Last Ditch Efforts

9:35 P.M, Ponyville Rec Center Ice Hockey Rink. 4th Quarter, 1 minute on the clock. The score is 3-3. Glint Goldensnaps glides up to the central face off circle. His teammates at his sides, and back. The cheering of the crowd is nearly deafening in his ears. Of the 3 home games the team has played since their season started, he's never seen the stands full like this before. Up until this game, Ponyville High School hasn't really given two craps about their hockey team. It makes sense though. Ponyville isn't like a city like Vanhoover, where hockey is the dominant sport. Here, it's football, and baseball. The stands are likely only packed because they're facing their rival school, Canterlot Central, tonight. Above the roar of the crowd, Glint hears his teammates shouting encouragement from the bench. "Stay focused! Keep your mind on the ice!" Coach Nar shouts from behind the bench. Right. No time to be letting his thoughts wander! There's one minute left to turn this game in their favor!  (https://youtu.be/DhFXDSXuQrE?si=EVycnQR3cCvnlmtH) The puck drops. Glint's stick battles with the other forward's for the briefest of moments. Canterlot Central gains possession. Their left wing takes off down the rink with the puck. Ponyville's left defenseman, affectionately named "Big Red" glides into position to block his route. The left winger rockets a pass towards the center for the forward. The forward gains possession, only to be met by Ponyville's right defenseman, and team captain, Earl Gray. He attempts to maneuver around Earl, but Earl is surprisingly quick on his skates. The forward can't get into a good shooting position from here. He has to pass! The forward goes to flick his wrist for a quick pass to his right winger.  In the split second he has to re-adjust his stick's position, Earl makes his move.  "Push up!"  Earl's shout cuts above the crowd as the puck glides up the rink, and into the possession of Ponyville's left winger, Blitzer. 'Nice poke check Earl! You just saved our asses!' Glint allows himself a proud grin. He and Earl haven't exactly gotten along the best, but Glint can at least admit that Earl is a good hockey player. "Counter!" Canterlot Central's forward shouts back to his team. "Get back!" Their right winger cries as their team scrambles to mount a defense. Glint locks eyes with Blitzer for just a moment. Canterlot Central's right defenseman is closing in on Blitzer, fast. With a quick wrist flick, Blitzer rockets the puck to Glint, just in time to brace himself for a nasty shoulder check that knocks him to the ice. Their left defenseman is scrambling to try and block a shot from Glint after trying to cover their right winger to stop a pass to him. Glint cuts in to the right, and flicks off a wrist shot. It looks as though it's about to go in, but the goaltender manages to get his blocker up just enough to deflect it just over the net!  "Loose puck!" Earl shouts from mid-rink. Glint moves to gain possession, only to see Blitzer racing towards it from his left. One of Central Ponyville's defensemen is closing in from the opposite side. Glint moves to intercept, and block his path, but the defenseman manages to get around him. The two clash for a moment, before the puck rockets out of their scrum, and onto the stick of Canterlot Central's left winger. He passes it up the rink to the forward, who charges forwards towards the net. He spots Big Red moving towards him, and knows what's coming. He searches for a passing route, but neither of his wingers are in position. The forward attempts to spin around Red, but he gets clipped with a hip check, and does a corkscrew before tumbling to the ice. The puck continues on it's travel course, only to be scooped up by Earl, who passes it forwards to their right winger. The puck barely spends a second on his stick before he chains the pass up to Glint. Central Canterlot's defense is crumbling, and no one is there to stop him. "10 seconds!" Nar's shout sends a surge of adrenaline coursing through Glint's body! They have 10 seconds to avoid a shootout! Glint approaches the net. His stick flicking back and forth to keep the goalie guessing as to what side he's going to shoot with. As he closes in, the goalie takes a gamble, and sprawls to his left to stop the shot. Glint barely manages to stop his shot just in time to adjust, and get a backhanded flick off. The puck flies over the goalie's right shoulder, and into the net. The referees blow the whistle to signal a goal.  4-3!  The crowd erupts into cheers. The pep band has to stop their screaming in order to start up the goal song they've personally chosen for Glint. Glint lifts his head to the sky, and lets out a triumphant bellow as his teammates come crashing into him one by one. The last three seconds of the game hardly matter now. The puck is dropped, and Ponyville manages to gain possession. Then, the referees blow their whistles, and signal the end of the game.  Glint's teammates practically carry him to the locker room. He just won them a pizza party, courtesy of coach Nar!