me: No worries, Levi, I’m sure you’ll rock the stitches! They’ll make you look legit :)

I put my phone away as play resumed. Easton was in the penalty box for roughing, but since the Star’s player was given 4 minutes for drawing blood, the Blades would end up having a man-advantage.

Just as Easton’s penalty expired, he burst out of the doors and the puck was passed up the ice to him.

“Go! Go! Go!” I chanted under my breath.

Easton rushed up the ice all alone. He cut across in front of the net and flipped the puck off the crossbar and in.

“Wooooo!” I screamed, jumping to my feet. The fans around me did the same and the goal horn sounded.

After celebrating with his teammates, Easton skated past our seats towards the bench. He shot a smile in my direction and raised his eyebrows. I guess that was my goal. Now I’d have to try and return the favour tomorrow night.

The period came to an end with the Blades leading 2-1.

I met up with a few of my teammates during the intermission and we chatted about our plans for the following night. It would be a big one with our home opener, although the girls were also excited about our inter-team bonding following our game as well.

Levi returned for the third period, sporting what looked to be a developing black eye and a handful of stitches on his cheek. His game wasn’t effected though as he made crisp passes, including an assist on the Blades third goal. Despite the hometown team’s efforts, the Stars managed to get another goal, closing the margin to a mere one-goal lead. All of us fans were on the edge of our seats, as the Stars had sole possession late in the game. The Blades held tight and managed to pull off the win.

The crowd came to their feet as the Blades celebrated and saluted the crowd. One game in and one win down.

My parents and I waited for the crowd to clear out a bit before we headed to the main concourse lounge. Easton’s parents were waiting there as well, hoping to say hi to their son quickly before heading back home. The group of us chatted casually as we waited. I also received a text from Levi in the meantime.

Levi (study buddy/hockey hunk): Thanks Tierney, hoping I’ll be able to pull them off and still pick up girls ;)

(Can you tell he chose his own screen name?)

I attempted to hold back my laughter at his response. For these guys it was hockey and girls. And occasionally school. That’s about it.

A few minutes later, Easton came out from the dressing room and headed over to us right away. He had a smile plastered on his face. His mom jumped up to give him a hug and his sister wasn’t far behind. His father hung back but gave him a man-hug once they were together. After he chatted with his family for a few minutes, they headed out. And that was my cue.

I ran up and jumped up on him, wrapping my body around him in a huge hug.

“You did so well Eas! I’m so proud of you!”
He chuckled, giving me a squeeze, “Thanks Tier! I expect the same from you tomorrow.”
I jumped out of his arms and gave him a poke in the chest. “You won’t be disappointed. Promise.”

My family came up to him and we all chatted for a little while until Jeremy and Levi joined the group. I congratulated both of them and ragged on Jeremy for not getting any points like the other two did. After a little while, we bid the three farewell as they headed to Chad’s for a team party. I was invited as well, but wanted to rest up before my game the following day.

After getting home, I spent a few minutes on the computer before calling it a night and heading to bed.

I had a good 10 hours of sleep that night, but was awoken by Easton as he came in after spending the previous night at Chad’s. It worked out though, as I needed to get some school work done before going to the arena tonight. I didn’t want to fall behind with homework when I would have college application to deal with soon as well.

After a boring day with my nose in the books, I ate dinner with my family and got prepared for my game. I drove myself to the arena, as my parents and Easton would be coming by closer to game time, and headed to the dressing room. I was the first one there, as expected, so I took my time putting on my equipment. Slowly, the other girls started trickling in. Just as I was finishing up, pulling my jersey over my head, Karly, from her stall beside mine, got my attention.

“What’s that?” She pointed to a fluorescent sticky note that I had somehow failed to notice in the side of my bag.
I shrugged and I pulled it out of my bag. A big smile appeared on my face as I read the scribbles left on the paper.
“What’s it say?!” One of the girls shouted from across the room.

I bit my lip before starting to read it out:

Tier,

I know there’s a lot riding on this season for you, especially with you being captain, but I can’t think of anyone who would fit the job description like you do. I know you’ll do great tonight and me and the rest of the guys will be there cheering you and your team on. Can’t wait to see you kill it out there. Play a tough game and get me a goal.

Love ya,
The coolest brother you’ve never had, Easton


Girls around the room let out a chorus of “awe”s and I attempted to get the smile off my face. How did I get so lucky?

The team relaxed for a few minutes before taking to the ice to warm-up. As I stepped on the ice, I was in awe. I had never seen the arena so full before. Sure, we were in one of the small icepads that could only fit a few hundred spectators, but a turnout like this was unbelievable. I was sure that it would give us the extra fire we needed to get the win.

Once warm-ups came to an end and the ice was coated with a fresh layer, we returned to the surface. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins and my nerves were running wild. I skated a few laps before lining up for the face-off. The whole Blades team was there and cheered as I went by. I could help but beam.

Once the puck was dropped, my nerves were gone as I focused all of my energy on the game. Early on, we had a good rush heading into our opponent’s zone. Lucy skated up the ice and got across the blueline. I hurried to the slot and lined up. She passed the puck in my direction and I let off a one-timer. It flew over the goalie’s shoulder.

“Fuck yes!” I shouted.

The girls crowded around me, hitting my helmet and expressing their praise. As I skated over to the bench, sitting down near the end, coach walked over and squeezed my shoulder.

“Great shot, kid.” I beamed up at him in reply.

After the first period, we were up 1-0. We had dominated much of the play but their goalie was playing a strong game.

