//------------------------------// // EHL Part XIV - Quarterfinals: Game 2 // Story: Equestria Hockey League // by XFizzle //------------------------------// Equestria Hockey League Part XIV – Quarterfinals: Game 2 by XFizzle “Come onnnn! Where is it? I scheduled us to leave at four! It’s already going on five!” shouted an exasperated Twilight Sparkle. In front of their mountain of hockey bags, the Ponyville Golden Leafs stood waiting for their carriage to Manehattan. Twilight nervously paced about while each of her friends followed her with their eyes. “Don’t pace yourself too hard, dear. You don’t want to get tired before the game, do you? Come stand here and relax,” said Rarity as she shooed away Applejack to make room. Applejack shot Rarity a quick, stern look before moving over. “Rarity’s right, Twi. We need to conserve all the energy we can if we wanna be sharp for tonight. Energy savin’ is mighty important, ain’t it big brother?” “Eeyup. That’s the truth alright.” Twilight stopped her pacing but instead directed her nervousness into rapidly tapping her hoof. “But if we’re late for the game, they might make us forfeit! I don’t want to give Trixie and the Rangers the satisfaction of a free win!” “You got that right. If Manehattan wants to win, they’re going to have to go through us!” exclaimed Rainbow as she flew up into the air. Pinkie hopped over to Twilight and gave her a pat on the back. “How about we sing a song while we wait? I love waiting songs! I’ll start. One hundred bottles of soda on the wall! One hundred bottles of soda! Take one down, pass it around…” As the others rolled their eyes at Pinkie, Fluttershy noticed a large carriage rolling toward them. “Look everyone. It’s here.” The stretch carriage slowly inched its way up to the Golden Leafs. When the four driver stallions were in sight, Twilight began to ramble off her frustrations. “I’m sorry but I requested for this carriage to be here at four. What took so long?!” Maxie, the leader of the drivers, answered the ranting Twilight. “We’re awfully sorry, ma’am. There was a snow bank blocking the major road into town here. We’ll do our best to get you all to Manehattan as fast as we can.” The co-leader, Crossfade, unhooked himself from his harness to pack away the Golden Leafs’ equipment. When the Golden Leafs were all settled into the carriage, Maxie and Crossfade took their driving hats off to reveal unicorn horns. Their horns began to glow and were emitting a message. “Calling Trixie and Scratch. Come in Trixie and Scratch. The leafs are in the mulcher. I repeat, the leafs are in the mulcher.” With the message sent, Maxie and Crossfade put their hats back on and signaled for their team to start pulling. --- The Golden Leafs discussed strategy and reviewed their game one performance at length, with no one paying attention to the amount of time it was taking to arrive in Manehattan. Applejack happened to glance out the window to see a large clock tower and saw it was now 7:00. “Uh, Twilight. What time is our game supposed ta be?” “It starts at seven thirty, so we should be in the locker room at seven. Why?” “Uh, because it’s already seven.” Twilight jolted out of her seat. “IT’S ALREADY SEVEN?!?” She then furiously tapped on the glass directly behind the drivers. One of the back drivers opened it, not expecting the anger that was about to emerge. “EXCUSE ME! We needed to be at Maredison Square Garden AT SEVEN! Are we even in Manehattan?” Maxie turned his neck around to answer. “Where did you say you needed to be?” “MAREDISON SQUARE GARDEN!” Maxie looked over to Crossfade who gave a small nod and grin. “Oh, we thought you meant Maredison CIRCLE Garden. Our apologies.” Even more infuriated, Twilight used her magic to bring the whole carriage to a screeching halt. She told everyone to jump out and to grab their bags. Once the whole team was out, Twilight released the drivers from her magical hold. “We’ll walk there ourselves! Don’t expect to get paid for this either!” Twilight put Spike and their bags on her back and led the charge into Manehattan as the Golden Leafs quickly followed behind. With the Golden Leafs galloping off into the distance, Maxie and Crossfade sparked their horns back up to alert their sisters. “Trixie and Scratch, Trixie and Scratch. The Leafs are on their way to the arena. We tried to hold them as long as we could but the purple one used her magic to stop us. Abort