T-minus five minutes and counting

The Buffalo Sabres are falling apart at the seams. The score is 3-1 for the away team, and it's a home game. There are five minutes left on the clock. The fans are yelling; some encouragement, others booing, and the truly unfaithful ones are grabbing up their belongings. "If they don't score soon I'm out of here,"they say to themselves. Lindy Ruff is behind his players on the bench, yelling for them to move their feet. Four minutes left on the clock. Fans begin to leave. Their team isn't doing bad, but they aren't playing like the Sabres. "The other team's too good," they think. Lindy Ruff calls a time out. "We're losing the fans as well as the game," he tells his team.

"We need a goal to bring them, and us, back." He discusses some possible plays and sends out Roy, Vanek, and Polminville with Talinder and Cambell. Three minutes left on the clock as it's started up again. A penalty is called: a hook against Derek Roy. The fans stand up angrily, defending their team with boos and insults against the refs. More fans get up to go, but still the real fans stay.

Then the impossible happens; Vanek and Cambell find a weak spot in the other team's defense. They shoot forward, no one standing between them and the net. The crowd roars, screaming encouragement as some pause pause half way to the door. Vanek scores, and the announcer's voice is almost drowned out in the cheers from the crowd. "He shoots, he scoooooores! Top shelf where mama hides the cookies!" The fans sit on the edges of their seats as the clock ticks down. Two minutes, then one. People are hoping and praying for a tying goal. Thirty seconds left. A break away- three on two for the Sabres. The defense races to catch up as the forward crosses into the offensive zone. Twenty seconds.

The fans yell, the same words on everyones lips. "Let's go Buffalo!"

Ten seconds. It's five on five now. The team does some quick passing. Four seconds. Vanek gets the puck behind the net and races around a defensman. Two seconds. He shoots. One second. The goal tender catches it in his glove as the buzzer sounds, ending the game. The fans deflate immediately, but as their team leaves the ice they stand and cheer. The players look up, saluting their fellow Buffalonians. There's another game tomorrow night.

feedback please? this is the first time i've written in this tense.