It was winter in Buffalo, New York. All the houses were covered with a white blanket of snow. The trees had no leaves on them. All the ponds were frozen with a thick shield of ice on them.
One day, Timmy visited his grandpa in Buffalo. When he arrived at his grandpa’s house, he rang the doorbell. Timmy had brown hair with tan skin. He is twelve years old. He liked to play hockey. He is very good at snowball fights and he played a lot of hockey.
Grandpa led Timmy inside. “I am happy to see you.”
Timmy started to take his coat off. “I am happy to see you too. Are there any hockey leagues starting up soon?”
Grandpa glanced at Timmy. “Yes there is a hockey league starting up tomorrow at the Buffalo Recreation Center.”
Grandpa had grey hair with wrinkled tan skin. He was eighty nine years old and loved to read. He was a professional checkers player in the past.
The next day, Timmy went to the Buffalo Recreation center. He tried out for the Sabers Hockey Team. When the tryouts ended, he found out that he made the team. Timmy smiled and jumped up and down. Timmy went to his grandpa’s house to tell him the good news.
Grandpa sat down on a chair. “How did the tryouts go Timmy?”
Timmy locked eyes with grandpa. “Great, I made the team.”
          
Timmy went back to the rec center to practice with his team. He learned some new plays and he introduced himself to his teammates.
The coach of the Sabers spoke to Timmy. “I am Coach Ken.”
Timmy shook his hand. “I am happy to meet you.”
Coach Ken smiled. “Our first game is in a week. We will have all of our plays covered and the team will be conditioned at the end of the week.
Timmy skated back on the ice to practice with his team some more. The Sabers practiced all their plays and skated many laps around the rink.
When the week ended, Timmy went to the hockey rink to play his first game. The Sabers played the Canadians. The Canadians crushed the Sabers five to one.
After the game, the Coach Ken called the team together to have a meeting with his team. “I am very disappointed by your performance today. We are off to a rough start and we need to play better in the next game.”
Then the sabers started to get back on track. They won seven of their last nine games. During warm-ups at the next practice the Sabers had, Timmy got hurt when he fell on his back trying to skate backwards. Coach Ken quickly guided him off the ice. The trainer took him to the locker room. He told Timmy that his back was injured. Timmy was out for one month on the disabled list.
The Sabers had ten more games to go in the first half of the season. The Sabers won eight out of their last ten games. They ended up being the best hockey team in their league so far.

           
During the second half of the season, the Sabers started to fall apart. They were no longer the best team in their league. They won one out of their last five games.
When Timmy’s back injury healed, he got back on the Saber’s roster.
Coach Ken told Timmy what happened while he was injured. “The Sabers have not been playing well lately and they have lost a lot of games. I am hoping that you will help the Sabers win more games.”
Timmy looked disappointed. “I will try my best.”
The next game the Sabers played was against the Bruins. The Bruins were a tough team to beat, but the Sabers barely beat them in overtime five to four.
The Sabers had one game to go before the season ended. The Sabers were two points behind the Panthers. They needed to win their last game to make it to the playoffs.
The next game the Sabers played was against the Panthers. Both teams skated on to the ice. After they warmed up, the game started. Timmy won the faceoff for the Sabers. The Sabers skated up the ice. Timmy passed the puck to his teammate. His teammate passed it back to him. Timmy shot it and the goalie for the Panthers snatched out of the air with his glove. The goalie passed the puck to one of his forwards. The forward skated past all of the Sabers and was on a breakaway. He moved the puck to the right and to the left. He shot it top shelf and barely beat the Sabers goalie. When the first period ended, the Panthers were winning one to zero over the Sabers. Both teams went to their locker rooms and went over their plays.
The second period started.  Timmy lost the faceoff. The defender for the Panthers got the puck and passed it to his center. The center could not handle the puck and Timmy easily stole it from him. He passed the puck to one of his teammates. His teammate shot it and the Panthers goalie stuck his left leg
            
out in time to stop the puck. Timmy got the rebound and quickly shot the puck into the back of the net. When the second period ended, The Sabers and Panthers were tied at one. Both teams went to their locker rooms.
Then the third period started. Timmy won the faceoff. He passed the puck to his defender. The puck went through the defender’s legs and slid past the Saber’s goal. The fast center for the Panthers got the puck and passed it to his forward. The forward shot the puck and it hit the crossbar. The puck flew up and landed on the back of the goalie for the Sabers. The goalie backed into the goal. The puck fell off of the goalie’s back and slid into the back of the goal. Then seconds later, the third period ended. The Panthers won two to one. The season for the Sabers came to a close. The Sabers were not going to the playoffs. The Sabers went to their locker room.
Coach Ken looked at his team. “That was a tough loss. I am glad that we had a great season. Let’s try to make it to the playoffs next season.”
Coach Ken and Grandpa were very happy that Timmy got better at hockey.