“I know that!” Brent snapped. Then he sighed. “Sorry. It’s just that I… ”
He didn’t know how to finish the sentence.
“I understand,” said his brother. “I don’t believe this is really going to happen. If I were in your shoes, I’d be going through the same thing. But at least you can give Coach Maxwell a ‘W’ as a going-away present.”
Brent smiled “That’d be great! The Cyclones are tough this year. Three wins, one tie, and no losses. Maybe if we can beat them, people will want Coach Maxwell to stay.”
Lee shook his head. “They’ll probably say you won because of what the new coach is doing. Their minds are made up, bro. Don’t expect any miracles. But beating these guys would be really excellent.”
“I’d love to beat them,” Brent said, “if we can do it without cheating.”
As the Badgers did their pregame stretching, Brent could hear the noise of a few hundred people who had come to watch the game. Usually before the game, there would be a lot of chatter in the locker room. Today it had been very quiet. When the stretching was done, Coach Maxwell stood up and looked at the team.
“The Cyclones are a better team than last year… and they beat us then. But you have the talent to win today, if you go all-out and play hard. Remember what we’ve worked on, keep your heads in the game, and play as a team. Don’t worry about tomorrow or anything but what’s happening on the rink. Whatever happens today, you should know that I’m proud of you.”
Coach Seabrook was next. He wasn’t wearing his usual smile. Instead, he glared. “These guys,” he said, “they think they’re really tough. They think they’re better than you. They figure all they have to do is show up, and you’ll fold. Send them a message. Make them respect you. Show the people out there that you’re winners. You know what you have to do, what we’ve practiced. Go for it!”
The team filed out onto the rink. Brent wondered if he’d ever wear his blue-and-gold uniform again.
The Cyclones were already on the ice, doing their skatearound, wearing black and red. The Badgers did their own warm-up while the coaches for both teams huddled with the referee and two linesmen. As he skated, Brent saw his family sitting behind the red line, only a few seats away from Cam’s parents and little sister.
The referee blew his whistle, and the two starting lineups took the ice. For the Badgers, the starting front line had Ted at center with Brent and Sandy at the wings. The defensemen were Cam and Burt, and Chip was the goalie. As was customary, the players from both teams touched gloves as they lined up for the opening face-off. Normally for Brent, this was a very exciting moment. Today the usual excitement was mixed with sadness.
The whistle sounded again as a linesman dropped the puck. The Cyclone center beat Ted on the draw and slapped the rubber disk to his left, where a defenseman took it. Brent dropped back to defend, keeping his eye on the puck and on the Cyclone wing nearest to him. He saw the play developing across the ice as the Cyclone center and his left winger moved over the red line, passing the puck between them.
The center took the puck between Ted and Sandy and skated it across the blue line. Then he dropped it back to a defenseman and headed toward the crease.
Cam moved in on him, but the Cyclone defender passed to the right wing. Brent moved closer, looking for a chance to knock the puck away or put a check on the player.
Another whistle blew, stopping play. A linesman skated over to the sidelines to explain the penalty he had apparently called. That was fast, Brent thought.
An official’s voice came over the public address system: “Number eight, blue, two minutes for interference.”
Barry, who had been struggling with a Cyclone wing in front of the crease, had been called for doing something he shouldn’t have. Looking as if he’d been caught taking cookies from a cookie jar, he skated over to the penalty box. Less than a minute into the game, the Cyclones had a power-play opportunity.
Coach Maxwell put Brent, Ted, Cam, and Burt in as his penalty-killing unit. Following the face-off — in the circle to the left of the Badger goal — the Cyclones controlled the puck. They began by passing around the perimeter of their offensive zone, looking for an opening, but the Badgers covered well. A Cyclone wing suddenly darted toward the crease, hoping to catch the Badgers by surprise. A perfect, needle-threading pass got to him, but Brent’s lightning-fast poke check knocked the puck away, right to where Cam could take it. Cam sent the puck skimming all the way down to the other end of the rink, forcing the Cyclones to use valuable seconds getting it back. Brent heard his brother yell something, but he couldn’t make it out.
