Courageous

Sadly, the next game we played against Anaheim wasn't any better than our loss to the Kings. It was worse because it turned into long, drug out affair as we battled them into a shootout, which we lost. But I was determined to keep my spirits up because we were about to head back to the states and I couldn’t have been more ready to return to New York. But our first game back, the Islanders dealt us another defeat. This was not how I had thought the first two weeks of my rookie season would be. I had been beaten and pummeled at every turn, my bruises had bruises and I ached all over. I had been dragged through the mud but I was far from spent. I wasn't going turn back or give up when there was still so much more for me to discover. I knew despite the rocky start that things could only look up from here.

'Rangers fell to the Islanders last night 4-2. It seems as though Tortorella lines are lacking the chemistry they had at the beginning of the preseason. If I were him, I'd rearranged his line up to spark some of his top scorers like Richards and Gaborik.'

Rolling my eyes, I was really starting to hate all the TV analysts. All they did was assume things and talk about how they would handle a situation when they had no room to talk. They wouldn't know how to had anything because they didn't know they players. Before I had joined the Rangers, I had been just like the rest of the public, hanging onto every word those guys said like they were the words of God, but they were only paid for their opinions accurate or not. Thus the validity of their words didn't matter as long as the show’s ratings increases. They were all about rating. Shaking my head at the corrupt American channel, I zipped up my suite case before carrying it out to the living room and throwing it on the couch.

"Mandy, would you turn that shit off." I demanded, as I walked into the kitchen to prepare a quick breakfast before I went to morning skate. Digging through the frig and cabinets I was able to scrounge up bread, peanut butter, and goat milk. Making a mental note to go grocery shopping when I returned home from upcoming road trip, so that there would be more desirable food to choose from.

"Mickie! You've got 10,000 likes on your Facebook page." Mandy informed me, completely ignoring my request. The girl had taken it upon herself to create and manage a Facebook page and Tumblr account for me. She took pride in informing me of my growing popularity in the eyes of many hockey fans. Right now, I couldn't have cared less about updating and keeping up with those kinds of things. My sole focus was my game and how my team was doing. Of course with the TV analysts still ranting away, I couldn't help but be a little irritable as I walked back out into the living room with breakfast in hand,

"Like that shit matters to me. Now give me the remote, I wanna check the weather."

Mandy didn't bother looking up from her MacBook as she lifted the remote up for me to take. The fact that she refused to look at me told me that she was unhappy with my mood this morning. Snickering, sarcastically, she smiled at me,

"Jeez, someone's sure in a shitty for getting to go play their childhood team tonight."

"Yeah, well, you would be, too, if you're team failed to win there first 3 games of the season your rookie year and you had been out powered by most of the guys you had gotten matched up with." I pointed out, also not bothering to look at her before I picked my bag up and walked out of our apartment. Hoping that we could improve our record over the next couple games.

Less than two hours later, I was boarding the flight that would be taking across the continent to kick off a road trip out west with a team that in a city that was like a second home to me. I was looking forward to returning to the city that I had earned my first national championship for. Playing for the Vancouver Giants had been a major stepping-stone in my career and had set the foundations for how I still played today. I was also looking forward to playing in front of my family, who were making the trip up to watch us take on my childhood team. I'm sure they would be torn about whom they should root for; choosing between their favorite team and the team that beat them in the 1994 Stanley Cup final would definitely be a hard choice for the die-hard fans they were.

"Well, I'm going out west where I belong. Where the days are short and the nights are long!" Brian Boyle's baritone voice bellowed as he flopped into the seat next to mine, my musing now interrupted. Normally, I would've been a little upset that someone had disturbed my reprieve but there was no way I could get mad at the massive forward. I looked up to Brian as a brother and friend. He had taken it upon himself to prepare me the big hits that I take by checking me in practice whenever possible. His relaxed, childish demeanor had begun to rub off on me as well from spending so much time in his presence. I was unable to contain my laughter I honored him with a serenade of my own,

"Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now."

Chuckles from the guys, who hadn't plugged into their iPods, told me that we hadn't been singing very well. Okay, so what if I was a little off pitch, I never claimed to be the second coming of Céline Dion. I was just happy that I was coming out of my shell a little, as I felt more and more comfortable among them. They were also more comfortable around me. Most of them had given up being modest around the locker room and almost seemed to, proudly, flaunt their stuff. Let's just say that most of their wives are extremely lucky ladies to have men like them.

