Chapter 3
Jacob
Jacob was sitting in his car in the bowels of the Enforcers stadium.
It was game day, and he had a lot on his mind.
As well as knowing that the day’s game was another important match in their quest for the playoffs, Jacob knew that with Tane steel coming back to fitness it was important that he played well.
“Tane Rivers can kiss my shiny ass,” Jacob muttered.
Being pulled aside by Tane Rivers and having to listen to Tane lecture him wasn’t exactly what Jacob wanted to experience at his new team.
Jacob had just been settling down and getting to know his teammates, and despite some grumblings about his attitude it seemed like everyone was on board with him and taking his talent seriously.
The last thing that Jacob wanted was someone like Tane coming back into the picture and threatening Jacob’s emerging status as the most important player on the roster.
Coming up through the various local youth leagues and training squads, Jacob had always been the go-to player.
The move to the Enforcers was just another step on the ladder as far as Jacob was concerned and he saw no reason why he should have to adapt his personality or behavior.
Jacob knew that when it came to the action on the ice, he was more than capable of delivering the goods, and the more his new teammates saw this then the more they would accept him as a person.
But there was something about Tane that just didn’t sit well with Jacob.
For all that Jacob had always admired Tane’s accomplishments from afar, he had always had a strange relationship with Tane as a hockey player.
From a fan perspective, Jacob saw a player in Tane who lacked the outright flair and sense of fun out on the ice that Jacob felt was so valuable to his own game.
Tane had a long and distinguished career.
But Jacob felt like he was part of the new generation of player who was able to have as much fun off the ice as he was on it.
Jacob wanted the freedom to express himself exactly how he wanted – and there was no way he was going to allow a tired old veteran player to push him around.
Jacob was determined that he wasn’t going to fold and allow Tane to totally assert his authority over him – either on the ice or off it.
I’ve spent too long getting here.
I’ll have fun if that’s what I want.
No big old grump is telling me otherwise…
But as much as Tane Rivers was on Jacob’s mind, the most important thing in that moment was the upcoming game against The Blasters.
“Ok Blade, let’s do this,” Jacob said, readying himself to go through his time honored pre-game ritual.
Jacob took his childhood teddy bear Blade out of his Gucci backpack and gave it a kiss on his forehead, his nose, and then on his soft, furry tummy.
“Three kisses for you, Blade,” Jacob giggled. “And now three for me too, please!”
With that, Jacob helped Blade return the favor and kiss him three times.
Jacob wasn’t normally the most superstitious player, but his pre-game ritual was something that had stretched all the way back to his first championship final as a youth player. It had worked all those years ago and was now a cast-iron part of Jacob’s routine.
“Tonight’s going to be a good night,” Jacob said, taking a big breath and allowing the excitement of game night to swell up within him. “It’s time to show the world what I can do. And if I can keep Tane Rivers warming the bench even longer, then I’ll take that as a bonus too.”
With his mind focused and the adrenalin beginning to pump over his body, Jacob carefully packed Blade back inside his backpack and then got out of his two seater sportscar.
There was no one in the stadium yet, but soon enough it would be packed with thousands of Enforcers fans, all there to cheer on their team to another victory – and Jacob was determined that it would be his name they would be singing the loudest.
* * *
“Rebrov, I’m open!” Jacob called out, his voice barely audible over the home supporters as they roared the team on. “Rebrov! Play me in now!”
Alex Rebrov glided over the ice in the smooth, ultra-elegant style that was his trademark and duly passed the puck toward Jacob.
Jacob was through, one on one with the goalie.
Many players panicked in these situations. Lesser players than Jacob would lose their composure, feel hurried, and make a total rush job of the shot.
But this was Jacob Gosling.
Jacob was a player who played off instinct and natura self-belief.
“Yeah! Hell yeah!” Jacob hollered, deftly passing the puck into the back of the goal and skating around the rear of the goal to soak in the adoration of the home supporters. “Jacob Gosling is in the house!”
“A thank you wouldn’t go amiss,” Alex Rebrov said, a sour look on his face as Jacob skated past him. “I could have taken the shot myself.”
“Hey, relax, I’ve got this,” Jacob said, continuing to play up for the crowd.
This pattern continued. Jacob was enjoying himself on the ice, and The Blasters truly were taking the kind of beating that not many commentators would have predicted beforehand.
