"Alright, I've been doing my homework on The Varsity. I'm not gonna lie to you, they're good. The way they wiped your faces in the dirt last time was no fluke. So, if you want your pride back, you better be willing to work. There's nothing glamorous about it. In the pros, we call it blue-collar hockey." Coach Orion began.

"Now, there's one thing The Varsity does very well; they're vultures around the net. They pick up every piece of loose trash." He held up a piece of trash that he'd taken out from the bin, which he had brung onto the rink, for some reason.

"That's how they beat you. Not with the first shot; the second and the third. They bang in the junk. So if you wanna win, you're gonna have to pick up the trash." Coach Orion finished. He picked up the trash can and emptied all of the loose trash onto the ice.

"Nice..." Hailee grimaced.
"Whew, man." Russ remarked.
Averman picked up a bagel. "Have any cream cheese?"

***

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Coach Orion shouted, hitting the pieces of trash towards the team, who were all stood in front of the goal.

The team all took turns to take a piece of trash and hit it into the net.

They even went outside and skated down the roads, picking up pieces of trash and throwing them into the trash can Coach Orion was holding.

"Let's go, get over here!" Coach Orion ordered once they were back inside. "Grab a knee?"

Hailee kneeled down in front of the coach and Adam kneeled down beside her. She turned to him and smiled.

"You guys are not skating like Warriors! You look like something else..."

Hailee frowned as she shared confused expressions with Dwayne and Averman.

Charlie watched as Coach Orion opened a box in the center of the circle the group had created. "You look like Ducks." He held out the team's old jerseys.

Hailee excitedly turned to Adam, making him chuckle.

"Robertson." Coach threw Dwayne his jersey.
The team got up and skated to the box, all eagerly searching for their jersey.

Once they had all replaced their previous jerseys with their Duck ones, the Ducks skated around in a circle, chanting: "Quack, quack, quack!"

***

"Fasten your seat belts and hold onto your hats, everyone. Oh, do we have a special showdown for you! David vs Goliath in a titanic grudge match! The winner can truly say that he is the symbol of Eden Hall."

"Tonight, the Eden Hall Varsity Warriors do battle with the Eden Hall freshman Ducks. That's right, folks, look at those uniforms - the sign of the Duck is here at Eden Hall for at least one night."

"This is for Hans." Charlie said to Fulton and Hailee, who were leading the team onto the ice.

They both nodded before skating onto the rink.

The Ducks skated around in a small circle, gently touching the ice with their hockey sticks.

"It appears they're paying honor to their departed friend and mentor, Hans. The touching of the ice is a Norwegian symbol of respect."

Once they had finished, Coach Orion called them over. "Alright, let's go hunting for goose eggs, huh? Come on, hands in."

"On three..." He said as the Ducks all put their hands in. "Quack."

The Ducks looked at each-other with smiles on their faces. Luis happened to be stood next to Hailee, and although she still felt a little awkward around him, she smiled back at him.

"One, two, three."
"Quack, quack, quack, quack!"
As they cheered, Hailee noticed that the fans in the crowd were cheering too.

"Go, Ducks!" The team cheered.
"Come on, now, let's go!" Coach Orion clapped.

As Hailee, Luis, and some more of their teammates skated onto the rink, he grabbed her arm and took off his helmet. Luis smirked.

"I already know what you're gonna say." Hailee laughed.
"You do?" He grinned.
Hailee nodded. "I'm on it."

"Okay, boys, let's go. Sticks on the ice." The referee instructed.
Adam and Riley did as they were told. Hailee had to admit she was a little scared for Adam - the Warriors will probably treat him like trash.

The minute the puck was dropped, Riley took it and pushed Adam away. He made his way towards Julie, not letting anyone get in the way, but she luckily saved it.

"At this rate, it's gonna take a miracle for the Ducks to hang on."

The announcer was right. The Ducks were in trouble. Neither teams had scored anything yet, but the Warriors were playing roughly.

It was Hailee who scored first with her and Luis' 'signature move', she didn't communicate with him after that, though - she was focused on winning.

Then, it went back to how it was before - the Warriors hacking the Ducks to the ground. This time, however, the Ducks began to fight back.

Most of their time was spent in defense since the Warriors were trying to score with every spare second they had... Hailee guessed all of the constant defense nagging Coach Orion was on about all the time paid off.

Hailee had to give it to Julie, she was playing really well, since she'd saved every shot by the Warriors so far.

Averman attempted to score, but the goalie saved it.

Period 2 had started and Hailee got switched with Luis. He tutted his head and her, and she softly smiled before skating past him.

"Well if you can't beat 'em, beat 'em! That seems to be Wilson's message because The Varsity is really nailing the Ducks now."

"This guy really isn't helping." Hailee groaned, looking over at Adam, who was sat next to her.
"Tell me about it."

Every single member on the ice had been knocked over in about five minutes, and Hailee was terrified to go on.

Adam was switched with Fulton, and Hailee was switched with Dwayne.
Adam patted her on the back. "It's okay, we've got this."
"Have we?" She mumbled, as the two skated onto the ice.

Within about a minute, Lester got nailed and was sent to the bench. He looked around the arena in a daze.

Julie saved a shot which almost went into the net, and a few seconds after that, Hailee was passed the puck.

She panicked and began skating next to the wall.
Just as she was about to pass it to Guy, Riley interjected and shoved her into the wall. Hailee fell to the ice and groaned.

She looked up and saw Luis, Adam and Connie.
Connie held out her hand and Hailee took it.
"You okay?" Luis asked.
Hailee nodded and winced. "I think so."

Guy was the next to be sent to the bench after harshly being shoved into the wall.

Hailee saw the look on Connie's face as she watched her boyfriend get carried off the rink. She sighed. "Come on, Connie, don't let them get to you. I'm sure he'll get them back."
Connie nodded and looked down at the ice.

"Conway on the breakaway! He's all alone!"

"Come on, Charlie!" Hailee cheered.
Just as Charlie hit it into the next, the buzzer went off.

"Oh, beat by the buzzer! Two periods done and the Ducks are winning by one. But you've really gotta wonder how much longer the freshman can take this pounding."

"Not much longer." Hailee mumbled under her breath.