Page 106 of The Callahan Effect

The arena lights dimmed, drawing a roar from every corner of the building before spotlights swept slowly across the ice. One by one the starting lineups appeared on the enormous scoreboard suspended above center ice, each player's name greeted by another wave of applause. When Mason's photograph filled the screen beside the words NATION'S LEADING SCORER, the Evergreen supporters erupted so loudly the entire arena shook.

The players gathered along their respective blue lines as the national anthem began, every helmet tucked beneath an arm while thousands of voices joined together throughout the arena. Mason stood between Ryan and Luca, his gaze fixed ahead, and although hundreds of feet separated us, he looked toward the family section just before the anthem ended and our eyes met.

He couldn't possibly have picked me out among thousands of people but I convinced myself that somehow he had.

He gave the smallest nod before returning his attention to center ice and I felt my heart answer with one of its own.

Whatever happened over the next three periods, we already had more to be thankful for than either of us had ever imagined possible. Tonight wasn't about proving anything. It was about finishing the journey the Red Cedars had begun together.

The opening faceoff disappeared in a blur of speed that reminded me exactly why college hockey had become so addictive to watch. Neither team eased into the championship. From the instant Ryan won the opening draw, both Evergreen and Lake Superior attacked as though the outcome would somehow be decided in the first shift. Bodies crashed into the boards with enough force to rattle the glass, sticks battled for every loose puck, and neither defense surrendered an inch of open ice without demanding a price for it first.

Dad's fingerprints appeared on the game almost immediately.

Evergreen refused to be drawn into the frantic pace Lake Superior clearly wanted. Instead, they played exactly the structured, disciplined hockey Dad had spent the entire season demanding. Ryan controlled the tempo whenever the first line stepped onto the ice, the defensemen moved the puck quickly instead of forcing dangerous passes through traffic, and Oscar looked every bit the All-American goaltender he'd become, swallowing rebounds before the Mariners could generate second opportunities around the crease.

"They're making Lake Superior impatient," Corey observed after the first television timeout.

"That's exactly what Dad wants."

"They'll start forcing plays," Corey stated.

"And Evergreen will make them pay."

Victoria glanced toward me.

"You've been spending too much time around hockey people."

"I have this year."

"He's right, though," Richard added. "Patrick has them playing exactly the way he wants. Don’t forget he’s been here eight times before and won five of those. He knows what he’s doing."

The opening period belonged to the goaltenders.

Oscar denied two dangerous breakaways with remarkable composure, while the Mariners' goaltender answered with several outstanding saves of his own, including one sprawling stop that somehow robbed Mason after Ryan threaded a perfect pass between two defenders. The entire Evergreen section rose expecting the red goal light to flash before the goaltender's glove appeared almost impossibly beneath the puck.

Corey let out a long whistle.

"I would've bet my house that was in."

"So would've Mason," Emma replied.

The second period finally broke the deadlock.

Evergreen's relentless pressure eventually forced a Lake Superior defenseman into taking a tripping penalty behind his own net, sending the nation's most dangerous power play over the boards. The arena buzzed with anticipation as Mason stepped into his familiar position near the left faceoff circle, Ryan settled high between the circles, and Luca drifted toward the opposite post waiting for the cross-ice pass that had become one of Evergreen's signature plays throughout the season.

Lake Superior knew exactly what was coming but stopping it was to prove considerably more difficult.

Ryan controlled the puck near the blue line, drawing both penalty killers toward him before slipping a pass to Mason. The defender lunged immediately, trying to deny him shooting space, but Mason sold the shot with a subtle shoulder movement before threading an impossible pass through two sticks to Luca waiting backdoor.

The red light flashed and the Evergreen supporters exploded.

Emma grabbed my arm before I'd even realized I was on my feet, Corey shouted something completely unintelligible beneath the roar surrounding us, and Victoria clapped both hands over her mouth as the first line disappeared beneath a pile of celebrating teammates along the end boards.

1-0.

Dad acknowledged the goal with nothing more than a single nod before directing fresh players over the boards. He would already be thinking about the next shift.

By the midway point of the third period Evergreen had extended the lead to 3-1, controlling the game with the same patient confidence that had carried them through the entire tournament. Every line contributed, every defenseman blocked shots, and Oscar continued frustrating anything Lake Superior managed to throw toward his crease.