When we stepped onto the ice for the second period, I wasn’t feeling tired whatsoever. I was filled with what seemed like endless amounts of energy. I had no idea whether I should be thanking my condition or adrenaline, to be honest.

The second period was similar to the first, with us dominating play. I also stepped up my physical game, throwing a few good checks. Late in the frame, I hip-checked a girl, who went flying across the ice as a result. As she should stood up and regained her composure, she approached me jolting her stick up and forward, catching my eye with the blade. I dropped to the ice, lying on my stomach. I threw off my gloves, grabbing my eye with my hand.

I could hear an exchange going on but could only pay attention to the throbbing pain in my face.

“Shit, Tier!” Alexa exclaimed, kneeling down next to me. “Your eye?”
I nodded slightly, stilled balled up on the ice. Within a few more moments, our trainer was by my side, helping me up and leading me off.

After I was brought to the medical room, he coaxed me, getting me to remove my hand from my eye.

“That girl got you bad.” He mumbled.
“No shit,” I muttered, not impressed with an injury this early on. “What are we going to do?”
“If I get you some ice and aspirin, you should be able to get back out there for third period. There’s definitely going to be some swelling though, so you’ll have to be careful about the impaired vision.”
“Fine by me.”

After the second period, I returned to the dressing room and my teammates grew squeamish, glancing at the impact of the stick.

“It’s seriously so bloodshot.”
“How can you play when you can barely open your eye?”
“It’s bruising already!”
“Are you sure you don’t need any stitches or something?”

“It’ll be fine,” was all I said as I tried to forget the pain and get my head back in the game. The score was still 1-0 and there wasn’t room for mistakes.

I continued my physicality throughout the third period. We controlled the play so fore-check and strong passing was key in keeping possession. As time was ticking down, one of the rookies tossed a clean pass over in my direction and I jammed the puck at the goalie’s fivehole. I lost track of where the puck was, but I was greeted by the flashing red of the goal light.

I jumped up into the air and was greeted again by my teammates.

“I honest to God couldn’t even see the puck,” I laughed, I have no idea how the hell it went in!”

We kept the other team off the scoreboard and won 2-0. It was an all-around strong effort by the girls. After the game, I expressed my joy with the team. We chatted and discussed plans for the evening as we changed and tried to freshen up before our night with the boys. Just as I was finishing up, coach knocked on the door and as we were all decent, we opened the door for him.

“Williams, there’s a few people here to see you.” He called.

Confused, I stood up from my stall and made my way to the hall. I knew my family was here as were the Blades, but why couldn’t they wait for a few more minutes?

As I reached the hall, I saw my coach with two other middle-aged men I didn’t recognize.

“Tierney,” coach smiled, “These are the coaches from Michigan and Boston. They came to see you play.”
I reached out my hand to shake theirs in turn. Coaches from American schools...came to see me?! “It’s a pleasure!” I smiled.
“I was really impressed with your play tonight,” the Michigan coach smiled, “The mix of physicality and production was something I don’t see too often.”
“Definitely a lot of leadership too,” the Boston coach added.
“Thank you, I’m trying my hardest to work as captain for the squad,” I smiled.
“I’m sure I can speak for both of us when I say that I’d love to be in contact with you and for you to check out the school. With what I’ve seen tonight and the tapes we’ve reviewed, we’re thoroughly impressed.” My eyes widened. An official visit? I couldn’t believe this.
The Boston coach agreed readily, “I’ll have someone from Boston contact you and hopefully we can work something out as well.” I was blown away to say the least.
“That would be great!”

We continued to exchange pleasantries for a short time before they both had to get going.

I went back into the dressing room to grab my belongings, but had to answer questions for the girls who were curious about what had just happened in the hall. After they exploded with cheers and more questions, they calmed down as we got ready to head out for the evening.

We split up, going to say hi to a variety of people, notably our parents. I ran up to mine and gave them a hug.

“You’ll never guess what just happened...” I exclaimed, probably a little too loudly.

They, too, were blown away by the interest the schools had this early on in the season. But after I finished speaking my mom sucked in a deep breath.

“Honey, your eye looks horrible. Does it hurt a lot? What did the trainer say?”
“The aspirin is helping out quite a bit, but it’s still hurting. Shouldn’t be anything too major...it’ll calm down on its own. Icing and anti-inflammatories will help out though.”

My mom was about to reply, just as Easton ran up to me. “Tier, you fucking rocked it!” he then covered his mouth, realizing that my parents were standing there. They just chuckled as a blush appeared on his face. “That was an amazing game, you’re a beast out there.”
“Stop flattering me,” I laughed.
“No, I’m serious, Tier, that was awesome.”

Levi then joined the group.

“We’re going to be twins!” He burst, seeing my swelling eye. His had turned a deep shade of purple over the past 24 hours
“I’m just hoping I can pull it off as well as you do!”

We said goodbye to parents and I gave them all of my stuff I wouldn’t need for the rest of the night. Since I had driven and Easton had gotten a ride with my parents, I would drive the two of us to the bowling alley. Chad and I had talked earlier in the week and decided we could mix up our teams into different bowling teams and play some cosmic bowling. Afterwards we would head back to one of my teammates places. She had a large piece of land in the country where we could party.

The two of us walked out to my car, chatting.

“This is going to be the best night,” Easton spoke excitedly.
“Seriously! I may not be able to see what’s going on but I’m fucking pumped!”

Hopefully the painkillers wouldn’t knock me out too soon, because I’m ready for this night to get even better.