The Rise of the Isles II Mat Barzal

Chapter 2

  Game time. Islanders vs. Rangers. Puck drops. The intensity rises in the Nassau Coliseum. Bailey admires her VIP seats.

"The view is perfect," She smiles. "I can see everything,"

Anders Lee takes the puck. Passes to Mat Barzal. He takes it. Holds it. Looking up, he sees an open teammate. He passes it back to Lee. Lee takes a shot! He misses. Ricocheting off of the Rangers goalkeeper. Barzal takes back possession. Passes to Jordan Eberle. Eberle with a shot! Ricocheting off the goalie once more and for the rebound Mat Barzal! And a goal for the New York Islanders! Bailey and Nick hopped up with the other Islanders fans cheering for their team. The yelling of excitement roared around the arena.

The first intermission rolls around. Still one to zero in favor of the islanders. Bailey gets up to go to the restroom. On the way back to her seat, she gets a tub of popcorn for her and Nick to share. She comes back and sits down before the second period.

Second period. Puck drop. This time the Rangers in possession. They bring it down the ice, taking a shot on goal. Semyon Varlamov with a brilliant save! Faceoff. Won by the Isles defenceman. The puck drifts down to the Rangers half by Jordan Eberle. Passes. A long shot by Anders Lee. Miss. A rebound by Barzal. Miss. The third rebound by Lee. Right when he shot, he got a punch thrown at him. Lee hit back. The rest of the team on the ice, besides the goaltenders, fought. Punch after punch before the referees pull them apart. The Rangers goaltender had the puck grasped in his hands. The Rangers defenceman is sent to the penalty box for roughing. Two minutes of advantage for the New York Islanders. Faceoff. Puck drop. Won by the Rangers. The Islander's offense scooped it back. Pass. Shot by Mat Barzal! Hit the post. Rebound once more for Anders Lee. Shot right before the buzzer. Goal! The goal is under review.

Nick and Bella hop up from their seats.

"That is one hundred percent a goal!"

The referees come to a decision.

"No goal. The puck past the line after the buzzer."

The Islander's arena swarmed with boos from the fans.

"That was a goal! The refs don't know what they're talking about!"

Second Intermission, angry Islanders fans tried getting by. Bailey got upright when the Islanders got out of the locker room. Nick pulled her to sit down.

"What are you doing?" Bailey asked.

"Look," Nick pointed to the big screen that used to show the scoreboard. It read,

Happy Birthday, Bailey!

The screen showed Bailey's face from where they were seated. She grinned bigger than the Grinch on Christmas. She was so happy. In the first Islander game that she can remember going to, she has her face on the big screen.

"You like it?" Nick asked.

"Love it! Thank you!" Bailey smiled.

"Happy Birthday Bailey,"

Little did Bailey know that Mat Barzal saw her. He looked up at the screen. Anthony Beauvillier looked at Mat. He nudged him with his elbow.

"You think she's cute, don't you," Anthony smiled.

"Nah," Mat says. "Course not, we gotta go kick some ass, not find some," he laughs. He does think that Bailey is cute. He has to meet her.

"But, just putting it out there," Mat starts. "How would I get to see her again?"

"You do like her!" Anthony says.

"Nah, man," Mat says. "I'm focused on the game, not that girl,"