"Hey, Mickie!" Sean shouted from his seat near the back of the plane, "Don't quit your day job."

Of course, there were the few or should I say the one that had chosen not to accept me, but that was no skin off my nose, Avery's opinions didn't phase me one bit. Biting my tongue, I chose not to respond to the useless prick and allowed my middle finger do the talking because even his tiny brain would understand the gesture. A snort of laughter from my favorite Swede told me that my message hadn't been well received. Hank and Sean were close friends and often sat by each other during flights. This perplexed me to no end because I couldn't help but wonder how such a gentleman like Hank could be so close to a douchebag like Sean. In the end, I guess that the saying that opposites attract really is true in the case of those two. Chuckling, I turned began to thumb through my music until I gave up and hit the shuffle button before settling in for the long flight.

"Oh, British Columbia, I have missed you so!" I shouted after I had climbed onto to bus that would be taking us to our hotel. Barely dodging the pillow that had been chucked at my head by Brandon Prust. He was almost as bad as Avery in my book, but at least he didn't complain about me all the time like the former did. Crusty Prusty, as I liked to call him, treated me like any older brother would treat their loud, annoying younger sibling and in return, I treated him in kind.

"God, woman, do you ever shut up?" He groaned, half asleep before he practically fell into his seat, directly across from mine. I found it amusing that he was always somewhere near by just when I wanted to let loose a little and enjoy myself.

"Well, someone is certainly a little bitch when he doesn't get his beauty sleep."

After taking a good-natured jab at him, I chuckled and sat back in my seat as I pressed my face against the window to take in the all the familiar sights of my favorite city at night. It was almost enough to make me a little home sick, but being with the team and living in New York was still too new to let me actually get home sick.

The next day, I received the privilege of enjoying a nice lunch with my family. I hadn't seem them since I had graduated from Boston College, so I was more than happy to be able to catch up with them. As we talked and shared, I found that part of me was glad that my life was now in New York. The time apart had made me forget how much they could suffocate me, even without meaning to. I mean, I love them, they are my family after all, but I knew that I had made the right choice by the Rangers because it had given me the chance to find my own wings.

However, that was all water under the bridge compared to how truly amazing part of my first road trip out west was. The fact that I received a standing ovation from Rodgers Arena when my name was announced for the starting line up and that they recognized my achievements while with the Giants. It was the first recognition I had received from NHL fans and for it to have happened in what was practically my hometown was a humbling honor. The good vibes it gave me could only get better as the night rounded out with our first win of the season! It was an amazing feeling to have a win under our belts. It ended up fueling our momentum for the rest of our road trip as we went 2-1-0 in the next three games. Finally, we were making some progress and just in time for our first home game of the see, too. It would be the biggest stage I had yet to play on, a daunting task for any rookie, but I was ready to take on the colossal historic giant known as Madison Square Garden.

"MY FIRST FUCKIN' HOME GAME IS TONIGHT BITCHES!!!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs as I took the ice for morning skate. I felt renewed and rejuvenated after getting my first full night's rest in almost a month. I was ready to take on New York and after that I would be ready to truly take on the rest of the hockey world. I wanted show New York City just what Mickayla Hammer was made of! A slash to my ankle brought me out of my mental affirmation, making me spin around and snarl at the perpetrator!

"BRIAN BOYLE, YOU LITTLE BITCH!!!! GET BACK HERE AND TAKE YOUR LUMPS LIKE A REAL MAN!!!!"

Boyle only streaked away, daring me to catch him. Taking on his challenge, I caught up with the slower skater without much exertion, not that we were skating as hard as we would a game but it was close.

*GENERAL POV*

Brad Richards could only shake his head at Boyle dashed toward Hank's net with the smaller, lighter Hammer hot on his heels. Circling back around towards center ice, they laughed like children as Mickayla halfway tripped up Brian. The former Dallas Star could help but admit to himself that he envied her natural speed and grace on the ice. It was almost like watching a butterfly float in the breeze. Of course, this little butterfly had quite the stringer on her as she accidently checked Hagelin, who had strayed in between her and Brian, leaving the former Michigan Wolverine on flat on his ass. The fact that she had taken him out without even trying was impressive. She was on the cusp of becoming her own force to be reckoned with and everyone could see.

