The Ice Queen

Chapter Three
We've played twenty three games so far, tomorrow we had a home game against the Penguins, I was looking forward to beating Crosby again. The guys were teasing me, saying that I was getting to be just as bad as our Captain when it came to beating Crosby. We were doing all right now, not as well as I would like, winning twelve and losing eleven so far, I wanted to do a lot better.

Holidays had come and go, Halloween was interested, we all dressed up and went to our Captain's house for a party. I dressed up as a ref and I laughed when one of the guys showed up in their uniform, saying they were a hockey player for Halloween.

Thanksgiving was fun, some that lived close went home for two days, most stayed in DC. Rebecca and I got a small turkey and spent the time together, and then halfway through dinner, dad showed up. My relationship with my mom was completely gone, but my dad, we were all right, he was starting to warm up to me again, and he was happy that Rebecca and I were getting along. He stayed for about a week and went to two of my games.

Thursday, December 1st, I was jumping up and down in the locker room, smiling brightly as I threw my arms around to get myself ready for the game. Alex said something to me in Russian and some of the guys laughed and shook their heads towards me.

"Dude, who gave you sugar?!" Mike asked as he walked into the room and saw me.

"I excited!" I smiled.

"I can see that," he laughed, "Is it because of who we're up against?"

"Duh!" I laughed and he smirked and shook his head.

We all got dressed and skated onto the ice for warm ups, Sidney tried to talk to me again, but I politely skated away. I really did want to talk to him, but if my teammates knew that, they're be pretty mad with me, so I stayed away.

When the game started, I sat on the bench and waited for my first shift to begin. Half way through the first period, Joel Ward jump back over the boards and Coach patted my shoulder. I smirked and then jumped over the boards and skated on the ice, seeing the puck with Evgeni Malkin and skating towards him. I tried to steal the puck, but he had passed it to Chris Kunitz, I growled in frustration and when he went to shoot the puck towards Vokoun, it bounced off his chest and I quickly picked the puck up and skated towards Fleury.

I passed the puck to Nicklas Backstrom, who tried to pass it to Ovechkin, but it was stolen by Kris Letang, and headed back down the ice. I saw that John Carlson jumped over the boards just as Green was coming on. The ref blew the whistle and called for hooking, Jordan Staal was skating towards the penalty box.

Capitals were on a power play and I ended up facing off against Evgeni Malkin, he won, but someone shot the puck and I felt it against my stick, '...All right...' I thought as I turned my skates and headed back down to Fleury, the others quickly on my heels.

I skated around the net and saw Mike coming at me, I knew I wasn't going to make the shot, so I passed it to him and he shot it towards the net as I skated behind him and went to the other side. Good thing I did too, the puck bounced off of Fleury, Cody Eakin caught it, passed it to me and I shot it towards the net. Goal!

The first period ended, the score was one to zero, we walked into the locker room and I was getting pats on the back for the first goal.

"Brace!" I looked up from my spot on the bench, "Media wants to talk to you!"

I groaned as I wiped my face and took my helmet off, "Can't Mikey talk to them?"

"They want you," he said and I sighed.

"Fine," I grumbled and the guys snickered.

"Was gunna happen sooner or later," Mike said and I sighed.

"Was hopin' for later," I said as I took my jersey and top gear off and then walked out of the locker room to see the reporter for Capitals TV standing there.

"Alyssa, great goal there," he said first and I smiled nicely towards him.

"Thanks, couldn't have done it without Green and Eakin," I said and he nodded his head.

"Now I understand that you're from Halifax, same place as Crosby, you know each other?" he asked and I laughed nervously and nodded my head as I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Yeah, we were pretty good friends growing up, played each other a lot, he taught me a few things," I laughed and the reporter smirked and nodded his head.

"So how does it feel to be on the ice with him, knowing the your Captain and Crosby are pretty tough rivals?"

"It's definitely interesting, we both like to push each other, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to play in the NHL to be able to play against Crosby," I said and he nodded his head.

