There's something about Kaner...Percy...

A little known fact that could really hurt Boston's leading goal scorer!

Percival Kane was deathly afraid of snakes. Any kind. Any color. Any size. Snakes freaked him out and one day, a fan decided to test that. (Go ahead, google it, but it's true!)

Piper Peregrine, a hardcore Irish Boston Blackhawks fan, was the average hockey fanatic. She was loyal to the Hawks, but also a budding Jeremy Sagan and Percival Kane fan. And she wasn't ashamed to admit she had something for the Shruingers of San Jose. She was twenty-three years old and a golden blonde woman from the South End of Boston. Known as a Southie and with a thick accent, Piper was a risk taker.

And she had a few problems.

She had serious Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), slight Bipolar disorder and Dissociative disorder, which was one that involves multiple personalities. She also had something called "Fatal Attraction Syndrome". She loved to talk to herself and was often referred to as "awkward." But she was loved and cared for.

Her obsessions and love feelings had been subpar and in check so far, until she started to fall for the two Boston Blackhawk forwards. And when she had an idea, she normally followed through and such was the case when she discovered her new favorite hockey player's greatest fear. Unable to shake the thought, she convinced her parents to get tickets to a Blackhawks-Shruingers game and test her idea out.

The following was her story and what went down to kick off a series of events that would spiral out of control for the Boston Blackhawks and once again plunge the poor young team into chaos and drama...

****

The story began in Buffalo, New York, where a young boy had been born to a sweet couple. His name was Percival Timothy Kane Jr. and he was a healthy blond haired, blue-eyed kid. And he was into hockey. He often went to the rink to play with his childhood friends. He didn't know it, but he would become a superstar in the NHL, as a part of the team called the Boston Blackhawks. But for the time being, he was striving to have fun and play a sport he liked.

He was often labeled as small and weak, but no one could deny the talent that he possessed. And those magical hands of his. He was skilled with a puck and though he wasn't a fighter or a big tough guy, he could make goalies fear him. And many did.

As he grew up, his skills sharpened and he stunned crowds, girls and gathered quite a fanbase. He made it to the NHL draft, where he was taken first overall by the Boston Blackhawks. The talent was there and he quickly made it onto the roster.

And that was when things got interesting for our story. You see, when Percival Kane made the roster, he was partnered with a young brunette centerman. This was Jonathan Getzlaf, in case you were so ignorant. And the two instantly hit off. In fact they not only became close best friends, but they became brothers. They had one another's backs and they were growing up as Hawks together.

There were many fans that they got. A good portion of them were female fans. One of them was the crazy Piper. During 2018, Piper got tickets to her first game as a hardcore Boston Blackhawks fan. She was the stereotypical Boston fan too, loud, obnoxious, had the mouth of a sailor and with a thick accent...the whole schbang.

At the start of the game, she spotted her favorite two players in the lineup, the talented two-way forward Brampton Benn and his winger-in-command, Nikita Nichushkin. Brampton was lined up across from the Shruingers' best centerman, Alec Tavares. The puck dropped and Alec wins it and gets it to his linemate.

"Yeah, suck it you fucking Hawk!" Piper screamed.

Alec did his "Alec Tavares" stuff, being amazing and showing off all of his awesomeness. He was Piper's favorite Shruinger after all. One of the San Jose players slammed into Jonathan, lighting him up and also drawing the ire of Percy Kane. Percy gave the guy a few words. The guy cross checked him a few times, trying to bait him, but Percy escaped and joined Jonathan, who passed him the puck. The guy was grabbed by the other winger and was dragged into the bench. As soon as the whole line made the change, Percy used the slowness to his advantage and did a cool spin-o-rama move around the San Jose defenseman and shot at the goal.

Nothing but net for the young blondie. He did his celebration and was joined by his teammates.

Piper stared at the ice and the celebration in disbelief. She was curious to know who this "Kane" guy was. And she wasn't sad about the goal...rather intrigued. She watched the replay on the JumboTron and looked back down to see one of the Hawks - Jonathan - giving the goalscorer an extra pat on the helmet as they sat down in the bench.