mission, abort mission. Raking time is now.” --- With a passing clock reading 7:25, the Golden Leafs had to pick up their gallop in order to make it to the arena on time. Manehattanites on the street jumped and dove out of the Golden Leafs’ way as they were quickly closing in on their destination. Taking one last turn, Maredison Square Garden loomed ahead, giving Twilight and friends an adrenaline-filled kick. Arena workers scrambled to open up the doors to let the Golden Leafs in. Twilight shouted to the team to go to the locker room while she finds the EHL officials. Still galloping down the hallway, Twilight saw another clock reading 7:29. The bright lights of the rink surface glowed ahead and she could hear the sounds of Rangers’ fans growing louder. The Rangers were already done with their introductions and were now standing near center ice hoping for a forfeit. Suddenly, Twilight leaped out onto the ice and slid all the way to the head referee who was standing near the penalty boxes. Rangers fans gasped and began booing when they saw Twilight dive out. Now at the referee’s hooves, Twilight quickly stood up and faced him. “We’re here! Ponyville’s here! We don’t need to forfeit!” By this time, Trixie’s face was bright red and she steamed on over to Twilight and the ref. “NO! They were late! That should make us the winners!” The referee looked at Twilight and then at Trixie. Without saying a word, he skated out to center ice and faced the crowd for an announcement. “This game will be played as scheduled. Ponyville will be given five minutes to prepare.” An immense outpour of boos and jeers flowed down toward the ice as Twilight scampered off toward the locker room with a giant look of relief on her face. Trixie stomped her hooves and shouted at Vinyl Scratch for their unsuccessful plan. --- Twilight burst into the locker room panting and heaving, exhaustingly falling down to the floor with a thud. The others were all dressed and ready to go so they quickly attended to their captain. Rainbow brought over a bottle of water while Rarity helped unpack Twilight’s bag. Twilight caught her breath and tried to calmly put her equipment on. “We don’t have much time…the referee only gave us…five minutes. What about…the pre-game talk?” “Already taken care of!” said Rainbow proudly. Rarity pointed her hoof at Rainbow. “Yes, and it was much louder than the usual ones. I do believe my ears are still ringing after Rainbow’s rousing speech.” When Twilight put on her last skate, the warning horn roared throughout the arena. The Golden Leafs trotted out and hit the rink to a chorus of boos from the impatient Rangers fan base. The Golden Leafs skated around their end for a bit, looking a bit worn down and slow. Spike, Big Mac, and Sweetie Belle took their places at the bench while both teams set up for the opening faceoff. After the usual goalie check, the referee dropped the puck on game two. --- The Rangers came out fast and physical right off the opening draw while the Golden Leafs struggled to find their legs early. Manehattan was able to keep the puck inside the Ponyville zone for a good minute, putting four shots on Pinkie. One tactic used by the Rangers was quite unusual and frustrating for Twilight’s crew. Replaced at the point by Lyra, Trixie parked herself in the crease and screened Pinkie face to face. Pinkie had to shift over and stretch around to see the play while Trixie stared her dead in the eyes and ran her mouth with trash talk. Trixie then flailed her stick all over trying to distract Pinkie while her team tried to fire off shots. Luckily for the Leafs, the Rangers’ shots were wide. Finally gaining control of the puck, Ponyville tried to generate offense but their movements were too slow. Manehattan stole the puck and came back down the ice. Trixie reclaimed her spot in front of Pinkie and was back to her annoying tactic. Seeing Pinkie distressed, Rainbow flew over to bulldoze Trixie to the ice. Rainbow let out a chuckle as she passed but the referee had flung his hoof into the air. The whistle tweeted as soon as Ponyville touched the puck, drawing a cheer from the crowd. “Ponyville, number 20, two minutes for interference.” Rainbow begrudgingly entered the box with Rangers’ fans pounding the glass around her for attention. With the Leafs on the early penalty kill, Big Mac substituted in for Rarity. The faceoff was to the right of Pinkie and Big Mac