‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Recap: ‘Icing on the Cake’

Written by Zeke Perez Jr.

​​Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 205 of ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

As we reach the halfway point of the season, the balance between the individual and the team may have just teetered ever so slightly towards the former. Evan and Nick realize they can maintain their friendship across separate teams, Jace is (reluctantly) settling in with the Ducks, and Coach Cole might have just indirectly acknowledged that it’s maybe okay to have a little fun sometimes. But things don’t start off so happily. 
 
Various strained relationships are tested early and often in this week’s episode. Evan, now on Dominate, goes to take his usual seat at the Ducks’ breakfast table until Coach Cole calls him over to his new team. On top of that, Evan and Sofi can’t seem to get past their breakup, leading to some awkward encounters. On top of that, Evan is in danger of letting his best friend down on a big day. 
 
Evan had promised Nick that everything would stay the same in their friendship and that he would make it to his birthday party. That plan was derailed by an impromptu punishment practice from Coach Cole, who we see at his most intense in this episode. Unimpressed with his team’s confidence and effort, Coach Cole puts one of the most rattled players under pressure, challenging him to make three shots from center ice or else the entire team has to report for a Saturday night practice - the night of Nick’s party. The player, of course, misses the final shot and puts Evan in a tough spot.
 
Evan confides in his mom, so both she and Evan look to sway Coach Cole into letting him skip practice. Evan tries to lie to get out of it and learns the hard way that he should have just been up front with his coach, while Alex runs into his stubbornly-held belief that premier athletes have to sacrifice things to improve. But in one of the most heartfelt moments in the Game Changers series, Coach Cole reveals that his wife died 10 years ago, taking a heavy toll on both him and Jace, which Jace shows by pushing away his dad and any new friends. Coach Cole admits that his wife always told him he needed to loosen up a bit. The scene truly shows the humanity and depth of Coach Cole, and Josh Duhamel delivers it extremely well. 
 
In leading her team, Alex still errs on the side of levity. While Dominate sticks to the official training schedule, Alex tells the Ducks to delete it so they can practice outside while enjoying the nice weather. Reminiscent of a nice Rocky vs. Drago training montage, the Ducks are doing basic, fun skill drills and exercises in a lush, green park, while Dominate is doing high intensity workouts with weights and stationary bikes in a sterile, dark gym. 
 
Despite those unforgiving confines, another crack shows up in Coach Cole’s armor at the end of the episode. In order to save Nick’s birthday party, Alex leads the team on a mission to raid the camp’s kitchen. While going ahead for recon, she finds Coach Cole in the freezer eating directly from a tub of ice cream. Rather than cracking down on the team for breaking curfew, Coach Cole agrees to turn a blind eye and let them have their fun (and their ice cream). 
 
Coach Cole and Coach Alex remain diametrically opposed foes in how they approach hockey, but the unstoppable force that is Alex may have nudged the immovable object that is Cole. While he seems very unlikely to let go of the reins of the camp that he built, he’s beginning to show a softer side that could change things for everyone. Is he turning over a new leaf or should the campers expect more of the usual as they approach the big tournament? If this episode is any indication, the game of tug-of-war has just begun!

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