OPTION 2:

The time is ticking down on the game clock, 3 mins left...I have had a shit game, gave the puck away, been flat footed, flubbed on two open net chances, didn't even finish my checks and I feel like I am living in my own head. I have been benched for the last 15 mins of the game which hasn't helped anything in shaking the jitters. I glance up and there is now 2 mins 40 to go, we are still trailing by one, 3 of the goals scored against us were my fault...today of all days I had to have the worst game of my life GAME FUCKING 7 OF THE PLAYOFFS! 2:20 left I watch the opposing goalie for a few seconds and I see it!

He is dropping his glove hand shoulder a second early trying to play the shot, he is guessing! I can put the puck there, right above his shoulder, I can make him bite, I can score! I look up at the coach, and tell him "put me in, I can get us to overtime."

He puts his had on my shoulder and say "kid we all want to be the hero and make up for a bad game, sometimes we have a bad game, the best thing you can do is sit it out and we will get you in there next time."

There will not be a next time, it's do or die and I am not waiting until next season to get back on that ice. There is 2 minutes left and I need back on that ice, NOW!

I grab the coach by the tie and yank him forward as hard as I can causing him to bonk his head on the boards to the bench, he falls over, out cold. I yell to my teammate on the ice, "CHANGE." Our assistant coach was too busy checking on the head coach to notice me as I jumped over the boards on the hot change. The puck is up ice on Skolar's stick as we broke out of our zone and I am chasing to catch the play. Hargreeves carries it over the blue line and I am right behind him on the goalies glove side. I whistle and he sends the puck to me. I make the motion to shoot, sure enough the goalie is dropping his shoulder as I fake the shot giving me an extra 2 inches to shoot at. I wrist it with everything I got with a pin perfect shot i have practiced since i was a child. Just then I hear a loud CRACK and the world goes black.

When I wake up I am in a hospital room, the bad news, my shot hit the post and didn't go in. The good news, we got a 5 minute major powerplay for an elbow to the head that I drew and we won game on back to back power play goals.

I knew I needed to be on the ice...just not the way I drew it up in my head.