matched up with Octavia. Octavia won the draw and kicked it back to Bon Bon. The Rangers set up their power play formation while the Leafs did the same. Undeterred from the crushing hit, Trixie was back in front of Pinkie. Twilight skated up to Trixie and tried pushing her out of the way. Bon Bon had the puck at the left point while Twilight and Trixie battled in the crease. Bon Bon saw Lyra open in the corner and passed it off. When Lyra received the puck, Bon Bon broke for the front of the net for a give-and-go. Big Mac went after Lyra, prompting her to pass back to the streaking Bon Bon. On the other side of Pinkie, Octavia parked herself on the backdoor, out of Fluttershy’s sight. When Bon Bon received the puck, Twilight left Trixie and Fluttershy moved over to stop her. Seeing Octavia wide open, Bon Bon passed to her. Pinkie couldn’t see the pass and was late shifting over while losing her stick. Octavia settled the bouncy pass as Pinkie quickly skated out of the net to cut her path off. With skillful puck handling, Octavia shimmied around Pinkie’s kicked out pad and slipped the puck in, giving Manehattan an early 1-0 lead. The crowd cheered with the goal light spinning and the goal horn blasting. ”Manehattan POWER PLAY GOOOOAL, scored by number 14, OCTAAAAVIAAA! Assisted by number 10, LYRAAAA! And number 20, BON BONNN!” Rainbow slammed her stick on the door before exiting the penalty box. Trixie skated by to let out a laugh to get on Rainbow’s nerves some more. Play resumed with Rarity back on the ice for Big Macintosh. Rainbow focused on winning the faceoff and got it, knocking it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy passed up to Applejack who dumped it into the corner for Rainbow to chase down. Trixie got to the puck and immediately whipped it around the boards before Rainbow could hit her again. Bon Bon got caught in the opposite corner by Rarity who was working hard to get the puck. With a lucky poke, Rarity won the puck and passed back to Twilight at the blue line. Before Lyra could close in on her, Twilight whipped the puck over to Fluttershy. Applejack crashed the top of the crease and was pushing and shoving away Bon Bon right on top of Dr. Whooves. Since Octavia was coming in quickly with pressure, Fluttershy frantically fired toward the net. Applejack got an extra shove off Bon Bon before moving over to put her stick on the flying puck. The puck nicked the stick blade and bounced in right through Dr. Whooves’ five-hole. The goal light illuminated and a groan rang out from the crowd. Applejack happily pointed her skate at Fluttershy before coming in for a celebratory hug. ”Ponyville goal, scored by number 88, Applejack. Assisted by number 0, Fluttershy, and number 42, Twilight Sparkle.” The Golden Leafs finished their celebration and set back up for the faceoff. Three minutes were left in the period as the tempered crowd quietly watched along. The next two minutes featured unproductive back-and-forth play since both teams had difficulty generating offense. With the final minute of the period counting down, the Rangers dumped the puck into the Ponyville end. Vinyl Scratch retrieved the puck with Twilight and Rarity coming in to double team her. Scratch kept her legs moving and peeled back toward the blue line. Once again, Octavia skated up behind Fluttershy and was on the doorstep. Scratch zinged a backhanded pass right through Rainbow’s legs to Octavia who one-timed the puck through Pinkie’s five-hole. The arena jumped with a cheer as the Rangers celebrated in the corner for another goal. ”GOOOOOAAAALLL! Her second of the night, scored by number 14, OCTAAAAVIAAA! Assisted by number 66, VINYL SCRAAATCH!” Fluttershy pouted in disappointment for having allowed two goals behind her. Twilight came over to pat her on the back for reassurance. The final thirty seconds of the period ran out with no more notable plays. The Rangers were given a rousing ovation as both teams went off for the intermission. --- In the locker room, the Leafs were not feeling terribly down, but rather annoyed with Trixie’s antics in the first period. “Who does that stinkin’ unicorn think she is waving her stick all over like that? I oughta knock her over again!” said Rainbow. Twilight, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle gave Rainbow an offended glare before Twilight responded. “But we can’t afford for you to get another penalty. We