There is an odd, archaic rule in the NHL that sometimes (though very, very rarely) gives a non-professional hockey player a chance to shine. It’s known as the EBUG (Emergency Backup Goaltender) rule. An EBUG is required in case either team is left without an active goaltender due to injury, illness, suspension, or other unforeseen circumstances and requires an immediate replacement to continue the game. This player is not part of a team’s official roster, but still attends home games and is paid a minimum wage while they wait in the stands for the unlikely event of needing to put their skates on and play for whichever side is caught short of a goalie.
Author Chris J. Cherry has taken this weird regulation as the main plot point for his novella, EBUG: The Craziest Rule in Sports. Former high school hockey star Vincent Perdent shakes himself out of a rut, and rejuvenates his life by means of a chance call-up to his beloved New York Rangers.
Perdent is in a slump. He hates his job. He still loves his wife and family, but he’s finding it hard to express himself. He spends a lot of time watching old hockey clips and wondering “What if?” One evening, after turning out for his local recreational team The Clusterpucks, Vince is approached by a scout for the Rangers. It’s a real fairy godmother moment, and Cherry leans into the surprising event with his lead’s reaction: “Vince’s soul was instantly blown back by an invisible, cosmic force.”
As the novella progresses, it’s a shame that the author didn’t continue in the same vein and make EBUG a pure, whimsical tale of wish fulfilment for every college sportsman who could have or should have made it. Instead, there are some clumsy emotional moments, some overlong dialogue sequences, and a lot of behind-the-scenes ice hockey minutiae that will leave all but the most committed NHL fan cold.
Cherry’s prose is functional but basic. He’s at his best when he’s dealing with hockey, weaker when he’s tackling emotions and relationships. Take this clunky example between Vince and his wife: “They collided into each other like cannonballs. This wasn’t about animalistic sex, this was about a pure connection, now fully unleashed, an unbridled longing that was finally resolved in the most perfect sense.”
At its heart, EBUG is an adult fairy tale stretched to a novella, and Cherry does just about enough to engage the reader through to the end.
Chris J. Cherry’s EBUG: The Craziest Rule in Sports will be enjoyed by any fan of NHL hockey, especially those high school players who still harbor thoughts of what might have been if they’d just had that lucky break.
~ Kent Lane for IndieReader