"Percy Kane?" Piper repeated to herself as she continued watching the game.

Percy got another goal and an assist to a Jonathan Getzlaf goal. The game went into Overtime and then eventually into a Shootout. Piper watched as the first two skaters went and then spotted the familiar blond take his spot. She cocked her head with interest and watched as he scooped the puck to his blade, pulled some tricky stickhandling moves and messed with his speed. The Shruinger's goalie was mesmerized and Percy made him pay.

Piper was stunned by the skill and the talent of the young man. And she was thrilled as the Hawks took the win. "I must find out who this Percy Kane is..."

(This was literally me when I first watched Kaner...it wasn't a Bruins matchup, but it was a highlight-reel shootout type goal....I think it was actually more like a one-on-one and it was during the 2013 playoffs or Final. Kaner is hands down the most entertaining player in the NHL currently to watch!)

Piper made her way out of the Garden. Millions of fans were alive with energy, whether it was excitement or stunned shock. She was both. And she was determined to answer her question. She had to find out who this guy was and know him. He was amazing.

She went back to her place and instantly ran to her computer. She logged on and began to search "Percival Kane". She settled in and watched a ton of videos and read a ton of articles. She learned all about him and just who he was. She also came across the gorgeous-looking Jeremy Sagan. And before long she realized that she was a Blackhawks fan.

Piper also discovered a particular fascinating article on Percy Kane. It was facts about him, including a certain fact about his fear or phobia.

"It's always snakes, isn't it?" she hissed to herself. "Well, let's see just how scared of snakes you really are, Kanerboo. What would you do if I threw a snake at you?"

So she drew up a plan.

****

2018-2019

Blackhawks vs Shruingers - Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final (Round 1)

After the Hawks pulled off the unbelievable and killed the Kings in the last game of the season, knocking them out of the playoffs, they were set to go against the San Jose Shruingers. It was an ideal matchup and one that would be extremely exciting. However Piper was ready to put her plan into action. She had spent the entire day getting a realistic-looking snake toy with which she could chuck on the ice.

Since it was only the first game of the series, what harm could it do? Right?

So she made her way to her seat, which she had gotten purposefully to the side of the penalty box. She took her seat and situated her bag. Considering that she could have tested it during the warm-ups, she ultimately decided that it would be better during the game. She rubbed her hands together, as she spotted Jonathan and Percy having a conversation at the bench.

Percy was facing her and he looked up and spotted her. He seemed to make a weird face at her, but focused on his friend once more. He said something more to Jonathan, before they launched toward center ice and passed a puck back and forth.

Soon the game begun and the arena became alive with noise as the pucks dropped at the dot and the game was underway. Piper barely paid any attention to her Shruingers players and team, as her eyes were focused on the Blackhawk pairing on the ice. She tapped her bag and grinned wickedly.

Suddenly the whistle blew. Percy was called for a controversial hooked call. He was complaining to the ref and trying to justify his case, but was ultimately directed to the penalty box. He took a seat and removed his helmet. He looked to the side to see Piper giving him a creepy look.

"Would you quit looking at me like that?" Percy snapped at her. "What did I do to you?"

"You were born," Piper retorted.

"Wow, okay, look I don't know you lady, but I've learned to deal with your kind, so..." Percy shrugged and stuck his tongue out, juvenilely.

"You're gonna wish you never did that, sweetheart!"

"What are you, a Hollywood villain? Shut up Shruinger lover!"

"You really wanna test me, do ya?"

"Look, get over yourself, okay?!" Percy stood up and roughly put his helmet back on his head. He skated out of the penalty box and into the play.

Piper snickered to herself. "Let's so how well you play under pressure or angry, Kanerboo." She watched as he tapped his stick and received a clean pass from Jonathan. He one-timed it at the goal with his accurate shot and managed to sneak it just over the glove hand and into the net.

"YEAH!!" Percy screamed.

Piper could hear him. She clapped her hands. That made two goals. One more and Percy had another playoff hat trick. And the game was only in the second period. She could see the blond do his celebration and turn in her direction. She hoped that he was called for another penalty, so she could chat with him some more.

