Page 23 of Open Net

The moment the clock started, my heart rate picked up. I moved left and right with ease, watching as Samelson broke away from our defense and came at me. I knew his move though. He went for the same strike every single time, top right corner. I caught the puck in my glove with a smile. He passed and gave me a friendly four-letter word before going back to center for the next drop.

The game continued like this, their players trying to trick me but I stayed a step ahead of them. I watched the bench and slapped my stick on the ice. I wanted to get the attention of the rookie, to let him know how good I was. He could watch me until I retired for all I care, and I wasn’t going to let him take my spot.

During the second period, things started heating up. The Rattlers were getting angry and a little impatient with their inability to score so far. Their second line was on the ice, swearing and shoving harder than necessary. The refs weren’t calling anything though. It was frustrating, but if Coach thought it was getting out of hand, he’d call a time out.

A fight broke out on the other end of the ice. I watched and laughed as someone tried to take on Erik.

What an idiot move. Erik was big, angry and didn’t like being challenged. The refs stepped in to help the poor soul, but I knew that that was the wrong move. Erik ended the fight with a solid right-hook, sending his opponent to the ground.

After that, the Rattlers started to play a little bit dirtier than I like but I kept my head up and watched them closely. They started yelling out to each other and I heard someone say, “Get the net,” so I knew they’re coming after me. I made eye contact with Hartman, nodding to let him know I’d heard the enemy and was prepared. The first line guys had possession and took it into the Rattler zone but their biggest one, Rodney, stole the puck and headed my direction at full speed. I watched and waited, getting into position until I realized he had no intention of slowing down. They’re trying to take me out! They knew I wasn’t going to let them score, so they wanted to take me out of the game and get the rookie in. That wasn’t going to happen.

I stood my ground and braced for impact, hoping the refs would catch this. Just as I predicted. Rodney shot the puck and seemingly forgot to stop, slamming all two hundred and ninety pounds of force into me. I was ready though and let myself fall, hoping to turn on him and have him take the brunt of it.

As soon as I was down, I knew something was wrong. An explosion of pain came from my knee and an unnatural sound sent chills down my spine. I didn’t move as Ronnie got up off me. He glared down with a sneer and skated away. Seconds passed before my teammates surrounded me.

“You okay?” Hartman asked.

I didn’t move a muscle. I didn’t want to make anything worse. I took a slow deep breath, “No man. Get Coach.”

Noah took off first heading for the bench and yelling for Coach Romney and Rust to get out on the ice. Our trainer, Nathan, came onto the ice with them.

I thought of Emma at home and panicked. I didn’t want to scare her. I needed to get up and make it seem like it wasn’t as bad as it was. I tried to move but Erik and Hartman held me down.

“Don’t make it worse,” Erik said calmly. “Just wait for Nathan.” Soon the other guys made room for coach to get through.

Coach Romney was on his knee next to me while Nathan and Coach Rust stood behind him. “What’s going on, Letang?” Coach asked. “Tell me what happened.”

I pointed to my knee. “Coach, I don’t think I can move it.”

He swore under his breath as Nathan replaced him next to me.

“It’s my left,” I said.

Nathan nodded. “Okay, we’re going to move you. Can you sit up?”

I closed my eyes and swore as Hartman and Erik pulled me into a sitting position.

“We’re going to get you up and take you off the ice. Try not to let the injury show.” Coach patted my shoulder.

I nodded. I knew what to do. Erik and Hartman lifted me, carrying the majority of my weight so I wouldn’t have to put any pressure on my knee. They looked around making sure that no one else could tell what was wrong. It was imperative in our profession not to let the other teams know our weaknesses. We couldn’t let them know where my injury was. We would put a statement out I had a lower body injury but letting the league and all its players know exactly what happened would make that body part an easy target in the future. I didn’t want people going after my knee when I came back for the next game.

As soon as we got off the ice, my teammates helped me into the training room where Nathan pulled off my gear. The guys had to get back out to the game but they both hit my shoulder playfully before leaving.

I swore again when I saw my knee. It was three times the normal size with unnatural colors.

Nathan sucked in his breath. “I think it’s the ACL.”

I shook my head. “No. It’s not that bad.”

A bad ACL injury could end my career. That was the last thing I wanted to hear.

His expression was serious. “We won’t know for sure until we get scans done, but I’ve seen stuff like this before. My gut says it’s a full-on ACL tear. We’re going to go to the hospital.”

My stomach hit the floor. “I’m fine, Nathan.”

I needed to get back on the ice. The team needed me. Plus, Emma was probably freaking out right now. I wanted her to know everything was fine. Well, mostly fine.

He frowned. “Don’t try to be a hero, man. We’ve got to get to the hospital. This is serious.”