The Tournament
by Angelo Kontos
The Tournament reunites six friends to play in a hockey tournament that changes their lives forever. Alex Bucco is our 39 year-old protagonist and team captain. He is grieving the loss of his mother and is separated from the love of his life, Diana. Haunted by his past and feeling like he has nothing left to live for, he prepares to take his own life, but draws inspiration from his late mother and keeps going. When Alex was young, his father was murdered by a group of criminals for not paying debts. Alex never truly dealt with the impact of this tragedy. His mother provided a sense of security that was ripped away after she became ill and died. Now Alex wakes up every night at 3:00 a.m., the exact time his father's murderers came into their home, and he struggles with repressed memories and unresolved anger. Alex meets an old classmate named Corey who is organizing a team for a local hockey tournament. Alex reluctantly agrees to play. He convinces his former coach...