Just A Hockey Player

When Ryan returned from the dressing room, the first period was already half over, and the Devils were leading 1-0 after a goal from Ilya Kovalchuck. Ryan groaned when she saw the scoreboard but knew that a one goal lead could easily be overcome. She had barely sat down on the bench when she heard Torts yell her name.

“Davis, are you ready to go?” he asked. After a nod from Ryan, he continued “Then get out there!” For Ryan, it was a relief to be back on the ice. She had hated every minute she had waited in the dressing room, hearing the cheers and groans from the ever present crowd, and only being able to guess what the sounds meant. After an offside call against the Devils, Ryan prepared for the faceoff, and soon received a not so friendly greeting from Carter.

“You hung around, huh?” he asked, faking surprise. “I thought you wouldn’t come back. That’s alright though. Still plenty of time in the period, right?” She didn’t dignify that with a response. Step won the faceoff and dumped it into the opposite corner so the defensemen could change. Ryan raced to the corner to try and keep possession of the puck. Just as Ryan touched it with the blade of her stick, she was checked from behind into the boards, the right side of her head hitting the glass. A shrill whistle soon followed, and Ryan had a pretty good idea of who was going to receive a penalty. She tried to gather her thoughts and regain her breath on her hands and knees. Luckily, the hit from behind hadn’t hurt her head too much, but it had knocked the breath out of her, and she was having trouble getting it back. She seriously hoped someone was fighting Carter. In fact, Ryan would have loved to pound his face a second time, but she could hardly stand, let alone fight, at that moment. Bick answered her prayers and started throwing vicious haymakers in Carter’s general direction. Soon, Step skated over and tapped her on the back.

“Ry, you need a trainer?” he asked.

“No,” Ryan replied quickly. She needed to get herself together before the rumors that she was too fragile began to spread. “I’m just…a little…out of breath.” She managed to gasp. She cracked a smile. “Alright…make that…a lot out of breath.”

Step didn’t look amused as he hauled Ryan to her feet. “Why is it that I’m always picking you up off the ice?” Ryan had a cheeky answer prepared, but promptly forgot it as she saw, with extreme satisfaction, that Carter was being escorted to the locker room, blood spouting from several cuts above his eyebrows and on one cheek. Bick seemed unharmed, and even gave her a wink on his skate to the penalty box.

Once Ryan and Step had made it back to the bench, the announcer began to read the penalties. “All penalties occurred at 10:32 of the first period. For the Rangers, Stu Bickel, a five minute major for fighting.” There were cheers and a chorus of “Stuuuuuuuuu” from the crowd. “For the Devils, Ryan Carter, a five minute major for fighting, a five minute major for checking from behind, and a game misconduct.” Ryan was surprised at the severity of the penalty to Carter, although she wasn’t complaining.

“Was it really that bad?” she asked Step. But he wasn’t the one who answered.

“Hell, yeah, it was,” said Tortorella. “Get ready, Davis, we’re going to need you’re fresh legs for the last two minutes of the powerplay.” The head coach patted her on the back before stalking to the other end of the bench to talk to Del-Z, the powerplay quarterback.

The first half of the major penalty passed pretty uneventfully. The Rangers maintained position, but there weren’t very many quality scoring chances. Before Ryan knew it, she was jumping over the boards for her first shift on the powerplay. Right after she hopped on the ice, the Devils penalty killers managed to clear the puck the end of the ice. The Devil forwards were aggressive and battling for the puck along the boards behind Hank, but Ryan knew the superior numbers of the Rangers would eventually win out, so she stayed on the defensive blue line. She was right, and Mac soon fired the puck up to her. Ryan wasted no time bringing the puck up the right wing. The Devils had been so aggressive, there was a three-on-two developing. Ryan smiled to herself, remembering the drill they had run in training camp, and hoping her linemates, Step and Kreids, did too. She pulled the same move as before, hoping for better results. The tape-to-tape pass opened up the middle of the ice for Step, and he didn’t miss again. The rocket of a wrister beat Marty Brodeur over the glove side, hitting the top of the net, causing the water battle to fly off and slam into the ice.

Ryan had never heard anything as loud as the eruption of noise from the crowd. She didn’t stop skating. She eagerly joined the group hug in front of the net, making sure to get a piece of Step. It was only back on the bench, ears ringing with the goal song still being enthusiastically shouted by the fans, that she was able to appreciate the fact that she had recorded a point in her first preseason game.

“Great shot,” Ryan congratulated Step before taking a sip from the water bottle in front of her.

“That pass was ridiculous!” He was still slightly out of breath and had the biggest smile Ryan had seen plastered across his face. The rest of the period passed uneventfully. On the way to the locker room, Ryan laughed to herself.

“What?” asked Step.

“I was just thinking, Carter lost his bet.” With a triumphant smile, Ryan walked into the locker room.