Rookie of the Year

I had gotten to take the opening face off against the Washington Capitals which means that I was against Nicholas Backstrom. And he's rough, not as rough as his teammate Alexander Ovechkin, but still rough. He didn't let me win the face off easily, but I still managed to do it.

And so the game went. However, Ovie had his whole game anchored at getting me hurt, or so it felt. He was always saying derogatory things to me between plays and making checks after the whistle like I didn't below. However, he was pretty quiet when we had our captain and coach meeting back at the Awards weekend.

When it had become apparent that Ovie wasn't giving up on nailing me, Coach Q had stacked our line which kind of hurt the rest of the game, but he couldn't bench me either - the media would look at that as me being weak. I didn't want that nor did Coach Q.

As soon as I had Hossa and Toews on my line, we finally made something happen. Big Hoss had gotten it on an intercepted pass in mid-ice, so I kicked into high gear just as he crossed the blue line so that I could be in the zone at the same time as the puck to avoid an off sides.

I kicked a little faster, with Ovie just one skate in front of me. Hoss looked to me, but waited until Ovie took my deke and then Big Hoss passed it right around where I left Ovie and got it right in the sweet spot of my stick so that all I had to do was tap it in on the glove side of the goalie for the Capitals. The whole time the goalie had expected it to come from Hoss or Toews, but when I deked the main man out of his breezers, I went wild! His coach took him off of my match up after that because he must have over-compensated or something.

I ended up with another assist on the game winning goal and that was the score, 2-1. After the final buzzer sounded and the sweet sound of Chelsea Dagger came on after Gene Honda, we tapped helmets with my best friend and celebrated with sticks in the air. Finally, Jon and I are the last two off the ice and I'm held back as a star of the game, but they don't tell me which one.

"And announcing the third star of the game with the Chicago Blackhawks, the man who stopped 30 shots on net tonight, number fifty Corey Crawford." Corey, who I hadn't even noticed in the tunnel snuck passed me and I smiled in his direction. I let him go and have his recognition. "Announcing the second star of the game, also from your Chicago Blackhawks with the game winning goal is number ten, Patrick Sharp!" I feel so happy for my buddy Patrick, and he's had a great pre-season so I'm excited for the season to come for him.

"Finally, announcing your number one star of the game, in her first ever professional hockey game with one goal and one assist is number 17, Sophie Mosier." Obviously after they said Sharp was the number two, I had to know that I was the number one but it didn't feel possible. I skated onto the ice and celebrated with the fans who were going wild! I can't believe that this is my first game and I'm already a number one star. Of course, I'm stopped to be interviewed on the ice by someone with a local channel, I'm pretty sure its the CSN crew, but who knows when you are this busy and happy.

"So Sophie, how are you feeling after this great game?" the man interviewing me asked the most generic question of all time, but it's the only one I could answer in that moment.

"I'm feeling great! It was definitely a rough game, physically especially, but even on the scoring front. I finally managed to snake my way around the defense, but they put up a great fight. I am so ecstatic that tonight ended up the way it did and I have no doubt that I'll remember it for forever."

"And how do you think you'll keep up the scoring that you've started here tonight?"

"Well, I think I'll take it one day at a time. I expect games to be physically difficult like tonight all season, the guys aren't going easy on me nor do I want them too. I'm working hard with the trainers and making sure that I'm ready for these games so that I can be on the ice to help make opportunities possible. However, I have to give a big shout out to my line mates tonight because they were the ones who intercepted the puck or snagged the rebound that helped to get my points on the board."

"Thanks for your time tonight, Sophie. Good luck in a couple of days against Philadelphia."

I do a few more interviews like that before going to lock myself in an empty shower room while the guys finish the media train that it is out there and I get dressed all the way before rejoining them with some family members filtering in. Most of the guys are now heading to the showers and a few are sitting with their families. I know that we can't leave just yet, we have to give out the Championship Belt that has been held onto by Kaner since the end of the last season.

When the group returns from the showers, Coach comes in and the families disperse back to the waiting room or to their homes while the team has their debrief meeting. For once, I'm actually apart of the group staying in the locker room and its weird.

"Congratulations on your win tonight, you all earned it. But as those of you who are veterans very well know, we have a tradition here in Chicago that allows a member of this team to vote on the most valuable player of the game. This honor was last held by Kaner from last season, so I'll let him take it from here." This was not a typical Coach Q speech, so I'm assuming he'll take it up again after Kaner.

"Well tonight we had one player on this team with a target on their back, and not only did this player fight hard against one of the biggest assholes in the league, but she put two points up on the board. I think most of you will agree that this one goes to Sophie. Congrats on your first game rookie!" Since we are both showered, I give him a big hug as he hands over the Belt. It's heavier than I expected, but it's a great feeling. I can't believe that these guys saw that much out of my first regular season game and I hope that I don't ever let them down. I don't think I could take it. Maybe that's why women don't play hockey.