“Tell me something—does Renard talk to you like that off the ice too? Or do you call him sir?”
I saw red.
Before I even thought, I’d shoved him hard into the boards. The puck hadn’t dropped yet. Whistle. Penalty.
“Two minutes for roughing, Armstrong.”
The crowd roared. Their fans loved it. Marchand just smirked from the ice as he lined up for the power play.
From the box, I watched helplessly as they cycled the puck around like they were running drills. Taranis made two solid saves, but the third deflected off a stick and trickled through.
1–0. Because I’d lost my temper.
When I got out, I skated harder than I had all night—trying to make it up. I set up plays, fought for pucks along the boards, barked orders to keep everyone moving. Max got one back for us near the end of the second, and for a second, it felt like we might claw it back.
Then Marchand caught my eye across the ice, grinning. Just that smirk, nothing more. And I hesitated—half a heartbeat, no more—but it was enough.
A turnover. A rush. Goal.
2–1.
We pulled the goalie in the last minute. They got the empty-netter. 3–1 final.
In the locker room, nobody said much. You didn’t need to. I could feel it—the disappointment, the frustration, the weight of a game that had slipped through our fingers because of me.
I sat on the bench staring at my gloves. My knuckles ached from that first hit.
Taranis passed me a bottle of water on his way by and muttered, “You’ll get him next time.”
I nodded, but I didn’t answer.
Because the truth was, Marchand hadn’t just beaten me on the scoreboard. He’d gotten in my head—and I’d let him.
That was the part that stung the most.
Next time, I promised myself, it wouldn’t happen again.
Next time, I’d make damn sureIwas the one underhisskin.
Post-Game Report: Dragons Fall 3–1 to St. Louis Sentinels
St. Louis, MO – The Colorado Dragons couldn’t hold their recent momentum on the road Friday night, falling 3–1 to the St. Louis Sentinels in a penalty-laden matchup that saw tempers flare early and often.
Despite a strong first period and solid goaltending from veteran Taranis Rhys, the Dragons’ discipline faltered midway through the game, allowing the Sentinels to capitalize on a costly second-period power play.
Center Cole Armstrong took a roughing penalty after an altercation with Sentinels center Brandon Marchand—an incident that seemed to shift the game’s tone.
Head coach Theron Kincaid was measured post-game.
“We can’t let emotion dictate our play,” Kincaid said. “St. Louis is known for their physical game, and they got the reaction they wanted tonight. We’ll learn from it.”
Armstrong, visibly composed in the locker room, kept his response short.
“That one’s on me,” he said. “I let myself get distracted, and they made us pay for it. I owe the guys a better game next time.”
Off the record, a few teammates said the same thing every fan watching could see—Armstrong had skated like a man trying to atone, logging over twenty-four minutes of ice time and creating most of the Dragons’ offensive chances in the third. But the damage was already done.
The Sentinels closed it out with an empty-netter, sealing the Dragons’ first loss in five games.
