Line #32 Awesome/TheMightyDucks


1	'''As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
2	----
3	!! General
4	* Adam Banks is a walking moment of awesome. By far he's the best hockey player in each of the movies. And why? Because he's the only one who practices consistently during the off-season. He says his goal is for recruiters to see him and make his dad proud, but you can tell he enjoys the sport.
5
6	!! D1
7	* Fulton's "audition" to Bombay via slapshots to his car windows.
8	** His slapshots are powerful enough to turn the pucks into miniature missiles. Once he learns accuracy, goalies everywhere crap their pants. In the game against the Hawks, Fulton shot the puck hard enough that he ''knocked the goalie back into the net and slamming them both into the back wall''.
9	** He's also twice the size of most of the other kids and can easily take on the Hawks when they bully the Ducks as a group off the ice. While he's not much of a skater to be able to use this on the ice (not yet anyway, come the sequels he'll improve enough to be one of the Ducks major enforcers) the one time the puck is stolen from him he almost casually knocks the kid down and takes it back. It's notable that Reilly orders his guys to take Banks out of the game but when Fulton immediately gets a goal afterwards he just tells them to play harder rather than also try to take down Fulton as he'd easily cream any of the Hawks that tried.
10	* Gordon, on the cusp of getting his old job back from Ducksworth if he drops his complaint against the Hawks to let Adam Banks play on the Ducks, refuses: "A team isn't a bunch of kids out to win. A team is something you belong to, something you feel, something you have to earn. And I'm not gonna let those kids down."
11	* Despite the fact that Adam got checked from behind -- an illegal move that Reilly ordered his players to do -- he manages to get the puck into the goal. As paramedics take him away, his biggest rival Jesse gets an EveryoneHasStandards moment and promises to "kick Hawk butt" on his behalf. Jesse had to respect a kid that braved a potentially fatal injury for the Ducks.
12	** And following this, Bombay vowing to put Reilly in his place.
13	---> '''Reilly:''' ''(talking to his team)'' They score against us, they're gonna pay the price. Now don't worry, we're gonna get that one back. ''(Bombay approaches the Hawks bench)'' You got something to say to me, Bombay?\
14	'''Bombay:''' To think I wasted all those years worrying about what you thought. ''({{beat}})'' You're going down, Reilly.
15	* Charlie scoring the winning point for the Ducks on a penalty shot using the triple deke, the same move a young Bombay used in the beginning of the film. A case of HistoryRepeats, but with a positive climax unlike in the beginning.
16	!! D2
17	* Charlie gathering up and reuniting with his Duck teammates. When they skate through a road construction site, a construction aerial lift lowers right in front of Charlie before he realized it. While the other Ducks quickly skated around it, Charlie actually jumped the lift flawlessly to avoid crashing into it.
18	* While the Ducks are reuniting, three Hawks who are still sore about losing decide to take revenge via clothesline trap. It might've worked -- until '''[[OneManArmy Fulton Reed]]''' shows up and delivers a CurbStompBattle to all three of them before stripping them to their boxers and tying them up with their own clothesline.
19	* During the practice scrimmage, Jesse and Dwayne exchange some good-natured banter. Dwayne proceeds to knock him down and steal the puck, much to Jesse's disappointment.
20	* While most of the Ducks struggle during the scrimmage since they're out of practice, Adam manages to score rather easily on Julie once he gets a clear lane. Bombay gives him a resounding SoProudOfYou.
21	* Dean scoffs when the Ducks retreat in the face of Fulton's slapshot. He goes OhCrap when Fulton's puck shoots past him, bounces off the rim, and knocks out Mr. Tibbles.
22	* Miss [=McKay=], the Team USA tutor, going MamaBear when Bombay's training regimen is exhausting the kids. She cancels their latest practice, shows up to confront their coach, and tells him off because of SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: due to all of the excessive skating, they've been falling asleep in class and losing morale. She reminds him that he said games should be fun, and his players are just kids. Bombay is shaken, with a JerkassRealization.
23	** The novelization gives an even bigger pinpointing of when she gets through to Gordon: when he snaps that the stakes are so much higher now, she points out that the kids will simply be going back to their old lives after the Games. It's ''Gordon'' who the stakes are higher for, and they shouldn't be going through all this just to get his face on cereal boxes.
24	* Russ, his older brother, and his neighbor friends, are outstanding hockey players. They invite Team USA to go toe-to-toe in a friendly rollerblading hockey match. The score didn't matter, since Russ's intention was to help the group let off steam, but they were in the lead before it ended in a GroupHug.
25	* Adam is quite a {{Determinator}}. It gets to the point where Bombay insists on benching him for a wrist injury and promises that his dad is ''already'' proud of him and he is a damn good player. Sure enough, Adam scores the last point in the climactic shootout, making his coaches cry TearsOfJoy over how proud they are.
26	* Russ's first knucklepuck impresses Team USA. Fulton comes over and asks what it is, saying it was a cool move.
27	* Charlie notes that Russ is a ''really'' talented player. Since Adam needs to recover, Charlie asks Bombay to take in Russ, whom Bombay knows as a heckler. Soon enough, Russ is making headlines as the Los Angeles "Hometown Hero" after shooting his first public knucklepuck. Even Coach Stansson is impressed, giving a little smile as he's watching the game.
28	** Later, when Adam comes back, his wrist in working order again, Bombay points out that they have a full roster since Russ joined the team. Russ dejectedly starts to take off his gear, but Charlie stops him and volunteers to give up his spot for the good of the team. He then stays with the team as an assistant coach.
