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"Baby, go out there and win. Win it all and be the best that everyone knows you are, alright?" Emília caressed Juraj's cheek in the locker room before the third period. He nodded his head, listening carefully to every word she said, almost in a trance like state. When he was with he, he couldn't focus on anything but her. It was a miracle how he stayed focused on all of the games he played.
The score was 0:0 after the first two periods. There were a lot of chances for both countries, but none were successful.
The hockey world championships were almost over. The last stretch, really. The very last stretch and Slovakia could finally have a medal after twelve years of a drought.
After being third in group B, they got to the knock-out round, where they played Germany first and won 3:0. It was a good win and gave the team more confidence to play against the USA.
They got their asses kicked in a huge loss. 6:1, to be specific. After the game, Cole Caufield and Luke Hughes rubbed their win into Juraj's and Šimon Nemec's faces. All in good fun. It was a known fact that team USA was simply better. Apparently, the 6:1 win against the US before this was just a coincidence.
Now, sitting on the edge of their seats during the final. All hope of the Czech was left in Slovak players after they after they lost 2:0 to Canada in the first in the first qualifying game.
The goal horn snapped Emília out of her thoughts. Juraj scored the first goal for his country. Her Juraj.
Most of the stadium jumped up, cheering for the young player while he skated into a group hug with his team.
As the minutes ticked down, Slovakia kept their lead, Juraj scoring a second goal in the eleventh minute of the third period. Nobody got their hopes up, but everyone knew they already was. The Swiss players looked so defeated and tired and exhausted.
The horn signaling the end of the game sounded, the whole arena being nothing but yells and cheers and laughs from everyone while the whole nation of Switzerland placed their heads in their hands. Emília saw some people cheering for Switzerland across her crying. She felt for them, really she did, but it didn't matter when her boyfriend won their country a bronze medal at the world championships.
"Čo dostali?!"
"Na piču!"
"Čo dostali?!"
"Na piču!"
"Koľko?!"
"Raz, dva," Emília could hear the boys cheering and chanting in the locker room while standing outside. The door was slightly cracked opened and once Juraj was a glimpse of her, he disconnected himself from the group and went over to her.
