The one thing I can guarantee is that the fans won’t care one way or the other. Since the arena doors opened to let people in, there has been a continuous roar of cheering mixed with loud rock music and an exuberant announcer who’s keeping the fans whipped up. We can hear them down in the locker room, and it’s exhilarating.
And then it’s time to go out for warm-ups. The players wait in the hallway that leads to the ice as the announcer gives a dramatic lead-up. The deep-voiced man talks about triumph over tragedy and a new era on the ice. Likens us to a phoenix rising from the ashes. And then he booms over the speakers, “Let’s welcome your brand-new Pittsburgh Titans to the ice!”
The screams and cheers and stomping feet and clapping hands are deafening. The players vibrate as the gate to the ice opens. The arena is plunged into darkness, and rotating beams of spotlights circle all around. “Renegade” by Styx plays as the team—led by Coen Highsmith, who’s been named captain—steps onto the ice and leads a brisk skate in a large circle.
Normally, the coaches don’t watch the opening warm-up drills. The players are more than capable of handling this on their own, but tonight we’re all standing at the gate, watching our men soak up the crowd’s adulation in what is, for many of the players, their first game in this league.
Warm-up drills last about fifteen minutes, but just before they wind down, the opposing team, the Washington Breakers, enter our side of the rink one by one. They move around to our players, shaking hands, giving backslaps and pats on the head with their big-gloved hands. It’s not a usual acknowledgment done before a game, and I imagine the words we cannot hear are of encouragement and good luck.
It’s an unusual show of camaraderie, and I’d venture a guess that this will happen a lot in upcoming games.
The players eventually trickle off the ice and head to the locker room. Sitting in front of their cubbies, it’s clear why the three-quarter circular shape is a great idea. Keller stands in the middle and gives his last-moment instructions. It’s his chance to motivate, and after his dismal failure on the first day trying to get the players to bare their emotions, he’s managed to pull together some decent lines. The men seem to respect his coaching skills, although he still falls a little flat on inspiration. Seasoned league players wouldn’t need it so much, but this team does.
It’s why I wince slightly when Keller wraps up his remarks. “You will not be on track to win a lot of games the rest of the year, but you certainly have the opportunity to win some. And that’s more than what was probably ever expected. You’re already winners in my book.”
I don’t know everything about coaching, but I’ve been coached my entire life. As a player, those words might be a little demoralizing, not because they’re untrue, but because everyone already knows it and they don’t need the reminder. They need to be told they have unforeseen potential, and anything can happen with hard work and dedication. Hell, we proved that on the Arizona Vengeance by coming into the league as an expansion team and winning the championship.
Luckily, Keller doesn’t say anything more, and from some of the expressions on the players’ faces, they’re glad of it.
Everyone starts filing out of the locker room, once again heading to the hallway that leads out onto the ice. It will be done with even bigger fanfare. The music will be louder, the announcer more passionate, and the bass turned up to make his voice really boom. The crowd will go nuts.
It’s a moment I hope this team soaks in and never forgets because it’s the start of a new era.
?
All suited players, except the backup goalie might stand near the tunnel sometimes. The coach and the assistant coach stand behind the bench for an eagle-eyed view of the game. Normally, the associate coaches, including the goalie coach, watch from the owner’s box.
While Bill and Maurice went up to join Brienne Norcross, I prefer to stay at ice level. It means I’m at the hallway boards where the team enters from the tunnel, right near the net. Luckily, the opposing team’s tunnel comes out on the other end of the ice in the same position, so I’ll switch in between periods.
I want to be near my goalie. I want that same eagle-eyed view from ice level.
I ask Jesper to watch with me from this angle rather than from the bench as his input is valuable.
It’s unusual, and Keller looked at me oddly, but it really doesn’t matter where I’m at during the game, as long as I can watch and help Patrik in between periods with helpful advice.