With under a minute left in the penalty, the Cyclone center fired a shot to the upper left corner of the goal. Chip took it on his blocker and lunged after the puck as it skittered on the ice. But before he could capture it, a Cyclone wing came around from behind the net and hooked it in for a goal. The Cyclones led, 1 to nothing.
With the score, both teams were at full strength again. Cam and Burt were replaced by Arno and Darryl, and Gavin came in for Ted. Coach Maxwell signaled Brent and Sandy to stay on for another minute.
Even against Gavin, a fresh center, the Cyclones controlled the face-off. But the Cyclone wing closest to Brent tried to get behind the Badger defense and left Brent unguarded. Arno threw a good body check at the opposing center, jarring the puck loose. Sandy got it and fired a perfect pass to Brent, streaking across the red line. Too late, the Cyclone wing saw his own mistake.
Brent outskated the closest Cyclone defenseman and had nobody between him and the Cyclone goalie — a perfect breakaway opportunity. The goalie moved out to try to cut down Brent’s shooting angle.
Brent feinted to his right, drawing the goalie over to the side, and then slammed a shot into the upper left corner of the net for the tying goal. It was only his second goal of the season, and it made the score 1-1.
Brent was mobbed by his teammates as he and Sandy came to the bench to be replaced by Vic and Gil. For the next several minutes, neither team was able to score. The Cyclones managed a shot on goal that Chip saved with a sliding stop. Just as Brent was poised to scramble back onto the ice in a change on the fly for Gil, there was another whistle. This time, it was a penalty on Vic for high-sticking.
Brent saw the linesman skate over to the Badger bench, looking angry. “I could just as easily have made this a major penalty for slashing,” he told Coach Maxwell. “Tell your guys to watch themselves. They’re getting too rough out here.”
Coach Seabrook leaned in and began yelling at the linesman as he skated away. Coach Maxwell pulled the other coach back and said something to him that shut him up fast. Meanwhile, Brent went back out on the ice — as part of the Badger penalty-killing unit.
Forty seconds later, the Cyclone center made a beautiful pass to one of his wings, who had taken up a position next to the corner of the Badger goal. Chip managed to deflect the wing’s shot but couldn’t hang onto the puck, and the center himself poked it in for a goal. The Cyclones now led 2-1 and had scored both their goals on power plays. The period ended with the Cyclones still ahead by a goal.
In the locker room during the break between periods, Coach Seabrook gave an angry talk. “I’m not seeing the kind of spirit I want out of this team! We’re not sending these guys a message! Do you want to win or not? If you do, then do what you have to!”
Coach Maxwell’s talk was quieter. “It’s still our game to win or lose,” he said. “Their front lines have a tendency to get themselves out of position. They’re looking for odd-man advantages, and that means we could find chances to get another breakaway. Also, you defensemen, don’t neglect your defensive responsibilities. Don’t get so far into the offensive zone that you can’t get back when you need to. Keep your heads in the game.”
Brent couldn’t tell if either speech had made much of an impact. He found out two minutes into the second period.
Brent was on the bench at the time. The front line was Ted, Gil, and Neil, with
Cam and Vic on defense. The Cyclones had advanced across the blue line into their offensive zone, and their left wing had passed to the center, lurking behind the net. Brent was watching the puck when out of the corner of his eye he saw Cam streaking toward the wing who had just passed. The wing was also watching the puck and didn’t see Cam until the husky defenseman slammed into him and knocked him against the boards. The boy in black and red slumped to the ice and didn’t move.
Someone in the stands screamed. The ref blew his whistle, and everything stopped. Cam stood over the motionless Cyclone player like a statue. The crowd was suddenly silent. But the Cyclone coach was anything but silent.
“That was flagrant!” he yelled. “He hit him from behind!”
Two of the officials were now bent over the boy on the ice while the other linesman grabbed Cam by the arm and led him away. Cam seemed dazed.
