Rhys

A few minutes later, the game became tougher, and the Southbridge Bears showed exactly why they had made it to the finals. Their speed was crazy right from the faceoff.

Damian, who was their right winger, carried the puck with smooth control, weaving through the neutral zone and finding open ice as if he had memorized every inch of the rink.

I tried to close the gap on the right defense, but he slipped past with a quick deke and sent a crisp pass to their center. Before we could fully reset, the Bears’ left winger fired a hard shot from the slot.

Theo stretched out in net, but the puck found the top corner.

The arena erupted in a mix of cheers and groans. The Southbridge Bears got their first goal.

Their goal motivated us, and we pushed back hard. Miller was winning battles along the boards, and Jaxon was creating speed on the left wing, but the Bears kept their momentum.

Kayden stayed solid on left defense beside me, blocking shots and clearing the zone when he could, yet the Bears’ forwards kept coming in waves, thanks to Damian.

He was everywhere— incredibly fast and always seeming to find that extra step. He was their ace, no doubt about it, and he was making his presence felt.

The first period continued with heavy pressure from both sides. We created some good chances, but their goalie stood tall, and we always ended up in a dead end.

Then, with only a couple of minutes before the break, the Bears struck again. Damian carried the puck deep into our zone. He drew Kayden and me out of position with a clever fake, and dished the puck off to a teammate who buried it past Theo.

And they scored again.

The horn sounded for the end of the first period, and we skated off the ice with our heads lowered. It was hard to look up, especially with how disappointed our fans sounded when the Southbridge Bears scored again.

Even the commentators were not taking it easy on us.

"Damian Fernandez came back to the ice only to dominate. Everyone had been waiting for his return, and now that he is here, he is showing how good he is. Two goals in the first period. Will the Northern Avalanche be able to make a comeback?"

I frowned at those words and stopped listening when the second commentator spoke.

Back in the locker room during the break, Coach Reddick gathered us quickly, telling us what to do once we returned to the ice. "Don’t be too hard on yourselves. This is the first game, and you all can always fight harder to show how powerful you are on the ice," he told us.

When he finished talking, I stood up and looked around at my teammates. Everyone was breathing hard, drenched with sweat, but our spirits still remained.

"Listen," I said, keeping my voice firm but calm. "Damian Fernandez is their ace winger tonight. He is really good—fast, smart with the puck, and he sees the ice better than most. He used to... uhm..." I paused for a moment, looking at Miller, who knew my history with him.

Miller nodded at me to continue.

I sighed.

"Damian and I used to go to the same college and trained a couple of times," I continued, making sure my eyes didn’t meet Kayden’s. I was going to tell him later—maybe after we defeat them—but for now, it was going to be my little secret.

"He is very tricky on the ice, and we have to beat him by cutting off his passing lanes and making sure he does not get those clean looks. We have come too far to let one strong period shake us. We grind, we support each other, and we fight back in this next period. We still have time to turn this around and show them who the Northern Avalanche really is."

The team nodded, some clapping their sticks against the benches in agreement.

I heaved a sigh of relief, seeing how my team’s spirits lifted. Then I looked toward the bench where Kayden was seated. We both exchanged looks but said nothing.

After a few minutes, we headed back out for the second period with fresh energy and our new plan.

The crowd roared again as we took the ice.

Our plan didn’t work out as well as we expected because the Southbridge Bears were still fast—even faster than in the first period—and even when we tried to match their speed, it led to a dead end.

But the Northern Avalanche had never been a team that folded easily.

Miller battled harder in the faceoff circles, Jaxon and Luca pushed up the wings with more determination,

Kayden and I tightened our defensive positioning, and Theo made key saves to keep us in the game.

We created several strong chances, but their defense was too strong.

The game remained 2–0 in favor of the Bears as we moved through the second period. No one scored in that period. It ended with both sides exhausted but still very much in the fight.

When the third period began, the energy in the building had only grown stronger. The fans were on their feet for long stretches, cheering loudly for both teams as the stakes felt even higher.

We came out aggressive, determined to mount a comeback. Miller led the charge up the middle, winning battles and distributing the puck.

Jaxon flew down the left wing with his usual flair, creating odd-man rushes that forced the Bears to scramble back. Luca complemented him perfectly on the right, and

Kayden and I pushed up when the opportunity arose, joining the attack while still anchoring the blue line. Theo continued to make crucial stops, keeping us alive in the game.

The Southbridge Bears, however, refused to let their lead slip away easily. They matched our intensity, using their speed to counterattack and keep pressure on our zone.

Damian remained a problem for us, as he constantly targeted Kayden in order to break our defense, but we held on, throwing in everything we had.

The minutes ticked away with both sides fighting hard, but we couldn’t get past their defense to even reach their goalie.

As the final horn sounded, I looked up at the screen, staring at the score displayed on the Jumbotron.

Southbridge Bears 2, Northern Avalanche 0.

They had won the first game.

After they were announced as the winners, the arena was filled with a mix of celebration from the Southbridge fans and respectful applause from ours.

My teammates started skating off the ice, and as I joined them, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

It was Damian.

"You’ve gotten slower, Rhys. What’s the problem?"

I didn’t turn back to face him because I didn’t want to see the creepy smile he would have on his face and the way his hazel eyes would stare at me with pity.

"Stupid," I said, loud enough for him to hear before skating off the ice.

There was nothing to think about here. One loss did not define us, yet it stung—especially when the voices of the commentators sounded from the broadcast booth.

"Well, folks, what a hard-fought opening game of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Southbridge Bears took Game 1 by a score of 2–0, thanks in large part to their strong defensive play and the standout performance of their winger Damian Fernandez. The Northern Avalanche battled valiantly, especially in the second and third periods where they generated several quality chances, but they simply could not find the net tonight. Captain Rhys Calder and his team, including Kayden Vale on left defense, showed the resilience we have come to expect from the defending champions, but the Bears proved they are more than capable of challenging for the Cup this year."

The second commentator added, "It will be interesting to see how the Avalanche respond in Game 2. Stay tuned, because this Finals is far from over."

I removed my helmet as I skated through the tunnel. I ran a hand through my damp hair, pushing it back from my forehead.

I hated failing, but we had done all we could tonight, and if there was something Kayden had taught me, it was that it wasn’t bad to fail.

And that was why it didn’t hurt too much.