I gripped my stick and tried not to break it in half.
Emma was looking at me. She seemed worried. I gave her a nod to show her it was okay, but her frown didn’t lift. She didn’t have to hear our conversations to know that Elijah was getting on my nerves.
The first period was a bust. The second didn’t go much better. Team C didn’t score again, but we didn’t score at all. I shot the puck several times toward the net, but the goalie was damn good and on his game today. He deflected every shot on goal I sent his way. Our own goalie floundered, and almost let another goal in by the end of the second half.
We only had one more period to turn things around, and weren’t even tied up. Emma gave me a small wave as I left the benches to go to the locker room, for the break in between the second period and the third.
I felt wholly embarrassed. My first time playing in front of my girl, and I was skating like shit. I wanted to score a goal, to impress her. At the very least, I didn’t want my team to lose at her first game.
Lucien’s pep talks had done nothing to inspire us in the locker room, seeing as how Elijah kept unhelpfully interceding every time Lucien tried to rile us up. Most of the team was tired, if not feeling defeated.
Lucien turned to me before we left the locker room. “Ethan, you’re team Captain. You need to get morale up.”
“What can I do?” I asked, exasperated.
“If you don’t want to end the season on the bottom of the roster board, I suggest you whip them into shape,” Lucien whispered. “This team needs you.”
I took a deep breath and looked around at the despondent faces of my teammates. Lucien was right. This was a good team— I knew we were a good team. I’d played with these guys for ages and seen them in action. How we were performing today wasn’t anywhere near what we could do in practice. They just needed someone to back them up.
I got to my feet, and gripped my stick. I tapped it on the floor, and everyone looked up. Elijah sneered, but he was the only one.
“Look, guys,” I started. “I know we’re getting beat up out there. And right now, things aren’t looking good.”
“Fuck no, they ain’t,” someone said from the back, and a muddled array of agreement rose.
“But,” I said, and the locker room fell silent, “We aren’t playing like we were born to play. I believe in you guys. All of you. There are some amazing players here. But we can’t win today if we can’t skate like we have heart.”
“How are we supposed to do that?” Yan asked. Unfortunately, he’d gotten a black eye, and was holding an ice pack to his head. It wasn’t a good month for hockey for him.
“I know I’m here for one thing. For the love of hockey,” I said firmly. “I play this sport because I love to be out there, not because I want to win. And none of you guys would’ve made it to this level if you didn’t love this sport just as much as I do. So this next period... just go out and play, guys. Play for the love of hockey, because if you do that, we’ll come out on top.”
My words had done something to rouse the team. Several guys were nodding— Stefan jumped to his feet and shouted, “I’m ready to knock some heads. Who’s with me?”
There were cheers. Masculine noises rose up around the locker room, and the team ran into the hallway with a renewed vigor.
Elijah was muttering swear words as he pushed past me to take to the ice. He was pissed off that my speech had gone so well.
Screw him. He needed to learn a thing or two about humility before he became king.
Lucien clapped me on the shoulder, and a bloom of optimism sprouted within me.
“Well done, Ethan,” Lucien said. “Now let’s play.”
My shoulders felt lighter when I stepped onto the ice again. This time, the game went smoother. Our passes connected. The same griffin player that had been thwarting me the entire game tried to steal the puck away again as I entered Team C’s defense, but this time, I was ready for him. I passed the puck to Stefan, and he took a shot. The goalie attempted to stop it, but