*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Dad: Hey come on get up it’s time to get ready for school, you gotta get up and eat. 
Michael: Come on gimme like another 20 minutes. I’m tired
Dad: Look you are in the state of hockey now you are gonna have to deal with being tired. Now let's go get breakfast before I have to go to work. Come on.
Michael: Alright I am on the way, let me get dressed. 
Dad: Alright, omelets are downstairs. 

**As Michael gets dressed for the day he thinks more about what has happened in the last half a year. With a lack of proper age’d kids interested after the colossal lawsuit surrounding the youth hockey system. The state of Illinois took away all hockey. His future being in hockey he was horrified, so were his parents. So the Byfuglin’s packed up and headed north and west to Minnesota america’s so called “state of hockey” which had highschools with hockey programs. His father was a player in Europe for several years and wound up into European banking. He had a high paying job as an off site auditor and US liaison for the bank that does require some travel but was still well worth it. So he took Michael up to Minnesota while his wife finishes her contract back in Illinois as a radio host. Hoping to get a job up in Minnesota in radio to maintain her career while making sure her son gets his best chance.**

*Sizzzz*

Michael: Hey those smell good **michael hops into his chair next to O’shay who also moved to Minnesota with them in hopes of a hockey career**.

Delany: *YAWN* yeah smells good Mr. B, thanks for making breakfast today. Dad was too tired 

Dad: I know he switched shifts Delany I told him he doesn’t have to worry about it. He may be the better cook but he works nights now so he has to sleep at some point. Besides, he takes care  of you guys when I have to go somewhere…. Here are your omelets

Michael: Thank you

Delany: Thank you Mr. B

Dad: You both are welcome, now speaking of going places. Tomorrow is your first game of Varsity. You both ready?

Michael: Pfft, I would hardly call it something to be ready for. We won’t play much on line 4, the shifts aren’t near even. 
Delany: Hey at least you get to play with the line, I’m getting rotated in and out with what's his face to see if the coach likes me enough to even keep me on line 4. 

Dad: Hey, the fact that either one of you is playing is good. You guys are freshmen with plenty of development time. Besides, you both wanted to go to competitive schools. We could have gone somewhere that had both of you on line 1 all 4 years. 

Michael: Yeah yeah I get it, it is good to have those Canadians to learn from. **Dion and Tremblay, two Canadian juniors whose parents relocated for work, are considered two of the best players in Minnesota and both have full rides to D1 Colleges. Dion to Minnesota and Tremblay to Notre Dame.**

Delany: Speaking of those two, aren’t they coming over after practice to skate?

Michael: Yup, it’s cool we get along so well with them. **Behind the house is a small home built ice rink, actually not usually used for hockey but much closer to olympic skating designed to build balance, and then an interesting invention. A strip rink the Byfuglyn family calls it. Imagine a barbell but large and an ice rink. Designed for speed training**

Delany: Yeah maybe they can get us into the same schools they are going to. 

Dad: Hey, school now, daydream later. Lets go, grab your backpacks and whatever else you need and go wait for the bus. Its 10 degrees out so get the hat and gloves

Michael: Who knew there was worse than Illinois winters?

Dad: Yeah, it’s only November, it is gonna get a lot worse. Now come on let's go.

**The two took to the bus and headed for school and after a boring day it was time for light practice and speed skating at home**

Michael: Good god algebra is so damn boring, why can't school be exciting? 

Delany: Dude what do you think it is for, supposed to be boring probably. Get us to deal with boredom our whole lives. At least we got hockey. 

Michael: Well yeah we got hockey and each other. Everything else is so boring.. See you out back 

**now all suited up he walks out of the house holding his skates walking over to the rink** 

Dad: GO!

*scrape scrape scrape*
Dad: GO!

*scrape scrape scrape*

Dad: FINISH

*Whoosh*

Dad: **waving away the ice** Will you quit doing that? I don’t even have a visor on or anything dammit. 

Michael: Fine fine, just a cool thing I like to do, don't get all jumbled about it. Where are the Maple trees? 

Dad: I am not really sure, could just be late or something. They do have to drive across town. 

Dion: Hey fellas sorry we are late

**Dion and Tremblay walk into the backyard**

Delany: about, or should i say aboot,  time you guys got here, we’ve been waiting. 

Tremblay: very funny there Irish, so what are we doing today?

Michael: Just speed skating for now, trying to get faster on the skates. We have already been around twice and were about to grab the sticks until you showed up.

Dad: alright Tremblay you are up first, speed training. Throw on the skates and start warming up, Dion can go 2nd. 

Tremblay: Yes sir, I’ll skate around 5 or 6 times before I go full as always

**The 4 spent the rest of the day training, skating with and without puck. Practicing face off matchups and 1 on 1 skill games and of course to end it. Shooting**

Dad: Alright, we are all done kids. I think Mr. O’shay has supper ready for us before he goes to work. Let’s get on inside and go eat. Good practice. 

Michael: *pant* alright lets go.

Delany: *pant* Yeah I’m starving

Dion: Haha, look T the young guns are out of breath

Tremblay: Oh lighten up, they are just freshmen. The stamina will come with age. Well that and of course the season.

