(1986)

Submitted by Tornado Dragon

SHORT VERSION:
The Hamilton Mustangs beat the Thunder Bay Bombers 3–2 for the Canadian Junior Hockey Championship thanks to a penalty shot goal from Dean, and Dean defeats Racki in a fight immediately after the game, both as payback for when Racki badly injured Derek and to simply just put him in his place.  

LONG VERSION:
Just after Dean (Rob Lowe) scores the second goal for the Hamilton Mustangs in a game against the Thunder Bay Bombers, the brutish Bombers player Racki (George Finn) (who was earlier rejected for a spot with the Mustangs in favor of Dean) takes advantage of the Mustangs being distracted with this to strike Derek (Patrick Swayze) in the head from behind and knock his helmet off, then trip him and cause his unprotected head to hit the ice, all in retaliation for Derek bodychecking him moments ago when he was trying to stop Dean. Derek is hospitalized and gets a plate put in his head, and Dean visits him after the Mustangs win and tells him that Racki had attacked him, but lies by saying that he got Racki back for him.

When the Mustangs return to their home arena, Dean quits the team and returns to his family’s farm, having become so demoralized over what just happened that he can’t find the passion to play anymore. However, he soon gets a pep talk from his older brother Kelly (Jim Youngs) about how stupid it was for him to quit, saying that Derek wouldn’t have walked away from the team if he and Dean had switched places, that Coach Chadwick (Ed Lauter) is the best coach in the league and he could learn a lot from him, and he could’ve spent the rest of the series trying to get revenge on Racki, because – being in the minors – all Racki will likely be punished with is a one-game suspension and the incident might even strengthen his bargaining position with the pros. He lastly states that you should never quit on your dream before leaving him alone.

Some days later, Kelly reads Dean a newspaper article saying how the Bombers soundly defeated the Mustangs in a recent game without him or Derek being there, and Racki didn’t get suspended at all. The next morning, after having looked over the article, Dean decides that he wants to go back to the Mustangs, but he first needs to toughen himself up. Therefore, with Kelly’s help, Dean begins to do exercises to build up his muscle mass and also learns how to box. His father Blane (Eric Nesterenko), who initially was unsupportive of Dean’s hockey ambitions because of how Kelly tried to become a player and wound up suffering a career-ending eye injury, eventually joins Dean while he is practicing at the local rink and shows him how to rough up a player properly in close quarters. Dean then asks with resentment why he never tried to help him before, and he replies that he didn’t want to see another son get hurt.

On the night of the Canadian Junior Hockey Championship game between the Mustangs and the Bombers at the Hamilton Arena, Dean heads to the Mustangs’ locker room and speaks with Chadwick outside of it, telling him he wants to suit up for the game. Chadwick refuses until Derek, speaking from inside, tells him to let Dean return, after which he concedes. Dean goes in and meets with Derek, who tells him to forget about trying to get even with Racki for him and just go out there and win the title, after which they hug. As the game begins, Dean lets his love interest Jessie (Cynthia Gibb) know that he is back, and Blane and Kelly show up in the crowd.

After Racki scores the first goal of the game in the second period for the Bombers, Chadwick lets Dean onto the ice, and Dean gets a goal soon after to tie the game. For the rest of the second period and into the third, Dean takes some hits from Racki without responding in kind, but gets another goal for the Mustangs to make the score even at two going into the last ten seconds of the game. When Dean gets on a breakaway to potentially score the deciding goal, Racki trips him with three seconds remaining, guaranteeing a penalty shot for Dean. He gets the puck in the net and bags the Mustangs their third goal, but when he goes to face off with Racki for the final play, Chadwick decides to pull him. He goes up to Chadwick and tells him that he is not coming off the ice, clearly implying that he wants to fight Racki, so Chadwick allows him to do the face off. When the clock strikes zero and the Mustangs start to celebrate, Dean challenges Racki to a fight then and there, and Racki accepts. They clash sticks until Dean smacks Racki’s away, then they fight with their bare fists, with Dean landing the most hits until he wallops Racki with a big right that puts him down for the count. Afterwards, the team parades Dean around on their shoulders.

Later, after the arena has cleared out, Jessie approaches Dean as he finishes signing autographs for a few boys and says that, while he looks terrible right now from all the hits he took from Racki, she loves him anyway, and they kiss. They then leave the arena with their arms around each other.