"Somebody's in a good mood." Brandon Prust pointed out as fell in stride with newly appointed alternate captain as he skated at a pace around the rink that was just enough to get the blood flowing.

"Yeah, I noticed. And in all honesty, I can't believe she's still alive. They haven't let up on her since we won in Vancouver. I bet she hurts all over." Richards agreed, his eyes darting back over in Mickie and Boyle’s direction.

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT THE FUCK UP?!" Sean Avery hollered as he stepped onto the ice and muttered under his breath as he skated by, "Fuckin' idiots."

Brad smirked, knowing that Avery had just painted a big, red target on his back in the eyes of their resident hockey princess. There was no love lost between the two since the beginning of the season and it was comical because they shared a common friend in the team's goaltender. Hank deserved a medal of honor for putting an end to their occasionally vile, but petty disputes. But Sean was also becoming more and more hostile towards Mickayla now that he didn't have anyone to team up with him in regards to degrading her.

Holding up his hand, Brad counted down how long it took Mickayla to react to the other forward words. He knew it was just a matter of time before the little firecracker exploded. She had extremely sharp ears and he knew that she had heard his comments.

"I HEARD THAT!!!" Mickie hissed, her blue eyes darkening as she glared at the back of Avery's head as he skated past them.

"YEAH, I DID, TOO!" Boyle agreed, "Let's get 'em!"

With that they dashed after Avery, who began to squeal like the little girl he was on the inside. But a sharp word in Swedish from Hank had Mickie dropping her pursuit of the now defenseless Sean and was skating over towards the goaltender. But before she skated away, Mickie tripped Sean just for the hell of it.

"Take that, you little bitch ass!" She taunt over her shoulder, knowing that Avery wouldn't attack her in front of Hank. She had learned, quickly that Hank was the only one on the team that Sean actually considered to be his friend. So when Hank decided to stick up for her Sean had backed down some on his taunting around the Swede.

"It's helps that Hank's taken her under his wing." Brad told Brandon, pointing out the bond between the two.

"Yeah, true... I guess he's teaching her some Swedish. Maybe he could teach her not to be the female version of Boyle, eh? You know one loud mouth wasn't that bad, but two? They drive me nuts sometimes." Brandon admitted, a joking smile on his lips.

"I feel you, man. If they sing 'Last Friday Night' one more time my head might explode!" Brad agreed, "But look at it this way, at least they only single out Avery for their nonsense."

Later on that night, I pulled on my home jersey for the first time. Checking my reflection in the mirror, I looked at the beauty of dawning the navy blue sweater with Rangers logo screened onto the front and my name and number on the back. This was going to be a huge night for me, I just had this feeling that it would be. Glancing myself over one last time before I headed back out to lineup. Butterflies exploded in my stomach, making me feel like I was on a sugar high as took the ice for pregame warm-ups. The cheers of the crowd of the Ranger faithful were out tonight in support of their team. The first home game of the season... Yeah, I still couldn't get over the fact that I was actually in MSG getting ready to start the first home again of my NHL career and I was determined to make it one that I would never forget!

Everything slowed down as everyone lined up for the opening faceoff. I wasn't as overwhelmed at I had been a few games ago, things were coming to me more naturally now that I had adjusted to the fast paced place style that most NHL implicated. Toronto had managed to win the faceoff against Brad. I acted quickly as the Leafs attempted to set up a scoring chance and was able to come up with a big hit on MacArther in hopes to gaining back possession of the puck. As the game went on I found that it had lulled into the familiar back and forth struggle to gain control of the puck like many of the previous games this season.

Boyle managed to win the faceoff in the defense zone and was able to get a shot on goal. There was another shot was fired wide by Wolski. Prust was able get off another shot only to be saved by the Toronto goal net minder. Erixon shot and again it was blocked. A turnover came after that, Hank managed to stop play and I tailed it to the bench, fatigued by the Leafs fast paced game.

"Great hustle out there, Hammer!" Coach praised as I slid down to make room for Del Zotto.

The first infractions of the night came when Callahan and Lupul got tangled up. Both were sent to their respective penalty boxes. Two minutes later Girardi lit the lamp and gave the Blue shirts the first tally of the night. All of us on the bench cheered along with the Ranger faithful as they replayed Girardi's goal.

"Fuckin' rights, G! Fuckin' rights!" I cheer as he skated by, pounding my fist against his and the other guys, that had been out there.