"So Capitals lead ahead with a point, a goal won by you, how do you see the second period going? What do you see that the Caps have to do to win this game?"

"Uh, well you know, the Penguins have a pretty good offense and good defense, they seem to know where the puck is, and I think that's what we have to remember and work on our passing skills. Most of the time we shoot the puck and the Penguins are right there to steal it," I said and the reporter nodded his head.

"But, you're pretty good at stealing the puck back," he laughed and I smirked.

"I think it's my size that gives me the speed and flexibility to get the puck back," I said and the reporter nodded his head.

A few more questions and the interview was over, I was so happy to walk back into the locker room.

"She's alive!" Alex Semin yelled and the guys laughed.

"Shut up," I muttered as I sat back down on the bench and cracked my neck, "I hate the media."

"Part of the job," Mike said and I sighed and nodded my head.

When it was time to head back onto the ice, we headed over towards the faceoff, but I stopped when a hand was on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Alex standing there, "You face off."

"You sure?" I asked and he nudged his head towards the circle to see Sidney there. I smirked and then looked back towards Alex, "Kick Crosby's ass," I repeated the words the our Captain said before every game.

He gave me his toothless smirk and then patted my shoulder. I nodded my head and headed over towards the circle and stood in front of Sidney, he looked a little surprised to see me at first, but the look went away when the ref came over.

"I'm not letting you get another goal, AJ," Sidney said and I snorted.

"Tell that to your goaltender," I smirked.

"Mighty big words," he smirked and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Someone's gotta pick up the slack after your little diving incident," I smirked, knowing that I hit a nerve mentioning the so-called 'diving' against the Flyers a few weeks ago, "Ooo, did I hurt your wittle feelings?" I snorted and then saw the ref drop the puck.

I didn't look down, not taking my eyes away from Sidney as I snapped my stick across the ice in hope of hitting the puck. I must have stunned him somehow, because the only way I got him to move was when I slammed my shoulder into his and watched him fall to the ice on his back.

"Too easy," I muttered as I shook my head and chased after the puck that was heading for Vokoun.

"Nice!" Mike said as he came up next to me and I smirked and nodded my head.

Carl Sneep skated in front of us and Mike shoved him away, giving me the chance to get the puck and pass it to Alex, because he was closer to the net than me.

By the end of the second period, it was still one to zero, Capitals. The guys were praising me for shoving Sidney to the ground and Alex came over and saw that I was getting to be just like him with hating Sidney.

"I don't hate him," I said, "We're just rivals on the ice."

"Well you should, he's a whiney baby," Alex said as he walked back over towards his spot on the bench.

"And you guys aren't?" I laughed, but they didn't find the humor in my words, "Oh come on, you're going to sit there and tell me that you don't whine about anything?"

"Nope," Alex Semin said and I snorted.

"Well you, my friend, are full of shit," I laughed and then sat down and adjusted the laces on my skates because they were bothering me on the ice.

"So what about you? Are you saying that you don't whine about anything?" Mike asked as he leaned over.

"Course not, I would be a hypocrite then," I snorted, "Everybody whines about things," I said and then looked up at him, "Everyone."

"Whatever," the guys muttered and I laughed a little on how easily they'd given up.

"We're not so different, AJ," Alex said and I smirked.

"The only difference between you and me, Captain, is that I leave me competitive side on the ice," I stated and he stared at me, no one said a word.

"Hey guys, relax," Mike said, the first to speak, "She's proven already that she's not afraid to show Crosby up, why you acting like she's gunna betray us?"

At that moment, Coach came in and said that it was time to head back out and we left the locker room. Just as I was about to step back onto the ice, a hand was on my shoulder and I was pulled back a little. I turned my head to see Alex there.

"Just remember what team you're on," he stated and I smirked and turned towards him.

"You're way too paranoid," I laughed and then skated onto the ice to get ready for the final period.