29	* Ken Wu scores the first Team USA goal during the final match. He uses his figure skating to break through the defense, and they realize he doesn't have the puck. Cue Fulton passing him the puck, and Ken scores. When the goalie tries to intimidate him, Ken does the "stick, gloves, shirt" routine and actually starts beating him down. Russ's older brother is proud, saying, "I taught him that!"
30	* Dwayne's BigDamnHeroes moment is this and a SugarWiki/FunnyMoment. He sees that Connie is struggling to stay upright with the puck, and that Sanderson is about to check her. Giving a loud "Yee-haw," he grabs his lasso, hits the ice, and ropes the guy. Then he gives a BondOneLiner about treating ladies with respect. Connie thanks him and knocks down the guy. The crowd and Team USA approve, sans Bombay, and Miss [=McKay=] finds it ActuallyPrettyFunny; the commentators says "Two minutes for roping" is a new one.
31	** Connie gets payback at the beginning of the third period. Once the team returned hyped up with their new uniforms, she takes the face off against Sanderson and despite him being almost twice her size she shoves him down and takes the puck, eventually getting a goal.
32	* In D2, during the final game against UsefulNotes/{{Iceland}}. The Iceland players have been making it very difficult for Russ to get off his infamous "knucklepuck" shot. After a timeout the Ducks return to the ice and play resumes. When the Ducks get possession of the puck they send it back to the goalie Goldberg -- only it's not Goldberg, but Russ! Once the Iceland players realize the ruse they rush to cover but can't make it in time, and Russ gets off a shot into Iceland's goal to tie the game. The Iceland coach's BigNo reaction shows just how much he did ''not'' want Russ to get that shot off.
33	** Speaking of the final: Team USA enters the second intermission down 2 goals. Bombay gives the team a rousing speech in the locker room and Jans appears to present them with new uniforms. When the team returns for the third period, they're wearing the colors of the Mighty Ducks. [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Cue the theme tune]].
34	** The novelization features an epilogue set when the Ducks are heading back to Minnesota. Before they board the plane, Tibbles informs them that an NHL expansion team is opening up in Anaheim. They want the Ducks' permission to use their name and colors. No points for guessing how the team responds.
35	* The final game being settled with a tie-breaking shoot-off. Julie, despite finally being brought to the ice for the first time, manages to win for her team by blocking the shot from team Iceland’s Gunner Stahl the leading scorer in the whole damn tournament.
36
37	!! D3
38	* Adam's talent as the best hockey player are recognized in this film. Coach Orion assigns him to Varsity because he's the only player that actually can score against Julie, the better goalie. When Adam later goes back to J-V after the board meeting that threatened their scholarships, he goes NotAfraidOfYouAnymore to his former teammates and tells them off for being bullies in the climax.
39	* Orion in general has many amazing moments:
40	** After a practice where he puts Charlie in the penalty box, Coach Orion gives a speech about what confidence really means, and not just on the ice.
41	--->"It's easy to be confident when you have control of the puck. It's very, very difficult to keep that confidence when you have to take whatever strange bounces life throws your way. Don't be careless, but don't be too careful, either. You ''cannot'' be afraid to lose. And that's how you gain the confidence to attack the game when the puck isn't yours. That's how you attack life."
42	** And Orion making it clear to the team that their "little Duck tricks" are no longer enough, and that they need to start playing "two-way hockey -- offense ''and'' defense". Even better, the final game shows that they actually ''learned'' their lesson and ''applied'' it.
43	** Promoting Julie to starting goalie not only shores up their goals, but frees up Goldberg to play as a [[TookALevelInBadass defenseman]].
44	** In line with ReasonableAuthorityFigure, he's hard on the team because he has to be. But if you hurt his kids, you are in for trouble. When Orion catches Varsity engaging in a grudge match with Junior-Varsity, he breaks it up, shouts at Varsity that they'd be in for punishment if he were their coach, and orders them out. Varsity leaves with minimal fuss.
45	** Later, when the kids' scholarships are threatened, Orion puts his job on the line to ask Bombay for help in defending them. Bombay does so, with aplomb.
46	* When Portman returns for the JV-Varsity game, the Varsity enforcer decides to check him just to see how tough he is. Portman proceeds to absorb the hit and send the enforcer ''flying in the air through the glass''.
47	-->'''Fulton:''' Now ''that's'' clearing the garbage!\
48	'''Portman:''' Hey man, we're just getting warmed up!
49	** The above incident then kicks of a montage where Fulton and Portman go to town delivering body checks to the varsity players, which fires up the rest of the team and results in the others starting to get in on the act.
50	* Russ picking up the SmartBall and smacking Charlie down for bitching about Orion and Eden Hall by reminding him that they can't afford to lose their scholarships. He says they don't have to like the school or the coach but simply have to listen.
51	* A large number of the Ducks actors reunited for a selfie shoot to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ''D2: The Mighty Ducks''.
52	* A few gems from Charlie in the finale; absorbing Coach Orion's lessons in two-way hockey, and the best one? The one that finally shows that he's gotten over his ego: when he takes the puck all the way for what looks like a surefire goal and ''passes it back to Goldberg before the opposing goalie could prepare for the shot.''
53	** Following this, naturally, Goldberg managing to sink the winning shot just as he gets tumbled by the defense, all the while screaming in terror. Before he finds out he scored, he asks Charlie to never do that again.

Context Awesome / TheMightyDucks