Maybe I can make a difference by trying my hand at defense. To be fair, I’m not a huge guy. The reason I stuck with offense growing up was because I was quick and agile. It made for a good wingman or center. But there’s no reason I can’t still be an obstacle, right?
I skate around the ice to warm up again with Arush’s text running through my mind.I think you can make a difference tonight. Maybe I only want to make a difference because I know he’s watching, and he believes in me.
The teams square up as we get ready for puck drop. Anaheim gains possession. Shocking, right? I follow quickly and instead of joining the huddle at the wall, I position myself at the side of the goal. While I’m not sure if this is where I’m supposed to be if I were a defenseman, it feels like a good position.
It’s funny. I know where they’re supposed to be by visual cues. But putting myself in that position gives me a different perspective that leaves me a little unsure. However, I have no time to ask questions, so I commit to what I’m doing and watch the puck as the teams battle it out.
A whistle blows and we’re moved to the faceoff circle, which means I need to go back to my own position. When the puck drops, Chicago miraculously takes off down the other end of the ice. I follow as quickly as I can, meeting Carter.
He passes to me and I take a shot. I’m not quite wide open, but open enough. It passes through the bodies but hitsthe goalie’s leg guard and bounces off. Seems someone above is giving me a second chance since the fumbling with the puck ends up sending it right back at me. I adjust my angle and try again.
The goalie hits it with his stick and it bounces off the goal post,notgoing in. I groan and then dig my skates into the ice to follow the puck down to our end. I’m planting myself as a barrier between the rink and Patrik when the puck comes flying at us. I dive for it and feel the impact on my stick. It ricochets away and everyone chases it to the other end again.
That’s all I can manage right now, though. I’m winded and need a rest. With my stick in the air, I adjust my trajectory to swap out and take a seat on the bench, watching the game as I spray water into my mouth.
We don’t get on the board. I manage one more attempt at goal and my teammates make a handful more as well. It’s sad to say that we spent most of the last period in our own zone, trying to keep the puck from the net.
I’m happy to report that I think maybe I did make a difference during this game. I feel like I stopped the puck from getting to Patrik several times. We lose 4-0 but at least we maintained that score throughout the last period. There’s no argument that we could have done better, but we certainly could have done worse.
Patrik shoves me playfully when we get into the locker room. He grins big when I meet his eyes. If no one else noticed where I’d been playing tonight, he did. I smile in return.
I’m half stripped of my gear when Coach comes in. “MVP mention tonight,” he says, and everyone turns their attention to him. “Way to step up and adjust your gameplay tonight, White. Good job.”
I smile, bowing my head. Okay, Coach noticed too.
“Bus leaves in forty. Back on the bus tomorrow morning at ten. We’ll review the game on the plane. Get some rest.” With that, he leaves.
Carter shoves me a little harder than Patrik. “You have some defenseman in you, Julian?”
I shrug. There’s a lot I want to say. Like I wouldn’t have tried my hand at defense if our own defensemen were doing better. Or that I might have concentrated more on my own position if passing the puck was still a thing with this team between more than just Carter and I.
Instead, I shrug. “Their goalie was a concrete wall tonight. I chose to put my effort where it might benefit us all instead.”
Carter laughs. “Good for you.”
“Good for us,” someone else mutters.
The room is filled with people stripping from their gear and showers turning on. I lose myself in the background noise and move through my end-of-game routine. My headphones go in on the bus. I stare at Arush’s message on my phone the entire ride.
When I’m finally in my room, I strip from my suit and climb onto the hotel bed in the dark. As soon as I fall back on the bed, I pull my phone out and call Arush. At last. I get to hear his voice.
“Hi,” he says, sounding somewhat breathless. “Are you okay?”
His question makes me smile. It’s always the same question when I call. Every time. As if that’s the only reason I’d call him. “Yes. Are you?”
He sighs. “I’m fine. That game was… interesting.”
“Even you, still learning the game, saw how awful it was. That’s great.”
Arush laughs. “You did really well in the last part, though. I didn’t know you could get in the way like that.”
I chuckle. “It was clear during the first two periods that I simply wasn’t getting cooperation from my teammates tonight,so in an effort to keep us from losing by more, I thought I’d change my strategy for the rest of the game.”
“Was your team okay with that?”
“I didn’t tell them what I was doing. I just did it. Coach seemed pleased after. Patrik was happy for the support. I don’t really care what the others think, to be honest.”
Arush sighs.
