It has been a couple of days since you went out with Evgeni and you are nervous because it is your first time playing a game without Evgeni. The thing that makes the feeling worse is the fact that it is an international game. You make short work on getting your gear on. It still feels odd that you are playing internationally but it will be worth it. The good thing about being home is the fact that your family will be watching the game. Leon lets out an ear-piercing whistle.

"I need your attention," Leon announces. You are impressed at the speed that everyone's attention is drawn to Leon.

"This may be our first game but we need to come out fighting," He begins his captain's speech. The good thing is he is able to keep the speech short. As Leon wraps up his speech the coach passes him a piece of paper. He quickly reads out the lines and you are surprised that you are on the first line. It doesn't take long for the team to take the ice for the warmups.

"Mia you seem a little nervous," Leo remarks.

"Well, it is my first international game," You respond. You quickly get to work on the first warm-up drill. You are glad that you have a person like Leo on your team. After twenty minutes of warm-ups, the game is ready to start. You can feel the tension coming from the audience as you get ready for the face-off. The umpire drops the puck between you and the English centre. There is a loud crash as your sticks make contact. At least you are able to pull the puck away from the English centre.

"Mia I'm open," One of your defencemen calls out. You pass the puck to him before the English defence can get to you.

"That you Jay," You find yourself thanking him. You are glad you had the backup. It doesn't take long for you and the team to make short work on Team England's defence. You soon get the opportunity to score. You pull the puck over the goalie's leg. The crowd lets out a loud roar as the goal horn sounds. You are overjoyed at the fact that you scored the opening goal for the world championship. The only reason why you don't go crazy with the celebration is because you know the face-off will be a quick affair. It doesn't take long for your feelings to be confirmed. It doesn't take you long to come out victorious again. This time team England's defence is a little quicker. Hopefully, Danny Aus den Birken can prevent any attempts from going in. You wince at the force used to get the puck towards the goal. At least Danny is able to get the puck before it goes into the goal.

"Danny I'm open," The left-wing announces. Thankfully Danny is able to get the puck to the left-wing. It doesn't take long for team Germany to get the puck towards team England's goal. You are a little shocked at how easy it is for you to get the puck around the Goaltender. It doesn't take long for the period to come to an end. You are glad that you have a break now. You start to wonder if Evgeni is somewhere in the crowd. You get the feeling that he probably won't be there due to commitments with team Russia. However, it doesn't take you long for you to find your parents. They seem to be prideful of your efforts but you are not convinced that the first period is too easy.

"Mia, what are you thinking about?" Leo snaps you out of your thoughts.

"Call me complacent but I think that period was way too easy. In fact, I almost feel sorry for Danny," You respond.

"But having nothing to do is a good sign," Danny jumps in. You know where he is coming from but it must be boring not having anything to do whilst you wait for the action.

"Yes it means that we have had more shooting opportunities and thanks to Mia we are converting them into goals," Leo decides to compliment you.

"It is a team effort though," You retort. You can tell that Leo is unhappy at the fact that you are deflecting the credit.

"Come on Mia. You know you just need to accept that you are the second-best player here," Leo responds. You know who the best is and it's Leon but you have always been a little too modest.

"Well you know how I feel about taking credit when it is a team effort," You sigh. The good thing is the game soon starts up again. It doesn't take long for Leo to use an assist from Leon to score a goal however it doesn't take long for the game to tie. Team England has finally gained the momentum to be a challenge.

"Come on Leon," You find yourself uttering as Leon barely wins the face-off. It feels odd to support someone from a different NHL team but you know other players will be in the same boat as you. Your mind soon drifts back to Evgeni and how he is doing with his team. After fifteen minutes of stagnant gameplay, the period has come to an end. You are quick to get ready for the third period. It doesn't take long for the third period to begin. You can feel the death stare of the new centre. You are glad that you are used to it. You are not going to be surprised at how hard it will be to win the face-off. The umpire drops the puck between the two of you. The good thing is you are quick enough to get through the face-off unscathed. You seem to be a bit of a speed queen this game.

"Mia," Leo calls out as he breaks free of the defenceman. You pass the puck to him because you know he has a better chance of getting through the defence. You are not surprised that Leo has to pass it to the right-wing. You slip past the defenceman that is on you.

"Hans I'm open," You offer. As soon as he passes it to you you get it over England's goalie. After fifteen minutes of action, the game has come to an end and you are delighted because your first international game was a success. It is the day after and you are celebrating your victory with Evgeni who has also had some luck in his opening game. He seems worried about something despite the luck that he has had.

"Geno we may be playing against each other in a couple of days but you don't need to be worried about it," You remark.

"Sorry I can't help it," Evgeni responds. You start to feel a little sorry for him because he would normally be protective of you but he can't be due to the fact that the two of you are in different teams.

"Let's just focus on celebrating our respective wins," You cheer him up. You know you are not worried about going against team Russia because you know you have a good team behind you. Right now you just want to enjoy your time with Evgeni after all you will be enemies in a couple of days.