have to be more forceful with Trixie but without crossing the line. Fluttershy and I can’t do it or else we’ll be blocking Pinkie’s view even worse. Pinkie, you’re going to have to knock Trixie away yourself. The referees are more forgiving toward goalies who protect their crease.” “But Twilight, I just can’t knock Trixie down. That’s what a meanie would do!” Twilight paused to think of an explanation that would make Pinkie more accepting to the idea. “Well, pretend that you and Trixie are playing a game of tag. Whenever she’s in the crease, you’re it. When you push her out the crease, then she’s it. Sound fun?” “Okie dokie, Twilight!” “Alright, let’s work on tightening up our passes and give Rainbow the puck more. I noticed we were looking pretty slow that period but Rainbow glided around with no problem. We’re not out of this yet! Let’s work on tying this up, okay? Hooves in, team on three.” “One…two…three…TEAM!” --- Both teams returned to the ice to cheers although they were mainly directed toward the Rangers. A loud “Here we go, Rangers, here we go!” chant swirled around the crowd as the second period faceoff was ready to drop. Rainbow won the faceoff and the Leafs tried their first attempt at tying the game up. Sticking with the strategy, Applejack passed the puck to Rainbow who was behind the net. Trixie and Bon Bon closed in to apply pressure, leaving Rainbow nowhere to turn. Rainbow tried to pass off to either wing but the play was sniffed out by Octavia, intercepting the pass. Back the other way came the Rangers with a full head of steam. The Leafs’ defense held steady and prevented an odd-pony rush. The puck flew around and pinballed all over the Ponyville end. The Leafs won the possession battle and were coming back the other way. Rainbow controlled the puck and tried to dance her way through the Manehattan defense. Rainbow was able to get to the crease before Dr. Whooves placed a timely poke check to knock the puck away. Trixie picked up the loose puck and passed up to Octavia who was now entering the Ponyville end again. Octavia was going to wait for her team to catch up but Twilight moved up to challenge her. Octavia was forced to fire the puck around the boards. Fluttershy slowly skated to the boards to pick up the puck but was bowled over by a rumbling Vinyl Scratch. Trixie motored from the center ice to the top of the crease. Being face to face with Trixie once more, Pinkie remembered Twilight’s idea. With the play going on in the zone, Pinkie gave Trixie a hard, yet playful push. Trixie growled and came back for more. Pinkie and Trixie engaged in a shoving match while Octavia received a pass from Bon Bon down in the corner. With Pinkie distracted, Octavia whipped a shot from a sharp angle. The puck deflected off Pinkie’s skate and into the net for the hat trick goal. Pinkie looked behind her in disbelief as hats flew onto the ice during the Rangers celebration. ”Manehattan HAT TRICK GOOOAAAALLLL! Scored by number 14, OCTAAAAVIAAA! Assisted by number 20, BON BONNN!” Twilight rushed over to the referee to voice her displeasure. “Didn’t you see Trixie pushing our goalie around? Shouldn’t that be interference?!?” “Look Sparkle, your goalie initiated the contact. It’s a clean play as far as I’m concerned.” “B-but” “Move along, the issue is done.” Twilight let out an annoyed grunt as she skated back toward her team. They gathered around her to find out what the referee said and were upset with the outcome. The referee called for the next faceoff and both teams were set. Rainbow won the draw and the Leafs tried once more to fight back with a goal. Rangers fans were getting rowdy as Ponyville tried to work on offense. The Leafs were only able to get off two shots, both of which were saved easily. The Rangers came back down the ice and had a stranglehold on possession for the entirety of the period. The Rangers racked up eight more shots in three minutes to Ponyville’s one. Ponyville had great difficulty snatching the puck away and then holding it on offense. At the end of the second period, the Rangers’ faithful were amped up and cheering their team off the ice. Twilight’s crew was visibly frustrated with their lack of production as they slowly drifted off the ice toward their locker room. --- The Golden Leafs needed to readjust their strategy if they wanted to climb out of their 3-1 hole. In the locker room, each pony quietly vented their