The Cyclone coach, realizing that his player might be seriously hurt, came out onto the ice followed by Coach Maxwell. The Cyclone coach was yelling at the officials and at Coach Maxwell, who put his arm around the other coach and said something that quieted the angry man. The boy on the ice had not yet moved. Brent couldn’t tell whether he was conscious or not.
A few minutes later, a stretcher was wheeled onto the ice. The boy was gently lifted onto a board and then onto the stretcher and quickly taken out of the rink. Brent saw a man and woman hurry out of the stands to follow the stretcher. The boy’s parents, he assumed. Everyone in the arena had stood up and clapped, saluting the injured player.
At the side of the rink, the Cyclone coach whispered to another man, who nodded and also left.
Now the officials called over the coaches of both teams and had a brief conversation. At one point, Brent heard Coach Seabrook say, “But that’s not fair! You didn’t see what happened!”
The referee stuck a finger under coach Seabrook’s nose, and whatever he said silenced the coach immediately. Now the announcer spoke over the public address system.
“Number five of the blue team” — that was Cam — “has been given a game misconduct, and the red team will receive a penalty shot. Because the player who was hit is unable to take the penalty shot, it will be taken by a substitute.”
Cam had been kicked out of the game. As for the Cyclone who’d been hit, word spread that he’d been taken to a local hospital. It wasn’t clear how badly he was hurt. Coach Maxwell put his arm around Cam, who still appeared to be stunned. The coach walked Cam into the locker room. Cam’s father followed them.
A few minutes later, the substitute Cyclone took the penalty shot. Brent held his breath until Chip blocked his shot with a glove, and play resumed.
Neither team played with much energy; it was obvious that what had happened had taken the steam out of everyone. When the Badgers went to the locker room after the second period, Cam and his father were gone. Coach Seabrook tried to make another go-get-‘em pep talk, but nobody paid much attention. Arno muttered, “Guess we know what he means by ‘sending them a message,’ don’t we?”
The third period was a disaster for the Badgers. The final score was 4-2 Cyclones.
Coach Maxwell said, “I’m going to the hospital to see how that boy is. “I’ll let people know as soon as I have information.”
Coach Seabrook said, “I’d like to say that what happened was very unfortunate, but accidents sometimes happen in hockey. I hope you boys weren’t too upset, and I’m sure that young man is going to be just fine tomorrow.”
Everyone left quickly.
14
In the car, Brent said, “Can we go to Cam’s house?”
Mr. Mullen frowned. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, son.”
Brent replied, “I’d really like to.”
“Tell you what,” said his father. “I’ll stop and see if they’re up for a visit. All right?”
“Fine,” Brent said.
At the Johanssen house, Mr. Mullen rang the doorbell and went inside. A moment later, he came back to the car.
“Cam wants to see you. I’ll drive home with Lee. Call if you need me later. And, son?”
Brent had opened his car door. “Yeah?”
“I’m proud of you. This is a thoughtful thing to do. He needs a friend tonight.”
Brent nodded and went to the open door. He found Mr. Johanssen in the hall.
“Hey, Mr. J., how’s Cam doing?”
Cam’s dad managed a weak smile. “Not great but glad you’re here. He’s in the den.”
Brent found his friend on a couch, staring at the floor. “Hey, dude,” Brent said. “Okay to sit down?”
“Sure,” Cam said. “You hear anything about how that guy is?”
“Not yet.” Brent sat across from Cam. “Oh yeah, not that it matters now, but we lost.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Coach Maxwell is at the hospital. He’ll let everyone know when there’s news.”
Cam kept his eyes on the floor. He said, “I wanted to go to the hospital to see how he was and apologize, but Dad said it wasn’t a good idea. Maybe tomorrow.”
“Maybe,” Brent said, hoping that the boy would be in shape for visitors by then.
Cam looked at Brent. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
Brent nodded. “I know.”
“I was only… the coach said to send them a message! I wanted to… make them respect us. But I didn’t… I wish I hadn’t done it!”
Mr. Johanssen looked in. “Can I get you boys anything? Something to eat or drink?”
