Forever and Always | Adam Banks

Forever and Always

Ellie took a deep breath as the team was making their way to the ice. They gathered around Charlie at the door, who had just said, "This is for Hans." And he was right. The team had been brought back together due to Hans passing, so they wouldn't be where they are no without him.

The Ducks took to the ice, skating in a circle with one hand touching the ice. They wanted to take a moment to pay homage to Hans and the touching of the ice is a Norwegian symbol of respect. Losing him changed each of their lives, knowing it was never going to be the same without him. 

After showing their respect, the team headed to the bench where Coach Orion was waiting them. "Let's go hunting for goose eggs, huh? Come on, hands in. On three, Quack." The team shared glances with each other, smiles on their faces. Orion had certainly come a long way since they tried to do their Quack chant at their first game. It was nice to see that he was on their side.

Once the team was fired up, they took their places on the ice. With Adam back on the team, the lineup was looking a little different than it had previously. He was taking center ice for the faceoff, while Charlie was on his left and Ellie was on his right. 

"You're gonna wish like hell you stuck with us," Riley tells him, joining him at center ice for the faceoff. Despite the fact that Banks truly never had the heart of a Warrior, Riley thought he was a fool for going back with the Ducks. 

"Save the trash talk," Adam responds, having no desire to get into it with Riley. He didn't feel like wasting his breath on someone like Riley, especially after what he did to his and Ellie's relationship.

As soon as the puck hits the ice, Riley shoves Adam to the ground. He really shouldn't have left Varsity and Riley was going to prove that to him. The Varsity team makes their way to the Ducks goal, trying to get the first point on the board. However, the Ducks had been paying attention to Coach Orion's lessons about playing defense and clearing out the puck after the first shot. 

Ellie was now sat on the bench after getting replaced by Dwayne, watching the faceoff between Charlie and Riley. Tension between the two had been high since they first met and that had yet to change. Varsity was getting off a lot of shots, but the Ducks were standing their ground on defense and Julie was coming up with great saves. Charlie clears the puck, sending it to the other side of the rink. 

The Ducks had managed to only get one shot off so far, which was stopped by Scooter. They had been playing defense practically all game. It was exhausting but they were determined to not let in any cheap shots. Second period had just been signaled and if the Ducks thought the first period was hard, they were in for a treat with the second one. 

Ellie and the rest of the Ducks were taking hits from left and right. She tried her best to avoid the hits, but the Varsity wasn't going to let her get away. Due to her past relationship with Adam, Varsity had it out for her, especially Riley. He blames Banks' lack of commitment to the team on her. 

After a gnarly hit by three of the Varsity players, Averman was escorted to the bench by Guy and Fulton. Coach Wilson was urging his team to pick up the hits, wanting all the JV team to be taken out. All the hits being delivered was really starting to piss off Ellie and the rest of the Ducks. They couldn't catch a break. 

Ellie's breath got caught in her throat when she saw Guy hit the boards and not get up. She couldn't even imagine how Connie was feeling after seeing that. Ellie was immediately hit with the flashback of Adam hitting his head on the goal and not getting up during peewees. That was one of the scariest moments of her life. She lets out a sigh of relief when she sees him get up and escorted to the locker room by the school's trainer. The team could not afford to lose a player, not in a game like this.