frustrations by roughly re-taping their sticks and stomping about the room. Twilight stood up and faced her team. “We’re letting the Rangers get in our heads tonight. Between Trixie’s screening and Octavia putting in goals from every angle, we have to fight back. It’s my fault for not suggesting this earlier but let’s push these ponies around. Let’s show them we’re not afraid of them. We need to get in their faces and make them shake in their skates when we come at them. Time to get down and dirty! Let’s get ‘em!” “Darn tootin’! No holdin’ back now!” shouted Applejack. Rarity put the finishing touches on her stick tape. “I’ll get down, but not dirty. A classy unicorn such as myself would never defile myself with filth. I prefer to rattle some heads with the cleanest of hits!” “Whatever works!” replied Rainbow. “Let’s do it!” squeaked Fluttershy. And with that, the Golden Leafs trotted out of their locker room and back out onto the ice for the final frame. --- The third and final period was about to get underway with both squads gallivanting about the ice. Maredison Square Garden was electric over the Rangers’ 3-1 lead heading into the last ten minutes. Music and cheers filled the air as the puck dropped to continue play. Rainbow won the draw and the Leafs entered the Manehattan zone. After a couple passes and some very physical scrums along the boards, the Leafs were able to fire off a couple shots on Dr. Whooves but to no avail. Manehattan had the puck and tried moving up the ice but their progress was impeded by the Golden Leafs’ hitting. When the Rangers finally entered the Ponyville zone, Trixie dumped the puck into the right corner. Fluttershy and Vinyl Scratch scrapped for the puck but neither were budging. Applejack came in to scrap as well and repeatedly nudged Scratch in the back. After zero progress with the puck was being shown, the referee blew the whistle to stop play. Scratch turned around and pushed Applejack back, drawing Applejack’s ire. Soon after, they were tangling up, drawing an “Oooooooh” from the crowd. A referee came over to break them up as both the Leafs and Rangers came in to keep the other in check. No penalties were handed out and the faceoff moved to Pinkie’s left. Octavia won the faceoff to Trixie who pulled the puck back to the blue line. Octavia skated behind the net to draw Rainbow away from the middle. Trixie passed to Scratch at the right wing boards who had a small amount of time before Applejack came in with a hit. Octavia saw Scratch’s predicament and quickly sprinted to the center of the zone. Before Applejack flew in with a monster hit, Scratch flung the puck to Octavia. She now had a wide open lane to Pinkie. Octavia snapped a shot right over Pinkie’s blocker and into the top left corner for her fourth goal of the night. The crowd jumped to their hooves with raucous cheer as Octavia was smothered by her teammates. Rainbow slammed her stick on the ice in anger because she was outhustled. ”Manehattan GOOOALLL! Her FOURTH of the evening, number 14, OCTAAAAVIAAAA! Assisted by number 66, VINYL SCRAAATCH! And number 4, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIIIIXIEEEE!” Rainbow growled the entire time before the next faceoff. When the puck dropped, Rainbow jumped on top of Octavia and held her down to the ice to get the puck. The puck stayed at center ice as all the Leafs and Rangers converged upon it. With the play going nowhere, the referee blew the whistle. Octavia powered out of Rainbow’s hold and they tussled until the ref could pull them apart. The Rangers’ lead plus the playoff atmosphere plus the Leafs’ desperation were adding up to a very chippy affair. Once again no penalties were called and the faceoff remained at center ice. South of the center dot, Lyra and Rarity were nudging each other for position before the puck drop. Lyra jabbed the butt end of her stick into Rarity’s chest while Rarity slashed Lyra’s legs with her stick. The ref looked up to see the small scrum and skated over to break them apart. The puck finally dropped and the Golden Leafs had control. Twilight got the puck and carried it into the zone herself, looking for a quick shot. When all the shooting lanes were closed up, Trixie stepped out of position to charge at Twilight. As soon as Twilight let go of the puck, Trixie landed a huge check on her. Twilight fell to the ice with Trixie still looming over her with the most arrogant