Chapter 1-1
Power Play
By J.M. Snyder
power play, n: a situation in ice
hockey in which one team has a temporary… advantage because the
other team has one or more players in the penalty box.
From: The American Heritage®
Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
For the Sun God. And the Little Prince.
Chapter 1
Clear ice all the way to the goal, perfect.
Matt Jacoby on the outside if he needs to go wide, but Ryan
Talonovich doesn’t think it’ll come to that. He has a feel for the
game that the others seem to lack, it’s in his blood, he breathes
and lives hockey and he knows a sure shot when he sees one. This is
just practice, one of the last times they can get together before
their first game of the spring semester, but he makes it count. He
makes them all count.
Five men in his path, his teammates, his
friends. He skates a tight line, keeps the puck close to his stick,
watches the guys that hem him in on either side. Jacoby signals for
a pass but Ryan doesn’t want the help—this is his shot,
his goal. He feels the bite of chill air on his cheeks, wind
like cold fingers brushing through his short-cropped hair. No
helmet—he lost it somewhere along the way and hasn’t stopped to put
it back on yet. No pads—this is practice, only long bottoms and
shorts taped in place. It’s just him and the ice and the puck, the
way hockey was meant to be played. The goalie hunkers down in the
crease, waiting for the shot.
One of the guys behind him comes up fast,
tries for the puck, but Ryan blocks his stick and sends him on his
way with an elbow to the stomach. He’s coming in fast, too
fast his coach would say, but that’s the way Ryan is, it’s like
playing chicken with the goalie, it intimidates his opponent and
always gets him the goal. Always.
He pulls back, hits the puck, gives it that
signature spin he has that sends it spiraling above the goalie’s
head and into the net. Score! He hears his teammates cheer
and imagines the stands filled with a crowd calling out his
nickname, Talon! Talon! He imagines there are scouts in the
crowd, minor leaguers or someone from the Devils maybe, or someone
great like Gretzky. It’s his dream, he can play it out however he
wants.
Only it’s not a dream, it’s a memory, and
the next part always plays out in slow motion. He’s seen it
hundreds of times, thousands, every night since it happened. He
sees himself as if he’s in the stands now, he sees his own
name on the back of his jersey, he sees the ice spray around his
skates as he starts to skid to a stop. He sees the guy he elbowed,
a big kid named Ashlin that Ryan never did quite like, he’s as
graceless as a truck on skates and he’s barreling down on him now,
trying to stop the goal two seconds too late. And the ice has begun
to melt a bit, they’ve been practicing for over an hour nonstop and
water’s begun to pool in spots, they’ll have to crank up the
refrigeration unit when they’re finished to get it up to par
again.
And Ashlin’s going too damn fast on the
slush to be safe.
Ryan sees his teammate go down, hard. He
feels the ice shudder beneath his feet as Ashlin strikes the
surface, he’s that close. Ryan starts to turn, still sliding
towards the crease, two other teammates already skating to help the
big oaf back onto his feet.
But Ashlin’s going too fast and when he hits
the ice, it doesn’t slow his momentum one bit. He rolls onto his
back, coming at Ryan skates first, disbelief and surprise written
across his face. Talon! someone cries. In these dreams, Ryan
thinks it might be his coach, but he’s not sure.
Ashlin’s skates dig into Ryan’s long
bottoms, slicing the tape and fabric away. The blades scrape into
his skin but he can’t feel them, they’re too sharp. He’s thrown
back against the net and the post unhinges beneath him, falls away.
Then Ashlin’s right up on him and Ryan hears the crunch of bone as
he’s driven into the boards. His head cracks against the ice, his
hair grows damp, he sees the red light above the box spin with
another goal, even though this is the practice rink and there are
no buzzers here, no flashing lights. He sees them anyway. It’s his
dream, he can play it however he wants.
Score! he thinks. It’s his last
coherent thought on the ice.