However she spotted him chatting with Jonathan to the bench. Jonathan looked over toward her and shook his head. They stepped into the bench.

A little later on at the start of the third period, the score was an even 2-2 (a goal from Tavares, her favorite Shruinger) and Percy was called for tripping this time. He didn't protest this one, but he wasn't happy about having to go back to the box....with Piper nearby.

"Hey Kanerboo," Piper slyly remarked.

"Don't call me that! What is your problem?"

"Look, I'm helping you out...I'm one of your fans, so don't worry I'm not going to chirp you anymore. My name's Piper."

Percy looked at her suspiciously and then glanced at the clock. One minute remaining for the penalty. "Well, I guess I should be grateful to you, you really fired me up out out there...Piper. Thanks."

"Why don't you go out there and get a hat trick and end this thing?"

"Maybe I will. Glad we had this talk and I guess I should update Jonny about this too...after all, I told him you were some crazy bitch! Sorry about that." Percy jumped up and sprang from the box. He received a long stretch pass from Zady and bolted for the goal on a breakaway chance. But his attempt was snuffed out by the goalie, who smothered his try.

Percy skated to the bench and sat down beside Jonathan. Piper could see him talking to Jonathan and flicking his head over at her. With the score still knotted at 2-2, the game went into sudden death overtime. The Blackhawks started Jonathan and Percy with Zady and Nesty.

Two minutes into the overtime period, Jonathan and Percy hopped over the bench and onto the ice. They shared a look, like "let's end this". Jonathan won the faceoff against a Shruinger, who wasn't Alec Tavares. He kicked the puck to Percy, who took it and launched forward. Jonathan eventually flanked him and they played a game of give-and-go.

Piper saw Julien Kucherov, the Blackhawks' coach irate and screaming on the bench. She turned back to see Percy do his spin-o-rama thing and get the puck from Jonathan who was slammed into by a Shruinger defenseman. Percy quickly backhanded the disc into the corner of the goal. 3-2 Blackhawks.

Blackhawks won!

Piper reached into her bag as the hats flew and the celebration began. Everyone gathered around Percy and Jonathan on the ice as the hats continued to fly onto the ice. Piper held the snake in her hands, waiting for the proper moment. Finally Percy split from the group and they skated towards the center of the ice. Jonathan was close on his heels.

Piper nodded, smirked and let the snake fly onto the ice. It landed on Percy's shoulder and fell down in front of him. He shrieked in fright and threw his stick and gloves down to the ice and jumped into Jonathan's arms.

"JONNY!!" he screamed.

Percy wrapped his arms around his teammate's neck. Piper had her phone out and ready. She snapped a picture, before Jonathan dumped Percy on the ice.

"Don't do that again you chicken, it's a fake snake!" Jonathan scolded.

"I don't know that!" Percy snapped, scrambling to his skates once more and brushing himself off. He looked at the snake, still worried. Jonathan sighed and skated over and snatched it up. He held it out to Percy, who flinched and shied away at first, before he mustered his courage and touched it. He drew back at once but then touched it again and then took it himself.

"Holy crap it IS fake!"

"See? Nothing to worry about, Kaner."

"Where'd it come from though?"

"I don't know, but come on let's get out of here. Great hat trick and effort tonight Peeks!"

Percy smiled at his friend as they skated over to the crowd still gathered around the goalie and celebrating the win. Luckily, it seemed that Crow, the pest, hadn't seen Percy's embarrassing jump of fright over a toy snake. The Shruingers had already left the ice. They assumed their positions for the exit, with them both standing together by the door to the tunnel and bench. They both high-fived their teammates with cheers and "yeah"s and then Percy hugged Jonathan and skated over for the post-game interview.

Piper exited the arena grinning. She'd seen enough and also, she'd had enough. As she left, she flipped through her pictures, smirking.

And...

Now she knew what would happen if a snake was thrown at Percival Kane! And the best part of all was he had no idea that she had done it, no one had!! It was her little secret.