The Hockey Team

It was a warm Saturday afternoon. Three friends (Andrew, Shane, and Scott) were playing hockey in Andrew's driveway when Andrew's dad came home.

"Hey, Andrew," his dad called.

"What's up, Dad?" Andrew yelled back.

"I just got your team list," he yelled back.

Andrew, Shane, and Scott went running to Andrew's dad. Andrew got there first and quickly read over it.
"Hey, we're on the same team!" Andrew exclaimed.

"Yes!" his friends yelled.

Hockey practice started the next week. Then, one week later, they had their first game. In the dressing-room, before the game, their coach was going on about how the Kingston team they were facing was supposed to be the worst team in the league. The game started awesome. They had a four goal lead by the third period.

Then, it all started going wrong. Ten seconds into the period, a Kingston player scored a breakaway goal. Next, they got into penalty trouble. Then their best player, Scott, got kicked out for checking from behind. The Kingston team took advantage of the fact that Scott got kicked out. They scored six quick goals to go ahead seven/four, with five seconds left in the game, and ended up winning seven to four.

Afterwards, in the dressing-room, the coach screamed at them, "You bunch of babies! How are we gonna' win the championships when we play this bad?"

The rest of the season went just as bad. They barely made it to the playoffs by winning their last game of the season. The playoffs were one game knockout. Their team had to play the first seed (Dan Jones' team). Then, in practice right before the big game, their goalie's helmet fell off and he took a slapshot right in the middle of his forehead and he suffered a concussion. The next half hour of that practice was used to pick another goalie. Andrew was chosen because he was captain and he was the best goalie. They used the rest of the practice to make Andrew better.

It was the day of the big game. Surprisingly enough, it was zero/zero after the first period. Then, in the second period, Scott and Shane both scored! After the second period, the score was two to zero for Andrew's team! In the third period, Tim Douglas scored a power play goal. Andrew's team ended up winning two to one!

"Yes!" Andrew exclaimed, on his way home.

"We're in the second round now," Shane replied.

Their next game was in two days but they had a practice the next day. The coach worked them very hard. When they did a shootout drill, the coach said, "If you don't score on Andrew, you have to do ten push-ups!"
It was the day of the game. Everyone on the team had to wake up at six in the morning, even though the game was at seven in the evening.

It was two hours before game time and Andrew was just getting to the rink. "Why do you want to be here so early?" Andrew's dad asked him.

"If we win our game, the winner of the game that's going on now, will play us," Andrew answered. So Andrew and his dad watched the game. The Ellsworth Flyers beat the Newberry Aces five to zero.

Then it was time for their game. They were facing Don MacKenzie's team. In the first period, Andrew stopped seventeen shots. After the first period, the score was zero/zero. Then, in the second period, the other team scored two goals. After the second period, the score was two nothing for Don MacKenzie's team.

Ten seconds into the third period, Scott scored a breakaway goal. With about ten minutes left, Scott got kicked out of the game for checking from behind again. So, Shane turned it into overdrive and scored five goals. They ended up winning five to two. They would be playing Ellsworth in the Conference final the next day.

The period started. Andrew's team scored right away! After the first period, the score was one/nothing, Andrew's team. Then, in the second period, there were lots of shots but no goals. The score was still one/nothing for Andrew's team, after the second period. The third period was also scoreless. The final score was Andrew's team one, Ellsworth zero. The final was set for the next Saturday.

Andrew's team practiced three times before that. It was the day of the game. Andrew was pumped! The game's first period was scoreless and so were the second and the third. The overtime was a shootout.

Appleton's first shooter was Andrew's cousin, Joel Fisher. He came in and let a hard wrister go, but Andrew gloved it. The shootout was scoreless until Summerville's fifteenth shooter, Nathan Johnson, shot. Instead of deking like everyone else, he took a slapshot from the blueline. He put it top shelf. Goal! They had won! They were the worst team in the league, but they still managed to win the peewee cup! Everyone was going crazy!

It was time for someone to be awarded the MVP award for 2006. Everyone thought Scott was going to get it. "And the MVP award goes to …… Andrew MacDonald!" the DJ yelled into the microphone.

When Andrew got home that night he put his trophy into the empty cabinet in his room.

"My first trophy ever," he said to himself.