Arctic Thunder (23 page)
St. Albert could smell blood. Gaining control of the ball, the Rams set up once more in the Thunder's end. They passed the ball quickly around the perimeter, forcing the weary Thunder players out of position. With only seconds left in Mike's penalty, Scott ripped a shot over Donnie's shoulder and into the net. Donnie slumped to the floor, and the crowd went wild as the Rams mobbed Scott.
With three minutes left and the score 5â4 for the Rams, St. Albert wasn't taking any chances. The Rams stayed aggressive to pressure the Thunder, who continued to flag but also kept two men well back at all times. As the clock wound down, the Thunder's spirits began to sag, and Mike felt as if he were going to be sick.
Ben called a timeout with fifty seconds remaining on the clock. “Okay, boys, this is it. As soon as play starts, I want someone to pressure the ball carrier immediately if they get possession. Donnie, if we get possession, I want you to hustle to the bench. Got it?” Donnie nodded, his face slick with sweat. “I want Mike, Joseph, Gwen, Tommy, and Bobby on the floor. Mark, I want you ready to get out there when Donnie comes to the bench.” Ben studied the faces in front of him. “Are we ready?”
“Yeah,” the team said not too enthusiastically.
“Are we ready?” Ben shouted again, this time at the top of his lungs.
“Yeah!”
the team shouted a lot louder.
The referee blew his whistle, and the teams walked back onto the floor. When the Rams were ready, the referee tossed Spencer the ball and blew the game back into play. Spencer took his time moving, and Bobby was all over him quickly, so he passed the ball to Cayln, who jogged into the Thunder's zone. Mike and Gwen ran at Cayln with their sticks in the air. Cayln forced a bounce pass between them to Ryan in the corner, but Joseph was too quick. With his long reach he lunged and tipped the pass away. Bobby scooped up the ball, stopped behind the net, and spotted Tommy breaking up the left side.
“Here, here!” Tommy cried.
Bobby threw a perfect pass that Tommy caught on the fly. Only Eric Warchuk stood between him and the Rams' net. Bending his knees, the Rams defender hunched over, waiting for Tommy to try to get by.
With a slight hesitation and a hop, Tommy broke into an all-out sprint directly at Warchuk. As Tommy continued to gain speed, Warchuk braced himself for the crash and crouched lower.
“Oh, man, he's not ⦔ Mike whispered to no one in particular.
Gwen gasped beside him. “Jeez, I think he is!”
Just as Warchuk leaned forward to meet the oncoming charge, Tommy left his feet. Pulling his legs close to his body, he sailed over Warchuk's head, clearing the helmet of the Rams player easily. Unable to pull back, Warchuk fell forward onto the floor as Tommy landed and continued to run. In all alone on Kirk, he faked high and shot low on the startled goalie. Kirk dropped with the shot, closing his pads and squeezing the ball. Tommy stopped by the net and watched, thrusting his arms into the air as the ball trickled from beneath Kirk and into the net. Catching up to the play, the referee threw both his arms up, indicating a goal. The arena erupted in cheers and a babble of excited conversations as people attempted to absorb in disbelief what they had just seen. The Thunder swarmed Tommy as he ran to the bench. The score was 5â5 with fifteen seconds left on the clock.
Ben left the same line on the floor to face the final seconds against the Rams, and Mike moved into the faceoff circle with Ryan once more.
Ryan shook his head as they knelt. “That was unbelievable!”
Mike nodded. “You should see the guy when he plays basketball.”
The referee stepped back and blew his whistle. Ryan and Mike pushed down with all their might to gain enough leverage to win control of the ball. Finally, Mike drew it out and to the side where Gwen picked it up and ran toward the Rams' zone. Turning around anxiously, she hesitated, then passed back to Joseph, who fired a blistering shot that missed the net as the buzzer sounded to end the third period. Overtime!
The referee explained to the teams that they would play a ten-minute sudden-death overtime period. If the game wasn't settled after that, there would be a shootout.
Ben studied the tired faces of his players. “Look, gang, you've played harder than any team I've ever coached. Be proud. No one expected a team from Inuvik to win a single game. We're playing overtime in the gold-medal championship. Can you win the next ten minutes?”
“Yeah!”
“Can you win the game?”
“Yeah!”
“Okay. Let's go with the same line, but, Mark, I want you out for Tommy.”
Mike slowly walked to the faceoff circle where Ryan already stood. “Do you believe this, man?”
“You guys are truly awesome,” Ryan said. “Let's hope the winner's a good goal.”
