It is the day after the mini sticks game and the team is on the bus that is heading to the Scotiabank Arena. There is an uncanny mixture of joy and nerves. You can hear some of the chatter from the others. Even Evgeni is mumbling something in Russian. Knowing him it will be about the game. You are struck by the sudden realisation that this game will be one of the hardest games you have ever played. You are soon consumed by the thought of how you are going to help lead the Penguins to victory.

"Tiger we have arrived," Evgeni snaps you back to reality.

"Thank you Geno. Sorry about being lost in my thoughts," You respond as you follow him through the back passages of the Scotiabank arena. At least it doesn't take long for the team to reach the change rooms. You get to work on getting your protective gear on. Mike soon joins the team in the dressing room.

"Everyone, I need your attention," Mike begins the process of hyping up the team. Everyone's heads turn to face the coach.

"So the team we are facing will be putting up a fight but we will show them what it means to be winners. We may lose this game but something tells me that we won't lose the others," There is a loud cheer from the guys on the team as Mike passes Sidney a piece of paper. You assume it contains the opening line up. It doesn't take Sidney long to read it. You are not surprised that the three starting forwards are you, Evgeni and Sidney. After the reading of the line up you get back to getting ready. At least the team is significantly hyped. It is amazing as to what a good speech can do to the team. It doesn't take you long to get ready. You follow Sidney onto the ice for the warm ups. You find yourself helping Kris and Iggy with a defence warm up.

"Remember to watch between your legs," Iggy remarks as she tries her best to get the puck from between your legs.

"I am aware," You respond as you kick the puck away from her stick. You will have to be careful of using your feet near the goal. After twenty minutes of warm ups you are getting ready for the face off. It feels odd going against Auston Matthews but it will be an interesting face off. Auston flashes you a sly smile as the umpire drops the puck between the two of you. The good thing is you are quick enough to snatch the puck from him before he can do anything. You can see that Sidney and Evgeni are struggling to get past the defence.

"Igg, Kris I need your help," You yell out. Iggy soon makes her way towards you. You get the puck to her through your legs. The good thing is Sidney and Evgeni have just broken free of the defence.

"Geno," Iggy makes her intentions known. She pulls the puck over Morgan Rielly's skates. Evgeni takes the puck from her and he gets to work on getting the puck down the ice. After a minute of back and forth between you, Evgeni and Sidney you are ready to score. You find yourself holding your breath as you flick the puck over Frederik Anderson's leg. He tries his best to stop the puck but it is not enough. The only thing that ruins your celebration is the fact that you need to take the next face off. This time you are a little slow. Auston gets the puck to Ilya Mikheyev. You all try your best to get the puck back. The problem is Ilya, Jaylyn and Auston are a little too quick. Jaylyn goes for the shot. At least it bounces off the goal post. You can see Iggy going for it but Ilya just manages to beat her to the puck.

"Come on Matt you can do it," You utter. Matt tries to get his glove around the puck but it bounces off his glove and into the goal. You can see the frustration coming from Matt. It has been ten minutes and the first period has come to an end. Thankfully the game is still tied.

"Man that was tough," Iggy remarks as she sits down next to you.

"Ja. I almost feel sorry for the defence on both sides," You reply. They definity drew the short straw this game.

"That's fair," Iggy is clearly struggling to come up with a retort. You are suddenly struck by the feeling of a concerned glance from Evgeni.

"Hey Geno I'm fine," You remark.

"Sorry. I know I care too much," Evgeni says. You can understand why after all you have recently recovered from a significant injury.

"At least you care and besides I was bound to get injured," You decide to cheer him up.

"That's fair," Evgeni mumbles. It doesn't take long for you to get distracted by the game. Jake has just pulled the puck away from John Tavares. You are impressed at how clean the face off was. You find yourself yelling words of encouragement at whoever will listen. It is odd how everyone has seemed to relax now that the game is well underway. A roar of cheers flows through the crowd as Jake scores an assist from Kris. Sixteen minutes later the second period has come to an end. The good thing is the team is ahead by one point. You get ready to take the face off. This time you are greeted by an overly enthusiastic Jaylyn.

"Hey Jay you might want to relax," You remark.

"Then you will have the advantage," Jaylyn retorts. You find it odd that you can have this banter before the period starts. A tense minute later the umpire has dropped the puck and you squabble with Jaylyn over the puck.

"Oh come on," You utter as Jaylyn comes out victorious. At least you are able to get to work on helping the defence. You try your best to get the puck from William Nylander. The sad thing is William is too quick for you. He is able to get it to Mitch. Thankfully Matt is able to block the shot with his helmet. There is a race for the puck. Mitch manages to snatch the puck away from you. He is able to pull it through Matt's legs. It has been fifteen minutes since Mitch scored his goal and you are hoping that you can score a buzzer beater because you do not want this game to go into over time.

"Mia," Evgeni offers the puck to you. You are quick enough to take it from him without any issues. You slam the puck as hard as you can and the puck sails through the air. As soon as the umpire gestures to allow the goal the end buzzer goes off. Again you have led the Penguins to victory. You find yourself celebrating by pulling Evgeni into an embrace. It feels satisfying that you scored the winning goal with the perfect assist from Evgeni.