I made sure on that on my next few shifts that I made it impossible for the Leafs offense to generate any goals. A hard forecheck into the boards after being caught head down while handling the puck had sent me back to the locker room to have the team doctor check out my sore shoulder.

"Fuck!" I hissed in pain as I tried to rip my gear off with my other hand before walking back to the med room. Our team physician, then began to examine and prod at my shoulder blade and collar bone, his keen eyes would be able to tell if anything was broken or torn. When he didn't say anything after about five minutes, I grew worried that I might be injured worse than I had originally thought,

"Can I still play, doc?"

The grey hair man nodded, "You're lucky that it's just a bruise. Otherwise you'd be out for at least 3 weeks."

Thanking him, I hopped off the table to join the guys in my locker room for the first intermission. Toronto capitalized early in the second period with a goal by Lombardi after I had worked my ass off in an attempt to block the shot. Growling in frustration, I lunged toward the Toronto forward.

"Mickie! Calm down!" Hank pleaded from his crease, his words reminding me to keep calm and to not take a game misconduct for fighting again. My frustrations fizzled out and I refocused my energy toward making every shift count.

We struggled to generate any offense the rest of the period even with a power play, which didn't go over well with Tortorella. Using the momentum that they had carried over from the second, the Leafs scored three goals in the third period. A frown formed on my face as I skated against Steckel, I was angry that none of the forwards had been able to get past Toronto's D or goal tender. That was when I decided to take things into my own hands and do what I do best...

I watched, bitterly as Gunnarsson stripped the puck from Gaborik and knew that if I didn't take control of the situation that the Maple Leafs would score. So I charged toward the Leaf player and with all I had, to fight for puck possession. Gaining a takeaway from my efforts, I skated toward the leaf's defensive zone. Breathing deeply, I said a brief 'Hail Mary' prayer as I lined myself up with their net and let it rip! My wrister managed to sneak under the goaltender's pads and for the first time this season the Rangers goal horn sounded. My jaw dropped in disbelief as Mikey, Gaborik, Christensen, and Dubinsky tackled me against the boards! I hadn't expected that to happen. I must be dreaming again.

"Fuckin' rights, Mickey!" My teammates all chanted as we celebrated my first NHL goal.

Wait... My. First. NHL. Goal!!!!!!!

'Ohmyfuckinggod!' My inner monologue squealed in delight as realization finally hit me that I, in fact, had just scored my first goal in NHL. God, I was so happy that I could've cried from the pure joy and satisfaction of scoring on my first shot! I couldn't believe it!

To my surprise the Leafs goal tender skated out of his crease to bring me the puck. For that, I could've hugged him, but that would've been odd so a simple 'thank you' sufficed. After that I took off toward the bench to celebrate with the rest of the team, who were all really excited for me to have scored for the first time at my first home game of my NHL career.

A stupid penalty by Dubinsky had given me a second shot on goal during the PK being called back to the bench. The score remained the same over the final minute of the period give us another loss.

While some of guys hung their heads as Tortorella scolded us for not being able to generate any offense. But I couldn't help but smile stupidly as I clutched the puck tightly in my hand and thought to myself,

'No matter what the final score says tonight's a good night!'

Or so I thought... The media, which had flooded the locker room after Tortorella had finished his post game speech, wanted me. They all huddled around me, waiting until I had finished stripping down to my under armor before they began to bombard me with questions.

"Mickayla, this is your first home game at Madison Square Garden. How does your experience here compare to some of the others that you've had so far?" A man from TSN inquired, shoving a mic in my face.

"Well, umm, it's been a really good experience. It's always nice to have the support of a home crowd behind you. Even if we didn't come up with a win for the fans." I shrugged.

"Speaking of which... You, personally, seemed to come into your own tonight. What was the difference tonight?" Another reporter asked.

"I just felt like I need to step up my game for my first home game. I wanted to make a difference and I was going to do anything to help advance my team." I answered, nonchalantly.

"Excuse me, Mickayla?" A female reporter politely called for my attention, "By anything, did that include the goal you scored off that turnover you generated?"

I giggled a little at the question, "Umm... Well, a goal certainly wasn't off the list. It was nice that I was able to score on my first shot on goal, but I mean I was willing to contribute anywhere I could. If that meant an assist, a fight, a blocked shot, I would've been done it if it meant giving the team an edge."

The rest of the questions seemed to flow much easier. Maybe giving an occasional interview wasn't so bad after all....