**the conversation continues as they walk in the backdoor to the kitchen**

Michael: Well we do train with a couple D1 players so I mean we can’t be that bad.

Dion: Oh no no don’t get me wrong, we were like you guys at one point and we trained just like you guys did. Well actually not just, we went to the arena but you guys have it in your backyard. So I don’t blame you. But yeah we trained and got better.

Tremblay: Yeah and tomorrow we’ll play a school where you guys would be on line 2 not line 4. Still gotta play hard though.

**after dinner*
Dion: That was great Mr. O’shay!

Tremblay: Yes thank you, much better than pancakes *laughter*

Dion: well it's about 7pm time to get home. Mom is gonna be here soon. You need a ride home T?

Tremblay: No, dad is on his way. I'm all good thanks bro. 

Dion: Yup, 

*honk honk*

Dion: **looking down at his phone** Okay that is my mom outside, I gotta go. Thank you guys! See you tomorrow at the game!

Delany, Michael, his dad, Mr O’shay: Bye! Have a good night. 

**A short time later Tremblay heads home as well, a tired Michael plays video games for a couple hours and gets to bed. Excited that tomorrow is game number 1 of his highschool career.**

**After the next day of school they all get ready to hit the ice for game 1**

Coach: Hey everyone come here now quickly! Listen up, this is game 1 of many in this season so remember if you don’t play well tonight it isn't the end of the world as you know it. Also, I will say once again if I here a disparaging remark about a teammate you will be gone. We threw off Smith for what he said about O’shay and she can play, she belongs here. So none of that crap. Beyond just her, just treat your teammates with decency and all will be okay. Alright?

Team as a whole: YES COACH

Coach: Good now lets go play hockey!.... You 4th line forwards and 3rd pair defensemen don’t go out yet come here. 

**the five stand full suited except for helmets**

Mike: What do you need coach?

Coach: You guys are my freshman so I wanted to talk to you before. This is different from the kiddy games you came from. You guys were the fastest and best of those groups, it is why you are here now. BUT tonight will probably not go well. The team we are facing isn’t as good but they are juniors and seniors. I bring up my best prospects most schools don’t. Stay upright and keep everything in front of you and I will be more than happy. Everyone got it?

The 5: **yes coach**

Coach: Come on, smile its hockey. Go have fun

**as mike walks out into the Heritage arena in Duluth he is nervous for his game it has been many years since Duluth marshall had their state title. Although they still make it often, and with moving back into the lake superior conference with powerhouse hermanton. The pressure is high**

*HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK*

Mike: ice time, for the first line

O’shay: Don’t worry we’ll get ours

Einlinger: Let’s just stay on our feet and get going.

**jeff Einlinger, Left wing on line 4 is a Duluth native and solid player** 

** after the anthem the P.A. announcer gets the crowd fired up before puck drop**

P.A.: LET THE HUNT BEGIN

*puck drop*

** with 8 minutes left a puck flies over the outside wall**

Coach: LINE 4 GO!

Mike: Finally 

**shift 1 in highschool for the young one goes… bland. They work it around but get no shots and skate off a minute and a half later and some offensive zone pressure and a couple dump and chase chances that lead no where**

Mike: Goddamnit they move quick for us *pant* *water* *deep breath* I guess coach was right for game 1.

O’shay: You need more endurance training I guess, I’m fine. At least we got some pressure, gotta stay in their zone next time but actually score.

Einlinger: Next time we come out I’ll go behind and pass out from the back. Saw some stuff I like, you guys okay with that?

Mike: You see something go ahead

O’Shay: Good to me

**shift 2 comes with 1:30 left in period 1**

COACH: SWITCH LINE 4

Play by Play: Line switch for Duluth, chipped up the ice back behind the net, einlinger races back behind… gets the puck off the boards, slides down to Byfuglin, back to einlinger, passes out front of the net SHOT SCORED!. 

Color: This is a great idea from the winger, he is back there behind the net, reaches the stick forward like he is gonna try and pack it in. instead he flicks it forward and Byfuglin on a full sprint races in and gets his stick on it and pokes it in. 1-0 Duluth. 

Mike: *high five* Lets go! Good call E.

Einlinger: Nice job on the crash in, good poke let’s go!

O’shay: Y’all on my line makes me look good I am all for it.

Coach: Good job guys, way to improvise out there, doesn’t seem too fast for you. Maybe you guys can grab an extra shift. 

Play by play: Period 1 over. Score Duluth Marshall 1 Arnold 0.

**the rest of game one sees nothing happen for line 4. They get some really good chances but no goals. **

Play by Play: That is gonna wrap it up here final score Duluth Marshall 6 Arnold 0

**back in the locker room**

Coach: Hey great job everybody, played fast and loose to start the season. Awesome job, 6 goals is great. Nice clean defense. No Penalties tonight is awesome, great job. We will break down the finer points at next practice Monday. Enjoy the weeked at 1-0

*hoots and hollars heard as the team celebrate the first of hopefully many wins together*

**Looking back on it, he could not have known that would be his most challenging season after such a nice start. But the Lion found his pride to work with over the next 4 years and for his life. Whether he knew it or not.**

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