[1318 words, ready for grading]

author note: if it sounds like I'm dumping on the city here, I grew up there so I get to dunk on it.

After the shock of finding out that she had been traded, Sophie Bordeleau had faced a breakneck summer of getting everything prepared for moving back to Canada, saying goodbye to everyone the couple had met and gotten to know in their several seasons in California, and getting ready to meet her new teammates. Despite all of this, once the shock of finding out about the trade had worn off Sophie and Jamie were pretty excited about the move. While they'd still be out west and away from their families in Quebec, they'd at least be back in Canada and it would be easier for them to travel and see their loved ones. Once all the moving had been sorted out, all that was left was for the pair to make the trip themselves. They'd be staying in a temporary spot until all the paperwork went through, but they were excited to get everything sorted out and get to know the community. As the flight took off with the setting sun out the window, Sophie couldn't resist a smile before resting her head on her wife's shoulder and going to sleep.

Even off the ice, Calgary was a big adjustment. Back in the Bay Area, everything was a whole lot closer together and it was easy to find places; now Sophie had to figure out how to use the GPS on her car more than she'd ever needed to before and learn about all these highways that went all over the place. Even getting to the arena was a surprise ("Do they normally have parking lots this big here?" Jamie had asked), but for the most part it was a good change. Jamie had started connecting with the local art scene before even touching down in Calgary, and it was obvious to all to see her artistic inclinations in full bore. Sophie herself had been in contact with the team since arriving with them constantly checking on how she was adjusting, and the strength and conditioning staff had been particularly in her ear with her summer training sessions. On their days off, the two were able to explore the area and the mountains so close by, and Sophie was excited about getting to spend a long time of her career here.

~~~

As always, the pair were off to another destination for the World Championships, this time the city of Cologne in Germany. They treasured these trips, since there was so much of the world to see that they hadn't gotten to yet, and getting to see this beautiful locale was no exception. The hockey was exciting as well with Latvia's young roster really starting to come into their own, with Sophie being the top-line centre that she had been for the past couple seasons. The team unexpectedly took their first three games before hitting a bit of a skid, but they were playing with a lot of confidence and having fun doing it. Off the ice, Sophie loved getting to meet the fans who had come from all over to watch the tournament, and being a talented French-Canadian player lacing 'em up for a small, scrappy hockey nation would have undoubtedly been a sensation. Perhaps her favourite interaction was after the first game of the tournament when she left the locker room to be introduced to a small girl who couldn't have been more than ten in an oversized Team Sweden jersey holding her parent's hands. Sophie remembered being that girl once upon a time, and she was very aware of being somewhat of an example for girls in hockey; hosting a hockey camp for girls had been a summer passion project of hers in California and she hoped to keep it up in Alberta. The girl had a shy smile on her face as if she'd never been here before, but Sophie returned it with hers to break the ice and was only too happy to sign a puck for her. Sweden were set to play next, but no doubt that kid's year had already been made regardless of that result.

With Latvia's ticket punched to the elimination round, the team turned their attention to their favoured quarterfinal opponent, Canada. The much deeper roster had only dropped three games in the group stage and were looking like a formidable foe, while Latvia had gotten in as the fourth seed in their conference. The first period was a flood of offense for the Canadians, outshooting Latvia 20-7, but thanks to an admirable effort by Toms Zile and a clutch goal from Chris Goodname the score was only 2-1 at the first intermission. The second period was where the underdog Latvians would break through, scoring three goals while allowing just one to take a 4-3 lead. The last of these would come on a power-play opportunity. Sophie set up near the right circle, watching as the puck got moved around the outside. The pointman Roderic Banes faked a shot, then sent it off the end of his stick for a quick pass to Sophie. The pass was right on the tape and perfect for her to pivot and shoot for a goal. The Latvians picked up another goal halfway through the third period, but a late charge for Canada picked up two goals in 84 seconds to tie the game. Overtime forced Sophie and her team to hold off an onslaught of chances, Canada throwing everything they had at the net only to be stopped by Zile. One overtime went by, and then a second, and then with no further scoring it was time for the rare triple overtime to begin.

The game was now deep into the third extra frame, and the players were all starting to feel the effects as it went on. Even with the conditioning she'd been building up over the season, Sophie was still doubled over on the bench at times, trying to catch her breath. The break would come halfway through overtime as Canada turned the puck over. Edzus Ozilins picked up the loose puck and sent it to Jarrod Lakemore over the blueline. Lakemore took what seemed like a wide shot, but went right to Benjamin Surkhi-Ze'ev's stick on the other side and was a wide-open pass to one-time it into the open net. The bench erupted in pandemonium, with one crowd going to surround the goal scorer and the other going to embrace Zile. The Latvian goalie had made a crazy 93 saves in a winning effort, and Sophie herself had played the most of any skater in the game at a flat 45 minutes. The locker room was more exhausted than elated, but they could be happy as the little country was going to the semifinals for the first time in 24 years.

Unfortunately, the luck seemed to have been used up in that miraculous victory, as Latvia dropped the semifinal 6-1 to the host Germans and the bronze medal game to Japan 7-2, but from what the team had seen online for videos of the Latvian fans' reactions they didn't seem to care - after knocking off the tournament favourite everything after that was playing with house money. Even with coming in fourth place, the fans were about ready to throw them a parade for making it to the final four for the first time since some of the team's players were born. This was a run that would stick in everyone's mind for a while, and it certainly was in Sophie's head once she returned to Calgary. There had been a lot of turnover in the roster over the offseason, with around half the team being new faces including her, but she was confident that she'd be able to help rally the troops and lead them. She trusted the manager's judgment in making these moves, and once the first puck dropped on the season nothing else would matter.