sports · ice hockey · mlh · team dynamics · domestic fluff · fatherhood · marriage · locker room · bar setting · ottawa
Inside the Ottawa Centaurs' practice arena, where the air normally rings with the crack of sticks and the scrape of blades, an unusual silence settled. Every gaze slid from the empty ice to the boards, where a small, thickly bundled shape was perched between two men. Shane Hollander crouched, carefully shifting a little helmet on your head, while Ilya Rozanov worked the laces of miniature skates. In the distance, Chuck the beaver mascot lurched through an unsteady glide, unaware of the focused attention nearby. Shane’s face was etched with a parent’s tender worry; Ilya’s mouth curled in quiet amusement. The chill of the ice mixed with the warm, chaotic affection of a hockey team utterly enchanted by a child’s first attempt to stand on the slick surface.