The two friends exchanged fist bumps and knelt one more time. When the referee blew his whistle, Ryan dug hard and drew the ball to the side out of the faceoff circle. Bobby darted after the ball and snagged it in his stick. First possession belonged to the Thunder!
Bobby passed to Gwen, who threw the ball over to Mike as he jogged into the Rams' zone. Setting up their box, the Rams thrust their sticks into the air, trying to thwart any pass. Mike threw the ball to Joseph, who drew back to shoot, but then passed to Mark. Mark lunged as if to run at the net but passed to Bobby at the side of the net. Bobby one-timed it over to Mike, who fired away. Kirk flicked out his leg and kicked the ball to the corner. Scooping up the ball, Scott led the Rams' attack up the floor.
Hustling back, the Thunder set up a box of their own as the Rams manoeuvred the ball around the outside. With the shot clock down to fifteen seconds, Cayln threw a pick for Ryan in the corner. Cutting across hard to the goal, Ryan ripped a shot at the bottom corner of the net. Donnie kicked his leg out in dramatic fashion, and the ball hit his pad. It popped off the hard plastic and struck Mark in the back of the leg, bouncing toward the net. Horrified, Donnie and the rest of the Thunder team watched as the ball dribbled back into the far corner of the net. The Rams' bench exploded as gloves and helmets flew into the air. Donnie flopped onto his back and covered the cage of his mask with both hands as he started to cry.
The Thunder were heartbroken! They stood dumbstruck as the Rams celebrated.
Breaking away from the revelry, Ryan Domino jogged to the Thunder net. “Hey, Donnie, isn't it?”
Donnie peered out from between his gloves. “Yeah.”
“You played one incredible game, and if it wasn't for my one fluky goal, you guys would've likely won. You kept your team in there, and you're one of the best goalies I've ever seen.” Ryan bent over and extended his hand to the big boy. Slowly, Donnie sat up, gripped Ryan's hand, and hoisted himself to his feet.
The rest of the Rams joined Ryan in the Thunder's zone. Without waiting for the traditional lineup at centre floor, they began to shake hands and exchange congratulations.
“That has got to be the most amazing move I've never seen,” Warchuk said to Tommy. “I closed my eyes because I thought we were going to hit so hard. I open them, and you've jumped clear over my head!”
Tommy couldn't help but smile. “Thanks, man. You're an incredible player, too. We learned a lot playing against you guys.”
Todd Lorenz and Jimmy Quinlan made their way onto the floor, and along with Ben, huddled the players together.
Jimmy shook his head at Tommy. “Okay, man, now I've seen everything. The Rush just called and told me I've been traded. They want to sign you to a long-term contract.”
Most of the team managed to smile, and the mood began to lighten.
“Boys, and Gwen,” Todd said, “you've done yourselves proud. You've done the game of lacrosse proud. Watching you play made me realize I'm the luckiest guy alive to be part of this great game. And I hope you all feel the same way. No one will ever forget Arctic Thunder.”
After the officials brought the championship trophy onto the floor and presented it to Ryan, Spencer, and Eric, they waved the Thunder players over. Together the two teams jogged around the rink, with everyone on both sides taking turns carrying the hardware. The fans stood and cheered as both teams shared the trophy.
When they stopped, the Rams insisted that a picture be taken of both teams clustered around the trophy. With some players sprawled on the floor, others kneeling, and a few standing in the back, the party continued.
Mike felt arms loop around his neck from the left and right. Gwen and Joseph both smiled at him widely as they pushed in close. Mike rumpled Donnie's hair as he crouched in front of the other players, and there was no way to describe the expression of happiness that filled those huge eyes.
As the cameras flashed, Mike held his index finger above his head, much as he had more than a year ago at the provincials. This time it felt even more like a victory.
M
ike sat quietly and glanced out the window of the plane to Inuvik. They were above the clouds, and all he could see was a white blanket below him. He smiled and contemplated the interior of the cabin. Donnie was sitting next to him, head slightly flopped to one side, sound asleep. The silver medal they won was still hanging loosely around Donnie's neck.
Leaning forward, Mike looked across the aisle to where Tommy, Bobby, and Joseph sat. It was quite clear that all three had fallen asleep, as well. Lifting himself half out of his seat, Mike peered over the heads in front of him and across the aisle a couple of rows up. Gwen turned and caught his eye. Smiling, she gave him a little wave that he returned before relaxing and sitting back down.
Warmth filled Mike's chest, and he turned back to the window, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He knew where he belonged now and what made him happy. Most of all, he knew what was important in life. Tipping his head back, he closed his eyes and smiled. “
Quyanaq
, Victor,” he said out loud. “
Quyanainni
. Thank you.”
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