Three goals for Jacob later, and the Enforcers were up by four goals to two.
But the party was brought to an abrupt end for Jacob at the beginning of the third period. To Jacob’s dismay, he was replaced. But worse than that, Jacob was taken off to make way for Tane Rivers…
“Now we’re talking,” Alex said, high fiving with Tane Rivers as he took to the ice.
“Let’s fucking go!” Connor added, a streak of dried blood under his eyes as a result of one bone crunching collision earlier on.
Jacob watched and listened as the crowd went wild for the returning hero. Jacob knew that replacements were part and parcel of the game, but he never enjoyed being taken off – especially if his replacement happened to be the team captain and a legend of the game.
“Everything okay?” Ricki said, shuffling over toward Jacob as he sat on the replacements bench.
“Yeah, I’m good, no injuries,” Jacob said, a hint of anger in his voice.
“No, I mean are you okay?” Ricki replied. “I can tell you’re not happy. I just wanted to check in on you.”
“Urgh. Sorry, Ricki,” Jacob said. “I didn’t mean to snap. I’m okay. I guess I just don’t like being taken off for the dude who bawled at me for partying too much or whatever.”
Jacob felt silly for admitting this, but he trusted Ricki.
Jacob knew from experience that in a team environment, not everyone can be trusted. There would always be agendas and people would use any kind of perceived weakness in others to progress their own cause.
But Ricki was different. For a start, he was a physiotherapist rather than a player. But secondly, he was a young guy who loved to party just like Jacob – and from what Jacob could tell, Ricki truly had a heart of gold too.
“Shall we go out this evening?” Jacob said. “We could have some fun at the club?”
“Yeah, I think that would be good,” Ricki replied, smiling and handing Jacob a bottle of electrolyte water to help keep his hydration on point.
“Cool, I’m in the mood to let loose in all kinds of ways,” Jacob said, his eyes now back on the game as Tane Rivers made his first significant play of the game by stopping a Blasters attack.
The game continued to ebb and flow, with the Blasters seemingly in the ascendancy and bringing the scores level at four goals apiece.
Jacob was growing frustrated though and not being brought back on to help the cause. Other players were being rotated in and out, but somehow it felt to Jacob like Tane steel was being kept on the ice because of his reputation rather than how he could actually affect the game.
“Get me on there!” Jacob hollered, angrily kicking his feet and tossing his bottle of water up against the barrier.
But neither the head coach nor his assistants took heed of Jacob’s words.
The game continued and with the clock ticking down, it seemed like the game was all set to go into overtime.
“Bring. Me. On!” Jacob said, stomping his feet even harder. “We were two goals up when I was on the ice…”
With the crowd tense and a sense of unease coming over the Enforcers stadium, it looked like the team might actually blow the game and end up losing.
But what Jacob wasn’t factoring into the equation was the fact that Tane Rivers was ready to demonstrate each and every one of his twenty years of being a professional hockey player.
All it took was a tiny mistake from the opposition defender, a moment of barely tangible hesitation, and Tane Rivers fired in the winning goal with less than five seconds left on the clock.
With the crowd wild with pride at their team’s last-gasp victory, and Tane Rivers’s name being sung from the rafters, Jacob’s mood was mixed.
On the one hand, Jacob was happy that the team had won.
But on the other hand, Jacob felt like the coach had shown an obvious preference toward Tane. And now that Tane was creeping closer to full fitness, Jacob’s role in the starting team was suddenly looking a lot less secure.
With his mind full of doubt and his emotions all over the place, Jacob trudged back into the locker room and was immediately met by a cacophony of his teammates and various members of the coaching team singing the Enforcers anthem.
Jacob simply began to undress and decided that he wasn’t in the mood to take part in any jolly behavior.
“What’s the matter golden boy?” Connor Valley barked, his thick beard and strong upper body both looking thicker than ever.
“The big man of the Enforcers is back. You’ll be sitting your ass on the bench a lot more from here on out.
I guess you’re just going to have to learn that we value team work here, huh? ”
“Whatever,” Jacob said, angrily slamming his skates down on the floor and beginning to dress without having had a shower yet.
“Easy, Connor,” Tane interjected. “We’re all on the same side. And, Jacob, you scored two great goals. Good contribution, kid.”