Head Games (The Mighty Ducks)

"Head Games" is the ninth episode of the Disney+ Original Series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, and the ninth episode of the series overall. It was released on Disney+ on May 21, 2021.
==Synopsis==
The Don't Bothers road trip to States. Maya's pledge to have the "best girls weekend ever" is quickly forgotten when she meets a cute guy at the hotel. Evan is stung when Sofi rejects his invite to the kick-off party. After the kids fire Alex as coach, she stays behind to catch up on work – and is surprised to discover a very different side of Stephanie at the office. At the party, teen drama unfolds, while Bombay and Coach T let down their guard for a night to swap coaching war stories.
==Plot==
Following her recent behavior, Evan runs through his plan to fire his mom, Alex, as the coach of the Don't Bothers. He struggles, however, and Nick tries to aid him, pushing him to go through with the act for the betterment of the team. Finally gathering the courage, Evan fires his mom whilst she is packing for state championships. He does, however, invite her along to watch and cheer the Don't Bothers on from the sidelines, but makes it clear that she would be doing so as a regular mom like the others. Alex is saddened by the act, and decides to stay home instead and work.
Boarding their bus, the Don't Bothers are taken under Coach Bombay's wing; there is a party planned for all of the teams before their game the following day. Evan talks with the boys on the team about the possibility of asking Sofi to be his date to the party later that night. He texts Sofi asking her to accompany him to the party, but Sofi is pushed by her friends to keep the weekend "girl only", so promises to see Evan there instead.
Arriving at the location, Coach T tells the Ducks that they have one hour at the party, given their strict training regime and their early rise for the game the following day. Coach T bumps into Coach Bombay and the two engage in conversation, with Coach T trying to annoy and trash talk Bombay; the latter doesn't engage, however, leaving Coach T confused and annoyed.
With encouragement from her friends, Sofi decides that she would like to go to the party with Evan, and stops by his podcast interview to tell him that. Evan asks for advice from Mary Joe, who is conducting the interview, but she misunderstands, believing Evan is asking her to the party. She accepts, but this is witnessed by Sofi, who now believes that Evan wants to attend the party with Mary Joe.
After witnessing a stressful Stephanie in her office, Alex goes to talk and console her. Stephanie reveals that her and her husband, Clark, are getting a divorce. Their marriage is unhappy and falling apart given their competitive nature with hockey. Alex reveals that she was fired by Evan and the two share a bottle of wine to let off some steam.
At the party, Nick confronts Evan about Mary Joe, revealing that he has had a secret crush on her for a while. Nick tells Evan that he must stick to the date and protect Mary Joe from heartbreak, even if he doesn't actually want to date her. Evan notices Sofi arrive at the dance with Trevor from the Ducks and the two try to make each other jealous on the dance floor.
Coach T and Bombay talk about some of the stresses of being coach, especially all of the pressure from the parents for their children to succeed. Bombay reveals how he broke recruitment rules and therefore got fired from the Ducks, but Coach T reveals that he too would've done the same.
Evan asks to talk with Sofi in the Photo Booth, but the two begin arguing and the camera captures the entire whole confrontation. Evan accuses Trevor of only dancing with Sofi to gain team secrets, and Sofi storms off after the accusation. Evan tells Mary Joe what actually happened at the podcast and that he didn't actually want to attend the dance with her; she reveals that she has a crush on Nick, and Evan sets the two up.
The next morning as the Don't Bothers eat breakfast, a member of the American Youth Hockey Association reveals that there may be a problem. It turns out that Bombay cannot coach the Don't Bothers, and that Coach T told the AYHA about his disbarment by the NCAA. Evan wants his mom to help with Bombay's case and calls her to aid; Stephanie offers to drive Alex to the meeting given the two spent the night at the office together.
Coach Bombay attends his hearing in front of the AYHA. It is revealed that the AYHA is NCAA certified therefore his ban applies for tournaments under them. Bombay tries to reason with the AYHA, citing that he has made mistakes previously but has changed. The AYHA understand, but refuse to allow Bombay to coach. Nonetheless, Alex arrives moments later, explaining that given the Don't Bothers have never been scouted, they do not fall under guidelines of the AYHA; technically, the ban doesn't apply in this situation. Given this, the AYHA change their ruling, allowing Bombay to coach. Alex is welcomed back to the team as a coach.
==Cast==
===Main cast===
*Lauren Graham as Alex Morrow
*Brady Noon as Evan Morrow
*Maxwell Simkins as Nick Ganz
*Swayam Bhatia as Sofi Hanson-Bhatt
*Julee Cerda as Stephanie
*Luke Islam as Jaden Koobler
*Bella Higginbotham as Lauren Gibby
*Taegen Burns as Maya Kasper
*Kiefer O'Reilly as Logan LaRue
*De'Jon Watts as Sam
*Forrest Rozitis as Tibor Capek
*Zenon Brown as Havel Capek
*Emilio Estevez as Gordon Bombay
==Trivia==
*Alex is welcomed back to the Don't Bothers after the AYHA consultation.
==Gallery==
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Category:The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers episodes