Descent into Ruin: Day 10

Word Count: 60,360

Summary of Events:

Chalmers remained a member of the Brandon Wheat Kings following the passing of the deadline, which left him with mixed feelings as the team set out on a road trip that started in Moose Jaw. On the way they stopped to pick up their new backup goalie from Regina, as he didn't have his driver's license yet, and they had to pass through Regina on the way to Moose Jaw anyways. Their second stop on the road trip was Saskatoon, where Chalmers watched as Slater — who'd been demoted to the second line in favour of Atkins Murynka, causing Chalmers to be dropped to the third line — scored a goal that he felt should've been his before he was sent out onto the ice and antagonised by Saskatoon's right winger who'd been sent out against him, but tried his best to ignore in hopes of being able to score a goal of his own . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

He’d just corralled the puck and turned to head up the ice when he was sent flying by a heavy blow he’d not been expecting. Going down onto his stomach, Chalmers quickly shoved himself to all fours and looked around to see the right winger had the puck.

Holding his stick at the very end, Chalmers swung his stick around to hit the right winger in the ankles, but the right winger saw it coming, jumped over it expertly, and fired the puck to one of his teammates.

Since Chalmers had been in possession of the puck when the hit had been made, it was considered legal, and Chalmers seethed at the fact as he got to his feet.

Soon the puck was fired back to the right winger, who was still close to Chalmers, who returned fire with fire and knocked the right winger over, taking control of the puck before breaking up the ice through the Blades defenders, who were left to chase after him, giving him a breakaway from his own blue line.

Chalmers accelerated toward the goalie, who set himself and was ready for whatever Chalmers might throw at him.

In an effort to beat the goalie, Chalmers pulled a move before he fired, but the goalie managed to deflect the puck straight up courtesy of the finest of fibres in the hockey tape wrapped in a golf ball-sized knob at the end of his stick.

Immediately Chalmers looked up, where the puck was visible against the ceiling of the arena as it flipped in the air, descending.

Chalmers shifted back to make sure that the puck didn’t come down on his head, but before the puck could come down low enough that any contact he made with it wouldn’t be considered striking the puck with a high stick, which caused the play to be called and a faceoff to be held, he was hit from behind with force.

Despite evasive manoeuvres he made, Chalmers ended up being sent straight into the Blades’ goaltender heavily.

Immediately upset, Chalmers scrambled away from the goalie as soon as he could and turned around to see the Blades’ right winger behind him.

Surging to his feet, Chalmers threw his gloves off and lunged at the right winger, seizing the golden yellow and royal blue jersey in one hand while he swung the other squarely for the nose.

Not expecting the blow, the right winger didn’t move to protect his nose, causing Chalmers to feel it shift under his hand. When he drew back his hand for another blow he saw blood already streaming from the right winger’s nostrils.

Chalmers flung several more blows at the right winger’s shoulder while the right winger recovered, tried to find a grip, and sought to land his own blows, only to lose his footing and go down, pulling Chalmers with him.

After landing a solid blow to the right winger’s solar plexus area while he was down, Chalmers let the intervening linesmen come between them and even haul him to his feet.