“No, thanks,” Brent said. Cam shook his head. A phone rang, and Mr. Johanssen said “I’ll get that” and left the room.
Cam slumped back on the couch. “You must think I’m a total jerk. I think I am.”
“I don’t, and you’re not,” Brent said. “What happened tonight was really terrible. But anyone might have done what you did.”
Cam said, “Oh, yeah? You wouldn’t have done it.”
“Well… probably not,” admitted Brent. “But I have an older brother who taught me what to do and not to do. A lot of guys on the team were ready to ‘send a message’ tonight. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
“If that guy is, like, really hurt… I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Mr. Johanssen came in and sat by his son. “That was Coach Maxwell on the phone.”
Both boys stared at the man.
“He says that the boy will be fine. He’s awake, and there’s no serious damage. They’re keeping him for observation, so if you want to see him tomorrow, son, that would be all right.”
Cam took a deep breath and said, “Oh, man. Am I happy to hear that.”
Cam’s father went on. “I also asked Coach Maxwell if there was a chance that he might reconsider and stay with the team. I think he’d be willing.”
“You mean he’d work with Coach Seabrook?” Brent asked.
“I mean instead of Coach Seabrook,” Mr. Johanssen replied, looking grim. “I’m setting up another parents’ meeting, and I think the result will be very different. In fact, I’ll guarantee it. You boys aren’t the only ones who learned from what happened tonight. Grown-ups make mistakes, too. Bigger ones because we ought to know better. But we can learn from them, and I’m pretty sure most of us did.”
A few nights later, in the same meeting room, there was a similar gathering of parents and players. There were several more people than the previous time. Neither Coach Maxwell nor Coach Seabrook was there when Brent and Cam and their fathers arrived.
Mr. Johanssen went to the front of the room. “If I can have everyone’s attention —”
“Where’s Coach Maxwell?” someone called out.
“I expect him any moment,” replied Cam’s father. “I know he’s willing to continue as the Badgers coach, and I also assume that we want him back. Does anyone want to discuss this?”
“What about Coach Seabrook?” called out another father. “Is he coming back?”
“I can only speak for myself,” said Cam’s fath
er. “I don’t accuse Coach Seabrook of wanting anyone to get hurt, but I saw all I wanted to of what he calls being ‘winners’ the other night. I wouldn’t want Cam playing if he was going to continue as a coach. My guess is, he knows enough not to even try.”
Barry’s father, who had been in favor of Coach Seabrook at the first meeting, got up to speak. “I made a mistake the other night, and now I’m willing to admit it. After what happened, I realize that Coach Maxwell is the kind of man I want running my boy’s team.”
“Anyone opposed to bringing Coach Maxwell back?” asked Mr. Johanssen.
Nobody said a word.
“Well, that’s that,” he said. “Now as soon as —”
The door opened, and Coach Maxwell walked in. With him came two other people: a young man Brent didn’t recognize and Vic Seabrook. Vic looked very nervous.
Mr. Johanssen came forward and shook Coach Maxwell’s hand. “We already took a vote, Coach. We want you back, if you’re still willing to return.”
“I’d be happy to,” said the coach. “I’d like to say a few words, if I may.”
“There’s the mike,” replied Mr. Johanssen.
“Thank you,” said Coach Maxwell. “First of all, I’d like to say that I know that everyone regrets what happened at the game the other night, and we’re all thankful that nobody suffered a serious injury. I think it’s important to remember what happened but not to dwell on it. Let’s move on from there and not get involved with pointing fingers or assigning blame.”
The coach waved the young man who’d come in with him to his side. “This is Evan Halliwell, who played on my first Badger team several years ago. Evan went on to play college and semi-pro hockey, and now he teaches physical education not far from here. He’s kindly agreed to work as my assistant coach. I know he’ll be helpful and that he’ll teach the boys a lot.
“Also, I asked Vic here if he wanted to continue with the team. He wasn’t sure he’d be welcome after what happened, but I told him that I was sure that everyone realized that he wasn’t to blame in any way. I expect him to be treated like everyone else on the team.”
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