of grins on her face. Even though the play was already back in the Ponyville end, Twilight jumped up and pushed Trixie to the ice. Trixie landed with a thud but quickly sprung back up to her hooves. The play was blown dead as a referee sprinted over to break up this latest skirmish. Trixie and Twilight jabbed each other with their sticks and horns before they were finally separated. Having enough of these scrums, the referee warned both sides. “If this nonsense goes on any longer, I’m going to give out penalties. Tell your teams to watch themselves.” Trixie and Twilight returned to their squads but didn’t relay the message. Two minutes were all that were remaining in game two. With play back on, the Leafs and Rangers kept up their hitting between the whistles, each team trying to gain a physical edge over the other. Since the game was quickly getting out of hand in terms of the score, the Leafs and Rangers turned their attention into sending a message for game three. Maredison Square Garden was shaking from the eruption of cheers by the Manehattan crowd. The faceoff was to Pinkie’s left as the crowd anxiously waited for the final seconds to tick by. Octavia won the draw back to Bon Bon who ripped off a final shot. Pinkie gloved the save as the final horn rang out. Octavia didn’t get the memo because she crashed the net and toppled over Pinkie. Immediately, Rainbow jumped over Octavia’s back to protect her goaltender. Like a short fuse on a stick of dynamite, the Golden Leafs’ crease rapidly turned into a mosh pit of Rangers and Leafs pulling and pushing each other. With the arena blowing up with yells and cheers, some parting shots and nasty words were exchanged before the officials were finally able to restore order. Twilight’s crew angrily marched off the ice as the Rangers skated down to their goalie to celebrate the crucial game two victory. Octavia was given an explosive ovation as she stepped out of the rink along with her teammates. --- The Golden Leafs’ locker room was heated and tense. The starters sneered and voiced their not-so-nice opinions of the Rangers. After they were all undressed and clean, Twilight stood in front of the team. “As captain, I will take full responsibility for the loss tonight. It was my fault we didn’t get here on time and that caused us to start off slow. I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t play my best game tonight. I promise that I will have us ready for game three. I’ll do my best to make sure we still have a season after game three.” Applejack stood up to comment. “No, Twi. I’ll take some blame too. I didn’t play my best tonight either.” “Count me in too. We all let the Rangers get in our heads. They got in my head the worst,” said Rainbow. Rarity was next to join in. “I agree, I did not play up to my fabulous caliber tonight. I shall not let it happen again.” “Um, I could’ve done better too. I let Octavia get two goals right behind me. I’m sorry,” said Fluttershy softly. “Me too, girls. We’re all in this together! We can win this!” squealed Pinkie. Big Macintosh stepped up. “Eeyup, keep workin’ together and this team can go far.” “Yeah, you guys are too talented and tough to let a lame team like the Rangers get the best of you!” said Spike. “With teamwork and friendship, there’s nothing we can’t do!” squeaked Sweetie Belle. Twilight had a huge smile on her face from the unity being shown before her. “It’s settled! We’ll work together and we’ll end the Rangers’ season back at home!” Applejack walked up to Twilight and shouted to the team, “Hooves in, team on three everypony!” “One…two…three…TEAM!” To Be Continued --- Three Stars of Ponyville @ Manehattan * Octavia (MHN) ** Doctor Whooves (MHN) *** Bon Bon (MHN) Other Scores Around the EHL (Home Team in CAPS) --- Canterlot 4, FILLYDELPHIA 2 (Canterlot wins series 2-0) EHL Playoff Schedule --- Quarterfinals (4)Ponyville vs. (5) Manehattan (Series tied 1-1) Game 1: PONYVILLE 3, Manehattan 2 (OT) Game 2: MANEHATTAN 4, Ponyville 1 Game 3: @ Ponyville (3) Canterlot vs. (6) Fillydelphia (Canterlot wins 2-0) Game 1: CANTERLOT 4, Fillydelphia 1 Game 2: Canterlot 4, FILLYDELPHIA 2 Semifinals (1) Cloudsdale vs. (4)Ponyville/(5)Manehattan (Series tied 0-0) Game 1: @ Cloudsdale Game 2: @ Ponyville/Manehattan Game 3 (if nec.): @ Cloudsdale (2) Appleloosa vs. (3) Canterlot (Series tied 0-0) Game 1: @ Appleloosa Game 2: @ Canterlot Game 3 (if nec.): @ Appleloosa